VA disability
Why 50, 30 and 20 make 70%
VA applies each rating to what is still “efficient”, then rounds once. At 70% with a spouse and one child: $2,074.45 a month.
2026 ratesverified –
Military pay, VA math and fitness scores, worked out exactly.
Pay, BAH and BAS by grade and ZIP, VA math done the way the regulation does it, and every service’s fitness test scored from the current tables. Every number sourced and dated; nothing you type into a calculator leaves your browser unless you press Save.
San Diego, CA $8,398.75
Norfolk, VA $6,853.75
Fort Bragg, NC $6,229.75
Basic pay and food are the same at every base; only housing moves. Your own numbers just below ↓
Military pay calculator
Basic pay, BAH and BAS · 2026 tables
Your estimate
Example$8,398.75 a month
$100,785.00 a year · basic pay is 47.0% of itTax-free: $4,451.95 (BAH + BAS); only basic pay is taxed. IRS Publication 3
Rates as of · verified · Change log · Report an error
Independent estimate · not an official statement · general information, not financial or tax advice
| Basic payE‑5, Over 4 · effective January 1, 2026Federal Register: Executive Order 14368, Adjustments of Certain Rates of Pay (Schedule 8) | $3,946.80 |
|---|---|
| Housing (BAH)CA038 San Diego, CA, with dependents · effective January 1, 2026DTMO: BAH rates, all locations and pay grades, 2026 (ASCII) | $3,975.00 |
| Food (BAS)Enlisted rate · effective January 1, 2026DFAS: Basic Allowance for Subsistence (BAS) rates | $476.95 |
| Each month | $8,398.75 |
| Each year (× 12) | $100,785.00 |
Estimate by Rank and Pay · rates as of January 1, 2026 · not an official statement · rankandpay.com
The same pay at three duty stations
One scale for all three rows: basic pay and BAS don’t depend on where you live, so only the housing piece moves. Choose a row to use its ZIP above.
Housing $3,975.00 · $2,169.00 more a month than the lowest of the three
Housing $2,430.00 · $624.00 more a month than the lowest of the three
Housing $1,806.00 · the lowest of the three
The dashed line marks basic pay + the lowest housing amount, so each difference reads as a length.
2027 raise: a proposal, not law
- If the budget proposal passed (7% for E-5)about $4,223 basic (+$276)
- At the ECI formula figure (3.6%)about $4,089 basic (+$142)
Approximate — official tables may differ by a few dollars. Not law — Congress hasn’t passed the FY2027 NDAA (checked October 13, 2026). Today’s basic pay: $3,946.80. Congressional Research Service: FY2027 military pay raise
The same care for VA math, fitness tests and retirement
Each answer is drawn to scale from the official table, with its source and date underneath.
Fitness tests
What 10 more pounds buy on the AFT deadlift
One tick per row of the Army’s table, your lift at its true value, the next point marked. Age 22–26, male or combat column.
Next point: +10 lb (210 lb) → 73 · the table has no 72 row
Retirement & TSP
High‑3 or BRS at 20 years
An E-7 retiring at 20 years: both plans on one scale. The BRS lump sum is worked out the way DoD’s own calculator does it.
Every calculator, each with its answer drawn
15 calculators, each with its sources and the dates its tables took effect.
Pay & allowances
Military pay calculator
E-5 over 4: $3,946.80 basic; $6,229.75 to $8,398.75 a month with BAH and BAS
Basic pay, BAH and BAS for your grade, years of service and ZIP code, monthly and yearly, with the source and date of every line.
Pay & allowances
BAH calculator
E-5 with dependents: $1,806 at Fort Bragg/Pope, NC to $3,975 in San Diego, CA
The 2026 housing allowance for a ZIP code, grade and dependency status, with up to three ZIP codes side by side.
Pay & allowances
Deployment pay calculator
A full month of HFP, FSA and HDP-L adds $850.00
Hostile fire or imminent danger pay, family separation allowance, hardship duty pay and the combat zone tax exclusion amount for a month.
Pay & allowances
PCS money calculator
E-5 with dependents, 2,800 miles from August 1: $4,206.02
Dislocation allowance, mileage (MALT) for the date you drive and the authorized travel days for a permanent change of station.
VA disability
VA combined rating calculator
50%, 30%, 20% → 65 → 72 → 70%
VA math step by step: ratings combined in order with Table I, the bilateral factor and the one rounding at the end.
VA disability
VA disability pay calculator
70%: $1,808.45 alone → $2,207.45 with spouse and a child in school
The monthly VA compensation for a combined rating and your dependents, to the cent, from VA’s published rate table.
