Military Pay Tax Calculator

How the Military Pay Tax Calculator: Take-Home Pay With BAH and BAS Works

Military compensation is different from a civilian paycheck. Only part of it is taxable. Basic pay is subject to federal income tax and Social Security and Medicare, but the Basic Allowance for Housing and the Basic Allowance for Subsistence are not taxed, and special pays for service in a combat zone may be excluded. That means a service member can keep a larger share of total pay than a civilian with the same gross number, and comparing the two requires a calculator that handles allowances correctly.

Enter your annual base pay, monthly BAH and BAS, the percentage of base pay you contribute to the Thrift Savings Plan, your filing status and a state tax rate. The result shows federal tax, payroll taxes, state tax and your total take-home pay, including the tax-free allowances.

What is taxable in military pay

Basic pay is taxable for federal income tax and for Social Security and Medicare, the same as civilian wages. Special pays, such as hazardous duty pay, flight pay, and most bonuses, are also taxable unless they are earned in a combat zone. Reenlistment and other bonuses are supplemental wages, with 22% federal withholding on the bonus in most cases.

Allowances are different. BAH and BAS are not part of gross income, so they do not appear on Form W-2 box 1 and are not subject to income tax or FICA. The same is true for the value of government housing, uniform allowances, and most moving reimbursements. The nontaxable allowances still count for eligibility in some programs, such as certain need-based benefits, so read the rules of each program.

Your Leave and Earnings Statement, called the LES, shows entitlements and deductions. Entitlements include base pay and allowances, and deductions include federal tax, FICA, state tax, TSP, SGLI life insurance and allotments. The calculator mirrors this by showing taxable pay and allowances separately.

BAH and BAS: the tax-free part

BAH is paid according to rank, dependency status and duty station, and it changes every January. It is meant to cover housing costs in the local area, and it can be several hundred to several thousand dollars a month. BAS is a flat monthly allowance for food, set annually, and there are separate rates for officers and enlisted members. Because both are untaxed, each dollar is worth more than a taxable dollar.

To compare with a civilian job, convert the allowances into a taxable equivalent. If you are in the 12% federal bracket and pay 7.65% in payroll tax and 5% in state tax, a tax-free dollar is worth about $1.27 of taxable pay. So a service member with $2,260 of monthly allowances would need to earn about $2,870 more each month in a civilian salary to break even.

Enter your monthly BAH and BAS to see the value of the allowances added to your take-home pay. The calculator treats them as untaxed at the federal and state levels.

TSP contributions and their tax effect

The Thrift Savings Plan is the federal retirement plan for service members. Traditional contributions come out of taxable base pay before income tax, so they lower your federal and, in most states, your state income tax today. Roth contributions are taxed now and are tax-free later. Contributions do not lower Social Security and Medicare tax, which apply to base pay before TSP.

Members covered by the Blended Retirement System receive an automatic 1% agency contribution and matching of up to 4% more after they contribute, so contributing at least 5% captures the full match. In the calculator, enter the percentage of base pay you contribute to traditional TSP and it reduces your taxable income.

The elective deferral limit is $24,500 in 2026 for regular contributions, higher for catch-up contributions from age 50. Contributions from tax-free combat zone pay are also allowed, up to the annual additions limit, which is one of the most powerful savings opportunities in the tax code.

Combat zone tax exclusion

Service in a combat zone or a qualified hazardous duty area provides a federal tax exclusion. For enlisted members and warrant officers, all pay earned in the month is excluded. For commissioned officers, the exclusion is capped at the highest rate of enlisted basic pay plus imminent danger or hostile fire pay for the month. Excluded pay is not taxed for income tax but is still subject to Social Security and Medicare if it is not otherwise exempt.

Because the excluded pay does not appear in the taxable box of your W-2, it can reduce your income for the year. You can still choose to include it in earned income for the earned income credit, which can be helpful for lower-income service members. It is a planning decision, so consider tax software or a military tax preparation program.

This calculator does not model combat zone months. To approximate the effect, reduce the base pay amount by the excluded months, and remember that payroll taxes may still apply.

State taxes and the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act

Military members usually keep the same state of legal residence for tax purposes while stationed elsewhere, thanks to the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act. Your military pay is taxed only by your home state, not by the state where you are stationed. If your home state has no income tax, such as Texas, Florida, Washington or Tennessee, you pay no state income tax on military pay even if you are stationed in a high-tax state.

Several states also give special treatment to military pay, and some exclude it from income entirely. Others tax it only when the member is in the state. Rules change, so check your home state's department of revenue. The Military Spouses Residency Relief Act extends similar protection to spouses who move with the member, so they can keep the same state residence for wage tax.

Enter the flat state tax rate for your home state in the calculator, or zero if your state exempts military pay.

Military pay compared with a civilian salary

To compare your total pay with a civilian offer, add taxable base pay, the tax-free value of allowances, and the value of benefits such as health care through TRICARE, the retirement pension and the education benefits. A rough rule is that the tax-free allowances are worth about 25% to 30% more than the same amount of taxable pay. Health care alone can be worth more than $10,000 a year for a family, and it is not taxed.

When you leave the service, remember that civilian employers typically deduct health premiums and have less predictable raises. Use the paycheck calculator on this site to test an offer with different salary levels and states.

Reserve, National Guard and part-time service

Reserve and National Guard members are paid for drill weekends and annual training, and this pay is taxed as wages the same as full-time base pay. Allowances may apply for periods of active duty, and BAH varies with the duty period. Civilian pay plus drill pay together can push you into a higher bracket, so check withholding on both.

If you receive orders that last more than 30 days, you may be eligible for full-time allowances and benefits. Keep your orders and pay records to track allowances and any exclusions for combat zone service.

Worked example: E-5 with dependents

Consider a single service member with $48,000 in base pay, $1,800 in monthly BAH and $460 in monthly BAS. With 5% traditional TSP, the contribution is $2,400 and taxable income after the $16,100 standard deduction is $29,500. Federal tax is about $3,300. Social Security and Medicare on the $48,000 are $3,672, and state tax at 5% is about $2,280.

Take-home from base pay is roughly $36,350. Add tax-free allowances of $27,120 a year and total take-home pay is about $63,470, or about $5,290 a month, on total compensation of $75,120. The effective tax rate on total compensation is under 15%, far lower than the rate for a civilian earning $75,000.

Your own numbers will differ by rank, location and family status. Use the calculator to test changes such as higher TSP contributions.

Ways to keep more of your pay

Contribute at least enough to TSP to receive the full match under the Blended Retirement System. Review your W-4, since many service members are over-withheld in their first years and receive a large refund. Use free tax preparation help from the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program, which is available on installations. Keep records of moving expenses, which may be reimbursed and excluded, and check whether you qualify for credits such as the saver's credit, for lower-income members who contribute to TSP.

Military Pay Tax results at a glance

These are the calculator's results at different values of annual base pay, with every other input left at the example values above (the bold row is the example). Use them to see how quickly the result changes before entering your own numbers.

How filing status changes the result

The same example with each filing status option:

The same example at different state tax rates

State income tax is the input that varies most between readers. Nine states charge 0% on wages, flat-tax states charge one rate, and progressive states charge more at higher incomes. Here is the example at five effective state rates; for your exact state rules, use the state paycheck calculators.

What changing monthly BAH does

Holding everything else at the example values, here is the effect of monthly BAH: