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Pay & allowancescalculator2026 rates, verified October 13, 2026

Military pay calculator for 2026

Basic pay, housing (BAH) and food (BAS) for your grade, years of service and duty-station ZIP — every line from the agency’s own table, with its date, drawn to one scale.

The calculator

Pay for an , years of service, , stationed at ZIP .

ZIP 23511 is in Norfolk/Portsmouth, VA (VA298). Don’t know the ZIP? Type the base or town.

More options housing, completed years, special rates, date
Housing

Picks the pay column for you. On the exact anniversary of your pay date you’re still in the lower column; from the next day you’re “over”. Your LES shows your column.

Today unless you change it. A date with no published rates says “Not modeled”.

Your estimate

Example

$6,853.75 a month

$82,245.00 a year · basic pay is 57.6% of itTax-free: $2,906.95 (BAH + BAS); only basic pay is taxed. IRS Publication 3A recruiter’s bigger number is usually regular military compensation: basic pay, BAH and BAS plus the tax you don’t pay on the allowances. The figure above is the cash. DoD’s RMC definition

Rates as of  · verified  · Change log · Report an error
Independent estimate · not an official statement · general information, not financial or tax advice

Your month, drawn to scale
Housing (BAH)$2,430.00Food (BAS)$476.95Basic pay$3,946.80$0$10k$2k$4k$6k$8k
Where each line comes from
Basic payE‑5, Over 4 · effective January 1, 2026DFAS: Basic Pay – Enlisted, effective January 1, 2026$3,946.80
Housing (BAH)VA298 Norfolk/Portsmouth, VA, with dependents · effective January 1, 2026DTMO: BAH rates, all locations and pay grades, 2026 (ASCII)$2,430.00
Food (BAS)Enlisted rate · effective January 1, 2026DFAS: Basic Allowance for Subsistence (BAS) rates$476.95
Each month$6,853.75
Each year (× 12)$82,245.00

Estimate by Rank and Pay · rates as of January 1, 2026 · not an official statement · rankandpay.com

Compare this BAH with other ZIP codes TSP on this basic pay

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.

  1. Housing $2,430.00 · $624.00 more a month than the lowest of the three

  2. Housing $3,975.00 · $2,169.00 more a month than the lowest of the three

  3. 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

How the math works

Three official tables, one sum. Nothing is estimated or interpolated: each line is the number the table prints for your inputs.

  1. Basic pay: your grade and your years columnDFAS’s 2026 table, effective January 1, 2026 (+3.8%). The house example, E-5 over 4 years, is $3,946.80 a month.Completed years pick the column: the “Over N” with the largest N not above your years. On the exact anniversary of your pay date you’re still in the lower column; from the next day you’re ‘over’. Your LES shows your column.Basic Pay – Enlisted, effective January 1, 2026 (page dated ) · Executive Order 14368, Adjustments of Certain Rates of Pay (Schedule 8) (page dated )
  2. Empty cells and the pay capWhere DFAS leaves a cell blank (an E-9 with under 10 years, for example) the grade isn’t reached at that service, so we say “No 2026 rate”. Officer rates are capped by law: O-7 to O-10 at $18,999.90, O-6 and below at $15,408.30.Basic Pay – Commissioned Officers, effective January 1, 2026
  3. Housing (BAH): ZIP → housing area → your gradeDoD’s 2026 BAH file maps your duty-station ZIP to a military housing area, then gives one monthly rate per grade, with or without dependents. ZIP 23511: VA298 Norfolk/Portsmouth, VA, with dependents, $2,430.00.ZIP+4 works (we use the first five digits). A ZIP that isn’t in DoD’s file is an error at the field, never a total. To compare up to three ZIPs, use the BAH calculator.BAH rates, all locations and pay grades, 2026 (ASCII) · BAH Rate Lookup
  4. Food (BAS): one rate for enlisted, one for officers$476.95 a month for enlisted members and $328.48 for officers and warrant officers, effective January 1, 2026. BAS II ($953.90) is paid only in specific situations when government meals aren’t available, so it is never the default.Basic Allowance for Subsistence (BAS) rates (page dated )
  5. The totalBasic pay + BAH + BAS = the monthly figure; × 12 = the yearly figure. Official values are used exactly as published, so nothing is rounded.
  6. 2027: a proposal, not lawThe 2027 raise isn’t set. The budget proposal and the formula figure differ (E-5 over 4: about $4,223 at 7% or about $4,089 at 3.6%). The calculator shows both, rounded to the dollar, until DFAS publishes the 2027 table; then this panel disappears.Not law — Congress hasn’t passed the FY2027 NDAA (checked October 13, 2026).FY2027 military pay raise (page dated ) · H.R. 8800, FY2027 National Defense Authorization Act (actions)

Not modeled here

  • Taxes and take-home pay: Not modeled — federal and state income tax, Social Security and Medicare aren’t computed here (checked October 13, 2026). Your LES shows your deductions.

