2027 BAH Rates: When They Come Out, What Moves Them, and What You Can Already Count On

As of October 3, 2026, the 2027 Basic Allowance for Housing rates have not been published, and no one outside the Department knows what they will be. What is settled is the calendar and the rules. The 2026 rates were released on December 11, 2025 and took effect January 1, 2026, with an average increase of 4.2%. The 2027 rates will come from the same process: rental and utility data for each military housing area, not the basic pay raise. And whatever the new table says, individual rate protection means it cannot reduce the BAH you already receive at your current duty station.

When the 2027 rates will be out

The Department has not announced a date. The pattern is a December release for a January 1 effective date, and last year the release came on December 11. When the new table is posted we load it into the BAH rates pages and the BAH comparison tool the same day, and we keep the 2026 table available beside it.

What actually sets your rate

The Department collects rental housing cost data every year for 299 military housing areas in the United States, including Alaska and Hawaii. The sources it names are Census Bureau survey data, the Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index, commercial rental cost databases, online rental listings, and input from the services and local installation housing offices. Median rent and utilities (electricity, heat, and water and sewer) are computed for six housing profiles, by dwelling type and number of bedrooms. Each pay grade, with and without dependents, is then matched to the housing that civilians with comparable income choose.

One more piece comes off the top. BAH is built with a member cost-share of 5% of the national average housing cost for the pay grade. In 2026 that amount ranges from $93.00 to $212.00 a month depending on grade and dependency status. It is not a deduction on your LES; it is already inside the published rate.

The pay raise does not change BAH

This is the most common mix-up in January. The 2027 basic pay raise applies to basic pay. BAH is a separate allowance set from local housing costs, so a 7% raise in basic pay says nothing about your housing allowance. Your BAH can rise more than basic pay, less, or not at all, depending on what rents did in your housing area.

What a typical change is worth

The Defense Travel Management Office describes the usual movement this way: rental prices generally change between 2% and 5% from year to year, and housing allowances typically change accordingly. The table shows what that range means in dollars for an E-5 with dependents at eight installations, using the 2026 rates. It is a sense of scale, not a forecast: an individual area can move outside that range in either direction.

The spread between installations is far larger than any annual change. The same E-5 rates $2,391.00 a month more at Naval Base San Diego than at Camp Lejeune. If you have orders, the location on them matters more to your housing budget than the next rate table. Look up both ends of a move in BAH comparison.

Rate protection: the part you can count on now

The Department's release states the rule plainly: a service member who maintains uninterrupted BAH eligibility at a given location will not see a rate decrease, whatever happens to housing costs. So if the 2027 rate for your area and grade is lower than the 2026 rate, you keep the 2026 rate for as long as you stay eligible at that location. If the 2027 rate is higher, you move up to it on January 1.

• You keep protection while you stay at the same duty station with no break in BAH eligibility.
• A new rate applies when you PCS to a new location, and a change in grade or dependency status re-rates you on the current table.
• A lease signed in the fall is safe from a January cut. That is the purpose of the rule: a member who has committed to a lease is not penalized when an area's costs fall.

What to do before the new table

• Signing a lease now? Budget on the 2026 rate. Treat any increase as a bonus, not as rent you can afford today.
• Moving in the winter? Your rate is the one for your new duty station on the date you report. If you report in January, that is the 2027 table.
• Check the right rate type. With-dependents and without-dependents rates differ by hundreds of dollars. The prorated BAH calculator handles a mid-month change.
• Read your January LES. The new rate first shows in January pay. The LES auditor checks the BAH line against the table.

The bottom line

The 2027 BAH rates are not out. Last year's table was released December 11 and took effect January 1, with a 4.2% average increase. The new rates will come from 2026 rental and utility data, not from the pay raise, and rate protection guarantees that a lower rate cannot reduce what you receive while you stay eligible at your current location. Rates on this page are the 2026 figures; always verify with your finance office before making financial decisions.