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Hampton Roads · 2026 BAH rates

What can your BAH actually buy here?

Three steps. Pick your pay grade, plug in a few numbers, and see the most house your BAH covers once you count the stuff people forget: the VA funding fee, the city's real estate tax, and insurance. No sign-up to see your number.

Start with Step 1
Jason Edwards
Jason Edwards
REALTOR® · Retired Navy Senior Chief

Step 1

Your BAH

BAH is set by your duty station, not by where you buy. Hampton Roads has two BAH areas, so start there.

Where are you stationed (or getting orders to)?
Which one is my base?

South Side, NORFOLK/PORTSMOUTH, VA (VA298): Naval Station Norfolk, NAS Oceana and Dam Neck, JEB Little Creek-Fort Story, Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Naval Medical Center Portsmouth, NSA Hampton Roads, NSA Northwest Annex, Coast Guard Base Portsmouth.

Peninsula, HAMPTON/NEWPORT NEWS, VA (VA297): Joint Base Langley-Eustis (Langley AFB and Fort Eustis), Naval Weapons Station Yorktown, Coast Guard Training Center Yorktown.

Dependents?
Pick your pay grade to see your 2026 BAH.

Source: Defense Travel Management Office, official 2026 BAH rate file. Rates effective Jan 1, 2026.

Step 2

What it could buy

These are the numbers that move the price. Change any of them. The examples are just starting points, not quotes.

$

Fills in from the city. Edit it if your street is in a special district.

%

6.5% is an example, not today's rate. Ask your lender.

%

VA lets you put 0% down. That's the default here.

$

Example. Get a real quote, it varies a lot by house and roof age.

$

Lenders require it in a high-risk flood zone. Plenty of homes here are close to water, so check the flood zone before you fall in love with a house.

$

Want a cushion instead? Type a negative number, like -300, to keep part of your BAH for utilities and repairs.

Pick your pay grade in Step 1 and your numbers show up here.

Step 3

Your real number

This part's empty on purpose.

Finish Step 1 and Step 2 and your side-by-side comparison unlocks here automatically.

How BAH works when you buy in Hampton Roads

Let me simplify this, because it trips up a lot of people on their first PCS here.

Your BAH follows your duty station, not the house

BAH is based on your permanent duty station ZIP code, your pay grade, and whether you have dependents. Where you buy doesn't change it. Stationed at Naval Station Norfolk and buying in Suffolk? Same BAH as if you bought a mile from the gate.

Hampton Roads is two BAH areas

The South Side (Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Portsmouth and Suffolk) is NORFOLK/PORTSMOUTH, VA (VA298). The Peninsula (Hampton, Newport News, Langley, Fort Eustis and Yorktown) is HAMPTON/NEWPORT NEWS, VA (VA297), and its rates run lower. An E-5 with dependents gets a month on the South Side and on the Peninsula in 2026.

BAH isn't meant to be a mortgage payment

DoD sets BAH from what it costs to rent here, plus average utilities. So if your mortgage, taxes and insurance eat the whole thing, the power bill, water and repairs come out of your paycheck. That's why the calculator lets you set a cushion. Real talk: I'd rather see you a few hundred dollars under your BAH than right at it.

The city you pick changes your payment

Every city here sets its own real estate tax rate. On the same $350,000 house, Virginia Beach's rate of per $100 costs about a month, and Portsmouth's costs about . Same house, different bill. Some neighborhoods also sit in special tax districts with a higher rate, so check the exact address.

The VA funding fee

The funding fee is a one-time charge, and most people roll it into the loan. With 0% down it's 2.15% the first time you use your VA loan and 3.3% after that. Put 5% down and it drops to 1.5%, or 1.25% at 10% down. It's waived if you get VA disability compensation, and in a few other cases. Source: VA.gov, as of October 2026.

BAH changes every January

New rates come out every year and take effect January 1. They can go up or down. If they go down, individual rate protection keeps your current rate as long as you stay at the same duty station with the same dependency status. A promotion or a PCS changes things, so plan for that.

Think about your next set of orders now

You'll probably PCS again. Before you buy, ask yourself: would this house make sense as a rental, and would it rent for enough to cover the payment? That one question has saved a lot of people a headache.

Jason Edwards

I'm Jason Edwards, a REALTOR® with eXp Realty and a retired Navy Senior Chief. I help military buyers figure out Hampton Roads without getting in over their heads. If you want a second set of eyes on your numbers, let's talk.

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The fine print

This is an estimate for illustration only. It's not a loan offer, a pre-qualification, a pre-approval, or a commitment to lend, and it isn't financial, legal or tax advice. No interest rate is promised or implied. The 6.5% rate is only an example.

BAH is set by the Department of Defense and changes every year. Rates shown are the official 2026 rates (effective Jan 1, 2026) from the Defense Travel Management Office rate file. O-7 through O-10 share one rate. O-1E to O-3E rates are for officers with more than four years of prior enlisted or warrant service.

How the math works: monthly principal and interest on a fixed-rate loan, with the VA funding fee added to the loan; real estate tax figured on the purchase price (your city's assessment can be higher or lower); insurance, flood and HOA as you entered them. It leaves out closing costs, utilities, maintenance, and lender rules like residual income and debt-to-income, which can lower what you qualify for. A 100% permanent and total disability rating can exempt your primary home from Virginia real estate tax; this calculator doesn't apply that, so ask the city.

Tax rates are each city's FY2027 general rate (July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027), per $100 of assessed value: .

Confirm every number with a VA-approved lender before you make an offer.

Fair housing: I describe homes and places, not people. I'll help anyone find a home, and I follow all federal, state and local fair housing laws.