  • Special and incentive pays: Not modeled — flight, dive, sea, jump and other pays aren’t in this total. Deployment pays (HFP/IDP, FSA, HDP-L) have their own deployment pay calculator.

  • Overseas housing (OHA) and cost-of-living (COLA): Not modeled — overseas and high-cost allowances use other tables we don’t carry; a ZIP outside DoD’s BAH file says so.

  • Clothing allowance, TSP and SGLI deductions: Not modeled — they depend on your service, your elections and your coverage, which the calculator doesn’t ask for.

  • Guard and Reserve drill pay: Not modeled — drill pay is 1/30 of monthly basic pay per drill period; a drill-pay view isn’t built yet (checked October 13, 2026).

  • Civilian-equivalent salary: Not modeled — comparing with a civilian salary needs the tax treatment of each line, which isn’t modeled.

How we check the numbers

  1. 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.
  2. Two dates on every answer. The date a rate took effect and the date it was last checked against the agency’s page. A rule that can’t be confirmed says “Not modeled” and why, instead of a guess.
  3. Tested, then logged. The arithmetic runs on one engine with automated tests built from the agencies’ own worked examples; every rate or rule change goes into the public change log with its source.

  • In-depth guide · Pay

    2026 military pay chart: every grade, and the proposed 2027 raise

    E-5 over 4: $3,946.80 basic; $6,229.75 to $8,398.75 a month with BAH and BAS

    2026 basic pay by grade and years, plus the proposed 2027 raise: 7/6/5% in the budget or 3.6% by formula, with no defense bill enacted as of October 16, 2026.

    Updated · 10 min read

  • 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.

    Updated · 6 min read

  • Guide · Pay

    BAS 2026: $476.95 enlisted, $328.48 officer, and BAS II

    $476.95 enlisted, $328.48 officer, $953.90 BAS II

    BAS 2026 rates: $476.95 a month enlisted, $328.48 for officers and warrant officers, BAS II $953.90, up 2.4% from 2025, and when BAS II applies.

    Updated · 5 min read

Sources

  1. Basic Pay – Enlisted, effective January 1, 2026Defense Finance and Accounting Service · read
  2. Basic Pay – Commissioned Officers, effective January 1, 2026Defense Finance and Accounting Service · read
  3. Basic Pay – Commissioned Officers with over 4 years enlisted service, effective January 1, 2026Defense Finance and Accounting Service · read
  4. Basic Pay – Warrant Officers, effective January 1, 2026Defense Finance and Accounting Service · read
  5. Executive Order 14368, Adjustments of Certain Rates of Pay (Schedule 8)Federal Register · read
  6. Defense Primer: Military Pay RaiseCongressional Research Service · read
  7. Basic Allowance for Subsistence (BAS) ratesDefense Finance and Accounting Service · read
  8. BAH rates, all locations and pay grades, 2026 (ASCII)Defense Travel Management Office · read
  9. BAH Rate LookupDefense Travel Management Office · read
  10. Temporary BAH increase for Abilene/Dyess AFBDefense Travel Management Office · read
  11. Department of War releases 2026 Basic Allowance for Housing ratesJoint Base San Antonio (reprint of the DoW release) · read
  12. 2026 Non-Locality BAH RatesDefense Travel Management Office · read
  13. FY2027 military pay raiseCongressional Research Service · read
  14. H.R. 8800, FY2027 National Defense Authorization Act (actions)Congress.gov · read
  15. FY2027 Budget, Department of WarOffice of Management and Budget · read
  16. MilitaryINSTALLATIONS: installation pages (Main Contact Info addresses)Military OneSource, U.S. Department of Defense · read
  17. Publication 3, Armed Forces’ Tax Guide (Table 2: pay items excluded from gross income)Internal Revenue Service · read
  18. DoD FMR Vol. 7A Ch. 25, Subsistence and Basic Needs Allowances (2.4.3 and 2.5.1, essential station messing; Table 25-2)Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) · read