Military Pay Calculator

Three entitlements make up almost every paycheck. Basic pay is set by pay grade and cumulative years of service in the DFAS table effective January 1, 2026 (the table has steps at under 2, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10 and every two years to 40; a member is paid at the highest step at or below their years). Basic Allowance for Subsistence is a flat monthly amount, one rate for enlisted members and one for officers. Basic Allowance for Housing depends on the duty station’s Military Housing Area, the grade and whether the member has dependents; this calculator reads DTMO’s own ZIP-to-housing-area file, the same source as the BAH calculator by ZIP.

Federal withholding follows IRS Publication 15-T’s percentage method for a monthly payroll, the method DFAS uses: taxable wages (basic pay plus special pays, less traditional TSP) are run through the bracket table for the W-4 filing status, and the monthly share of the child and dependent credits from step 3 of the W-4 is subtracted. Social Security (6.2 percent, up to the annual wage base) and Medicare (1.45 percent) apply to basic pay only. State withholding is estimated at the state’s flat supplemental or top rate on the same taxable wages, with no withholding for the nine states without an income tax and for states that exempt active-duty pay in full; several others exempt it only for members stationed outside the state, and the note next to the state field says so.

Traditional TSP contributions reduce federal and state taxable wages but not FICA wages; Roth contributions reduce nothing. SGLI costs 5 cents per $1,000 of coverage plus the $1.00 TSGLI premium, so the full $500,000.00 is $26.00 a month.

It does not reconcile a mid-month advance against the end-of-month computation, apply allotments, dental premiums, debt collections or the Armed Forces Retirement Home deduction, prorate a partial month, or compute the year-end return (where the tax-free allowances can change credits such as the EITC). It is a monthly estimate from published tables; the Leave and Earnings Statement is the record, and the finance office resolves differences.