VA disability
VA back pay estimator
70% with a spouse and one child, effective March 14, 2025: 18 months, $36,890.02
Months from the effective date times the rate in force in each month, across the December 1 rate changes.
Fitness tests
Army fitness test (AFT) calculator
Age 24: 71 + 74 + 74 + 70 + 93 = 382, passes both standards
Points for each AFT event from the current scoring tables, general and combat standards, and what the next point takes.
Fitness tests
Air Force PT test (PFRA) calculator
15:00 run, 50 push-ups, 2:30 plank, 0.50 ratio → 82.0, Satisfactory
The PFRA composite from the 2-mile run or HAMR, push-ups, core event and waist-to-height ratio, with the component minimums.
Fitness tests
Navy PRT calculator
100 / 85 / 80 averages 88.33 — between two levels
Points and performance levels for push-ups, plank and the run, row or swim, by age and sex, with the altitude tables.
Fitness tests
Marine Corps PFT and CFT calculator
Male, 23: 15 = 73, 3:00 = 82, 21:00 = 81 → 236 of 300, 1st class
PFT and CFT points by event, age and sex, the class you reach and the combat-arms 210 line.
Fitness tests
Waist-to-height checker, all services
39.5 in waist / 72 in: Army 0.548 meets, Navy meets, Marine Corps over, Air Force 15.0
One waist and height measured against the Army, Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps waist-to-height rules.
Retirement & TSP
Military retirement calculator: High‑3 vs BRS
E-7 at 20: High-3 $3,059 vs BRS $2,447 a month
Retired pay under High‑3 and the Blended Retirement System from the same High-36, with a Guard and Reserve points mode.
Retirement & TSP
TSP calculator for service members
E-5 at 5%: $197.34 from you + $197.34 from the service a month
Your TSP contribution, the BRS automatic and matching contributions, and the 2026 limits and catch-ups.
Education
GI Bill® calculator
San Diego, private, full time: 100% → $30,908.34 + $3,975.00/mo + $1,000.00
Post-9/11 tuition cap, the housing allowance at a school ZIP code, the online rate and books, by benefit level.
What changed lately
Every rule or rate change, with the date it took effect and the agency page it came from.
Coming up
VA compensation rates and the retired-pay COLA for December 1, 2026
Abilene/Dyess (TX270) temporary BAH ends
2027 basic pay, BAS, BAH and DLA
Lately
Pay & allowances
Hostile fire pay rose from $225 to $450 a month and imminent danger pay from $225 ($7.50 a day) to $275 ($9.16 a day); in a month with either, hardship duty pay – location is at most $100.
Defense Finance and Accounting Service · verified
GI Bill®
MGIB-AD full-time rates rose to $2,601 (3+ year enlistment) and $2,110 (under 3 years).
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs · verified
GI Bill®
Post-9/11 GI Bill private-school cap rose from $29,920.95 to $30,908.34; online-only housing from $1,169 to $1,198.
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs · verified
Navy fitness
OPNAVINST 6110.1L CH-1 issued.
Department of the Navy · verified
Start here
31 guides, each answering one question with the agency’s own rule, a worked example drawn to scale and its sources listed with the date they were read.
In-depth guide · VA
VA disability rates 2026 and VA math, step by step
50%, 30%, 20% → 65 → 72 → 70%
Why 50% + 30% + 20% is a 70% VA rating, how Table I and rounding work, and what the December 1, 2025 rates pay with a spouse or children.
Guide · Pay
BAH 2026: how rates are set and how to look up your ZIP
E-5 with dependents: $1,806 at Fort Bragg/Pope, NC to $3,975 in San Diego, CA
How DoD sets 2026 BAH by ZIP, grade and dependents, why rates rose 4.2% on average, how rate protection works, and the Abilene mid-year increase.
In-depth guide · Fitness
The Army Fitness Test (AFT): scoring, the combat standard and the 24 MOS
Age 24: 71 + 74 + 74 + 70 + 93 = 382, passes both standards
How the AFT is scored from the June 2025 tables, general vs combat standard, the 24 combat specialties, and what 60, 80 or 100 points take.
Read from the table, never guessed
- From the agency’s own tables. Pay from DFAS, housing from DoD’s BAH file, VA rates from VA, fitness scores from each service’s current scoring tables — looked up the way the tables read, never interpolated.
- Two dates on every answer. The date a rate took effect and the date it was last checked. A rule that can’t be confirmed says “Not modeled” and why, instead of a guess.
- Every change in public. When a rate or rule changes, the old value, the new value, the date and the source go into the change log. The Editorial Policy describes the rest.