How the total is worked out
Your total is three pieces. Basic pay comes from the 2026 pay table for your grade and years of service, and it is the only piece that is taxed. BAH, the Basic Allowance for Housing, depends on your duty station's ZIP code, your grade and whether you have dependents. BAS, the Basic Allowance for Subsistence, is a flat food allowance: $476.95 a month for enlisted members and $328.48 for officers in 2026.
Because BAH and BAS are not taxed at all, not even for Social Security and Medicare, a dollar of allowance is worth more than a dollar of salary. To show what that means, the calculator finds the civilian salary that would leave you exactly the same money after federal income tax and payroll tax, using the 2026 brackets and the standard deduction for your filing status. If your state taxes military pay, set its rate with the slider and the comparison includes it.
What is not included
Special and incentive pays (such as flight, dive, jump or hazardous duty pay), enlistment and retention bonuses, overseas allowances, and deductions like TSP contributions, SGLI premiums and allotments are left out, because they differ from person to person. Your Leave and Earnings Statement lists every item that applies to you.
Example
An E-5 with over 6 years of service at Fort Bragg with dependents earns $4,110.00 in basic pay, $1,806.00 in BAH and $476.95 in BAS, for $6,392.95 a month or about $76,715 a year. About 36% of that is tax-free. For a married couple filing jointly, a civilian job would need to pay roughly $83,200 to leave the same money after federal and payroll taxes.