What does BAH get you near MacDill Air Force Base?
By Kyle Melvin · NMLS #1486450 · REV Mortgage · Licensed in Florida
Short answer
BAH is set for Tampa 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-6 with dependents, the 2026 allowance is at or above HUD's fair market rent for a two-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 · MacDill Air Force Base · Tampa, FL (MHA FL066)
$2,709 / month
E-5 with dependents. Official DTMO rate for 2026; rates reset every January.
HUD rent · FY2027 · ZIP 33621
1BR $2,480 · 2BR $2,880 · 3BR $3,680 / month
$971 below the 3BR Fair Market Rent — HUD's 40th-percentile gross rent for the ZIP, effective Oct 2026. Three years of that rent is $132,480 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
At or above the 3BR Fair Market Rent in 1 of 3 neighborhoods. Rent is HUD's 40th percentile for the ZIP, not a listing; buying is a different number — the calculator above.
- Riverview and Apollo Beach$2,700
- Brandon and Valrico$2,820· $111 over
- South Tampa$2,870· $161 over
2026 BAH by pay grade at MacDill Air Force Base
Tampa, FL military housing area · Defense Travel Management Office · monthly, tax-free
| Grade | With dependents | Without |
|---|---|---|
| E-1 | $2,520 | $1,932 |
| E-2 | $2,520 | $1,932 |
| E-3 | $2,520 | $1,932 |
| E-4 | $2,520 | $1,932 |
| E-5 | $2,709 | $2,187 |
| E-6 | $3,042 | $2,346 |
| E-7 | $3,066 | $2,526 |
| E-8 | $3,075 | $2,781 |
| E-9 | $3,123 | $2,874 |
| W-1 | $3,063 | $2,463 |
| W-2 | $3,072 | $2,778 |
| W-3 | $3,084 | $2,886 |
| W-4 | $3,141 | $3,039 |
| W-5 | $3,231 | $3,054 |
| O-1E | $3,069 | $2,706 |
| O-2E | $3,078 | $2,853 |
| O-3E | $3,156 | $3,036 |
| O-1 | $2,757 | $2,328 |
| O-2 | $3,039 | $2,649 |
| O-3 | $3,081 | $2,919 |
| O-4 | $3,255 | $3,042 |
| O-5 | $3,390 | $3,057 |
| O-6 | $3,417 | $3,060 |
| O-7 | $3,441 | $3,102 |
| O-8 | $3,441 | $3,102 |
| O-9 | $3,441 | $3,102 |
| O-10 | $3,441 | $3,102 |
For scale: HUD's FY2027 Fair Market Rent for ZIP 33621 (Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL MSA) is $2,480 for a 1BR, $2,880 for a 2BR, $3,680 for a 3BR and $4,470 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 MacDill Air Force Base, measured against HUD's FY2027 rents for ZIP 33621: from E-6 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. The picker above shows the loan and the equity side by side for your own grade. E-1 to E-4 with dependents sits below the two-bedroom rent here, so buying at that grade takes deliberate work — a smaller place and a tour long enough to make it pay; the first-duty-station page walks through it rather than waving it off.
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. Florida 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 MacDill Air Force Base
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Orders to MacDill Air Force Base?
Kyle pre-approves on the orders and the Tampa BAH before you report — the number, not a range — and tells you which neighborhoods it actually reaches.