Last Updated: November 14, 2026 Reading Time: 6 min

The 2026 Basic Allowance for Subsistence (BAS) is $476.95 a month for enlisted members and $328.48 a month for officers. Those are the two standard BAS rates for 2026. A special double rate, BAS II ($953.90), can apply to enlisted members in single government quarters with no way to store or cook food and no dining facility available. The standard rate does not change with grade, years of service or branch. Enlisted members in basic training do not draw BAS.

This guide turns the two BAS rates into yearly and daily amounts, explains why enlisted members get more than officers, and covers how the 2027 BAS will be set. DFAS had not posted a 2027 rate as of November 14, 2026. This page shows what the formula in the law points to, marked as a projection.

BAS 2026 Rates at a Glance

Standard BAS has one rate for enlisted members and one rate for officers. An E-1 out of basic training and an E-9 get the same BAS. So do an O-1 and an O-6.

Member type BAS per month (2026) BAS per year BAS per day (month ÷ 30)
Enlisted (E-1 to E-9) $476.95 $5,723.40 $15.90
Officer and warrant officer (W-1 to W-5, O-1 to O-10) $328.48 $3,941.76 $10.95
Difference $148.47 $1,781.64 $4.95

Monthly rates are the 2026 DFAS BAS rates in FedTools' pay data. The yearly column is the monthly rate × 12. The daily column divides the monthly rate by 30 and rounds to the cent. It is shown for comparison and is not how a partial month is paid.

Warrant officers draw the officer rate. Our rank pages show BAS next to basic pay for each grade.

Why Officer BAS Is Lower and Does Not Grow With Rank

Officers earn more basic pay but draw the smaller food allowance. BAS depends only on whether you are enlisted or an officer. The law sizes the enlisted rate to a USDA food plan for one adult man, so BAS does not grow with rank or family size. The law sets the enlisted rate from USDA food costs and gives the officer rate the same percentage increase, if there is one.

Next to basic pay, the gap is small. For an eligible E-5, standard BAS is $476.95 a month. For an O-3, it is $328.48. The rest of the gap between those two paychecks comes from basic pay, housing and other pays. You can compare the two on our 2026 rank pages for E-5 and O-3.

What BAS 2026 Looks Like in Your Pay

A few points help when you read BAS on your Leave and Earnings Statement:

  • BAS is free of federal income tax. Like BAH, it is excluded from gross income under 26 U.S.C. 134, so it does not appear in Box 1 of your W-2 and no federal income tax is withheld on it.
  • For pay dates, see our 2027 military payday calendar.
  • If you and your spouse both qualify for enlisted BAS all year, each of you draws it on your own pay. Together that is $11,446.80 a year at the 2026 rate, before any meal charges.
  • If you are enlisted and the government provides your meals, for example under essential station messing in the barracks, the cost of those meals may be collected from your pay. Your unit finance office can tell you which status applies to you.

How BAS Counts in Regular Military Compensation

BAS is one of the four parts of Regular Military Compensation (RMC), with basic pay, BAH and the federal tax advantage on the two allowances. Because BAS is free of federal income tax, $476.95 of BAS is worth more than $476.95 of taxable salary to anyone who pays that tax.

In the 22% federal tax bracket, you would need about $611.47 of taxable pay ($476.95 ÷ 0.78) to keep $476.95 after federal income tax. State income tax and payroll taxes can widen the gap. Our RMC explainer walks through the full math. The BAH and RMC calculator adds BAS for your grade on its own, so you do not have to look it up.

How the 2027 BAS Will Be Set

The law ties BAS to food prices. Under 37 U.S.C. 402(b), as amended in December 2025, the enlisted rate for a year "shall be equal to the monthly cost of a liberal food plan for a male in the United States who is between 19 and 50 years of age, as determined by the Secretary of Agriculture on October 1 of the preceding year." The enlisted rate may not go down from one year to the next, and the officer rate gets the same percentage increase, if there is one. This affects 2027 in two ways:

  • The 2027 BAS increase and the 2027 basic pay raise are separate numbers. The basic pay raise is set by its own formula and by Congress. BAS follows food costs. The two percentages can differ. See our 2027 military pay raise by grade for the basic pay side.
  • DFAS posts the official rates on its BAS page. Check any 2027 figure you see online, including ours, against that table.

What the formula points to. USDA's September 2026 food plan report puts the liberal plan for a man aged 19 to 50 at $486.80 a month. The August report said $486.20. If the Department of Defense applies the amended law as written, 2027 enlisted BAS would be about $486.80, up about 2.1% from $476.95. Officer BAS would be about $335.26 ($328.48 raised by the same percentage). This is a FedTools projection from the formula, not an official rate. The law does not say which monthly report counts as the October 1 figure, and the department has not published how it will apply the change.

FedTools will add the 2027 BAS to its calculators once DFAS posts it.

Is BAS the Same in Every Branch?

Yes. The Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Space Force and Coast Guard all pay the same two standard BAS rates. Basic pay also uses one table for all branches. Special pays are where branches can differ. Our guide on whether all military branches get paid the same covers the details.

Calculate Your Full 2026 Military Pay

BAS is one line on your LES. To see it with everything else:

For the after-tax view by rank, read military pay after taxes by rank.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the BAS rates for 2026?

The standard BAS for 2026 is $476.95 a month for enlisted members and $328.48 a month for officers, including warrant officers. The same rates apply in every branch and at every grade and years of service. Enlisted members in basic training do not draw BAS.

How much is BAS per year in 2026?

At the 2026 rates, a full year of BAS is $5,723.40 for an enlisted member ($476.95 × 12) and $3,941.76 for an officer ($328.48 × 12).

Why do officers get less BAS than enlisted members?

The law sets the enlisted rate from USDA food costs and gives the officer rate the same percentage increase, if there is one. The formula has no step for rank or family size, so BAS does not scale with pay grade. Enlisted BAS is $148.47 a month higher than officer BAS in 2026.

Is BAS taxable?

No. BAS is excluded from federal gross income under 26 U.S.C. 134. It is not included in the taxable wages on your W-2, so no federal income tax is withheld on it.

What will BAS be in 2027?

DFAS had not posted the 2027 BAS rates as of November 14, 2026. The law now sets enlisted BAS equal to a USDA food plan cost, not from the basic pay raise. On USDA's September 2026 figure, the formula points to about $486.80 a month for enlisted members and $335.26 for officers. That is a projection, not an official rate. FedTools will update its calculators once DFAS posts the new rates.

Sources

  • DFAS, Basic Allowance for Subsistence (BAS) rate table: dfas.mil/MilitaryMembers/payentitlements/Pay-Tables/BAS (January 1, 2026: officers $328.48, enlisted $476.95, BAS II $953.90; page updated December 19, 2025; read November 14, 2026, no 2027 row)
  • USDA, Official USDA Food Plans: Cost of Food at Home at Three Levels, U.S. Average, September 2026 (liberal plan, male 19-50 years: $486.80 a month): fns.usda.gov
  • Pub. L. 119-60, section 621 (139 Stat. 908): govinfo.gov
  • DoD 7000.14-R, Financial Management Regulation, Volume 7A, Chapter 25, Subsistence and Basic Needs Allowances (August 2025): comptroller.war.gov
  • 37 U.S.C. 402, Basic allowance for subsistence: law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/37/402 (as amended by Pub. L. 119-60, section 621, December 18, 2025)
  • 26 U.S.C. 134, Certain military benefits: law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/26/134