What does BAH get you near Joint Base Lewis-McChord?
By Kyle Melvin · NMLS #1486450 · REV Mortgage · Education only — not licensed in Washington
Short answer
BAH is set for Tacoma by pay grade and dependency status and resets every January. It is the same money whether it pays a landlord or a mortgage; the question is what it leaves behind — rent leaves nothing, and the principal a VA loan pays down is yours at the next PCS. Here, from E-1 with dependents, the 2026 allowance is at or above HUD's fair market rent for a two-bedroom, and from E-9 for a three-bedroom — the bands where a no-down-payment purchase starts to be realistic. Whether it carries a specific house depends on the rate you are quoted, the local tax bill and your other debts, which is what the calculator and the pre-approval settle. The picker below shows the official figure for your grade next to what HUD says rent costs in the base ZIP.
2026 BAH · Joint Base Lewis-McChord · Tacoma, WA (MHA WA311)
$2,556 / month
E-5 with dependents. Official DTMO rate for 2026; rates reset every January.
HUD rent · FY2027 · ZIP 98433
1BR $1,840 · 2BR $2,260 · 3BR $3,120 / month
$564 below the 3BR Fair Market Rent — HUD's 40th-percentile gross rent for the ZIP, effective Oct 2026. Three years of that rent is $112,320 gone; on a VA loan, part of the same payment comes back as principal paid down — the calculator shows how much, and what it leaves out.
Where E-5 with dependents lands · HUD 3BR rent by neighborhood, FY2027
This BAH is below the 3BR Fair Market Rent in every neighborhood guide — at this grade the honest answer is a smaller unit, a roommate, or on-base housing. Rent is HUD's 40th percentile for the ZIP, not a listing; buying is a different number — the calculator above.
- Lakewood$2,580· $24 over
- Puyallup and South Hill$3,010· $454 over
- DuPont$3,630· $1,074 over
2026 BAH by pay grade at Joint Base Lewis-McChord
Tacoma, WA military housing area · Defense Travel Management Office · monthly, tax-free
| Grade | With dependents | Without |
|---|---|---|
| E-1 | $2,370 | $2,034 |
| E-2 | $2,370 | $2,034 |
| E-3 | $2,370 | $2,034 |
| E-4 | $2,370 | $2,034 |
| E-5 | $2,556 | $2,121 |
| E-6 | $2,919 | $2,199 |
| E-7 | $2,994 | $2,376 |
| E-8 | $3,072 | $2,634 |
| E-9 | $3,180 | $2,736 |
| W-1 | $2,940 | $2,313 |
| W-2 | $3,024 | $2,631 |
| W-3 | $3,126 | $2,751 |
| W-4 | $3,201 | $2,931 |
| W-5 | $3,297 | $3,009 |
| O-1E | $3,006 | $2,553 |
| O-2E | $3,108 | $2,712 |
| O-3E | $3,216 | $2,913 |
| O-1 | $2,607 | $2,178 |
| O-2 | $2,916 | $2,496 |
| O-3 | $3,123 | $2,784 |
| O-4 | $3,324 | $2,991 |
| O-5 | $3,471 | $3,030 |
| O-6 | $3,501 | $3,102 |
| O-7 | $3,525 | $3,156 |
| O-8 | $3,525 | $3,156 |
| O-9 | $3,525 | $3,156 |
| O-10 | $3,525 | $3,156 |
For scale: HUD's FY2027 Fair Market Rent for ZIP 98433 (Tacoma, WA HUD Metro FMR Area) is $1,840 for a 1BR, $2,260 for a 2BR, $3,120 for a 3BR and $3,520 for a 4BR per month.
What owning at your grade looks like
BAH is the same money whether it goes to a landlord or to a mortgage; the difference is what is left when the next orders come. Rent leaves nothing. A VA loan with no down payment leaves the principal you paid, and if you keep the house as a rental at the next station, it keeps paying itself down while the next post's BAH covers the next one. That is how one allowance becomes two or three houses over a career — the renting-out page is the mechanics.
At Joint Base Lewis-McChord, measured against HUD's FY2027 rents for ZIP 98433: from E-1 with dependents the allowance is at or above the two-bedroom rent, which is the band where the lower price bands in the base guide come into reach; from E-9 it clears the three-bedroom rent, the family-neighborhood band. The picker above shows the loan and the equity side by side for your own grade. Even where the allowance clears the rent, the first-duty-station page is the honest read on buying at a junior grade.
The one case where renting is the right call: a short or uncertain tour with no plan to keep the house. A two-year sale rarely pays. The buy versus rent page shows the break-even so you can see it in your own numbers.
What changes the answer
- The tax bill. Washington property taxes, plus any metro district, Mello-Roos or CDD assessment on a newer subdivision, run through the payment. The neighborhood guides flag where that applies.
- Insurance. Flood and wind markets price it into the payment; the base guide says where.
- A VA loan already open. A second purchase runs on remaining entitlement; the entitlement calculator shows whether a down payment enters.
- Gross-up. BAH is not taxed, and lenders count it above its face value for qualifying — the BAH page explains the mechanics.
Rates on this page come from the Defense Travel Management Office and are stamped with their year; rents come from HUD's Fair Market Rent tables and are stamped with their fiscal year. No BAH or rent figure on this site is ever written into copy, because they change every year and a page that dates itself stops being trusted.
Where each grade band lives near Joint Base Lewis-McChord
Buying in Washington?
Kyle is not licensed in Washington, so he cannot write the loan here — but the questions on this page are the right ones to ask, and he can connect you with a loan officer who is licensed in Washington. Send him the station and the question.