Military pay: what you make, when it hits, and what's changing
The plan in place for January 1, 2027 is 7% for E-1 to E-5, 6% for E-6 to O-3, and 5% for O-4 and above. Congress can replace it by law, and the Senate committee's bill says 3.6% for everyone. The 2027 chart
Look up your pay
Pick your grade and years of service. Basic pay and BAS only, before taxes. Your LES is the authority.
What do you need?
Pick one and you get a short list. Your pick stays on this device.
- Start with basic pay
Your grade and years of service set it, and it is taxable. The lookup above shows yours.
- Add BAS and BAH
Both are tax-free. BAS is flat. BAH depends on your duty station ZIP, grade, and dependents.
- Look at next year
The 2027 chart shows the plan in place and the Senate committee's number.
- Put it in a budget
Built around twice-a-month military pay.
- Check your TSP match
Under the Blended Retirement System the service adds 1% and matches up to 4% more.
- Find it in myPay
Your LES posts about a week before payday. The dates are in the card below and on the pay dates page.
- Know how the pay is built
DFAS walks through it on its pay pages.
- Something off? Start with your finance office
Your unit finance or admin office fixes pay. StandWatch cannot see or change your account.
- Run your new BAH
BAH follows your duty station ZIP, your grade, and your dependents.
- Work the move
Checklists and the money pieces in one place.
- Moving yourself?
A PPM has its own math.
- One drill period is 1/30 of monthly basic pay
A standard drill weekend is 4 periods. The lookup above shows yours.
- Know your paydays
Reserve paydays match active duty this year, and a few LES dates differ.
- Look at health coverage
Most members off orders can buy TRICARE Reserve Select.
- Planning for 60
Retired pay runs on points, normally starts at 60, and you apply through your branch.
- Hostile Fire or Imminent Danger Pay
Since October 1, 2026, Hostile Fire Pay is $450 a month and Imminent Danger Pay is up to $275 a month.
- Family Separation Allowance
DFAS says $300 a month, or $10 a day for part of a month, when orders keep you from your dependents.
- Combat Zone Tax Exclusion
One qualifying day can make that whole month's basic pay free of federal income tax. Commissioned officers have a monthly limit.
- Savings Deposit Program
10% annual interest on up to $10,000 while you are deployed to a designated area.
- Pre-service debt
The SCRA can cap interest at 6% on debt you took on before active duty.
- Compare a civilian offer
Military pay beside a salary, with taxes and benefits on both sides.
- Estimate retired pay
High-3 at 2.5% and BRS at 2.0% side by side.
- Getting out before 20
The checklist, and your DD-214.
- Going to a federal job
Buying back your military time adds it to a FERS pension.
- Know your VA pay
2026 rates by rating and dependents.
Basic pay
Basic pay comes from the DFAS tables by grade and years of service. It is taxed federally and, depending on your state of legal residence, by your state. It sets more than your check: drill pay, the TSP match, and a High-3 or BRS pension are all figured from it.
For 2027 the plan in place is 7%, 6%, or 5% by grade, starting January 1. Our 2027 numbers are estimates until DFAS posts the tables.
Connected to: BAH and BAS (they stack on top) and the TSP (a percentage of it).
2026 pay chart → 2027 pay chart → Pay by rank →BAH and BAS
BAH pays for housing and depends on your duty station ZIP, your grade, and whether you have dependents. BAS pays for food and is flat: $476.95 a month for enlisted members and $328.48 for officers in 2026. Neither one is taxed, which is why a civilian salary has to be higher than your total to leave the same take-home.
Connected to: a PCS (BAH follows your duty station) and any civilian offer you compare.
Pay calculator with BAH → DTMO: BAH lookup → Military vs civilian pay →Paydays and your LES
You get paid mid-month and at the end of the month, on DFAS's schedule, and your LES posts to myPay about a week ahead. Active duty and Reserve paydays match this year, and a few LES dates differ.
Many banks post your pay 1 to 2 business days early. That is each bank's own policy, not a DFAS rule, and autopay drafts still pull on their own schedule, so the DFAS date is the one to plan around.
Connected to: your budget, built around both paydays.
All the pay dates → Budget Builder → DFAS: understanding your pay →Guard and Reserve pay
One drill period pays 1/30 of the monthly basic pay for your grade and years of service. A standard drill weekend is 4 periods, so it pays 4/30 of the monthly rate, before taxes. DFAS publishes the same math as drill pay tables.
Connected to: the same pay tables as active duty, and retired pay, which normally starts at 60.
Guard and Reserve calculator → 2026 pay chart → Guard and Reserve retirees →Special pays and deployment
Since October 1, 2026, Hostile Fire Pay is $450 a month, paid in full for a qualifying month, and Imminent Danger Pay is up to $275 a month, prorated at $9.16 a day. Family Separation Allowance is $300 a month, or $10 a day for part of a month. Confirm each one on your LES.
One qualifying day in a designated combat zone can make that whole month's basic pay free of federal income tax. Enlisted members and warrant officers exclude all of it; commissioned officers have a monthly limit. The Savings Deposit Program pays 10% annual interest on up to $10,000 while you are deployed to a designated area.
Connected to: your TSP (combat-zone pay in the traditional balance is tax-exempt) and the SCRA's 6% cap on debt from before active duty.
Deployment money guide → DFAS: special pays →Leaving or retiring
Two numbers matter on the way out: what a civilian salary has to be to match your take-home, and what your pension is worth if you stay to 20. Retired pay is 2.5% of your High-3 per year of service, or 2.0% under the Blended Retirement System.
Connected to: the TSP, VA disability pay, and TRICARE, which all change when you leave.
Military vs civilian pay → Retired pay estimator → FERS buy-back calculator → Military retirees hub →Who to ask
Ask StandWatch
How StandWatch works
StandWatch is built on a simple promise: tell the military community the truth about their money, even when the truth is "you're already in good shape, do nothing."
- StandWatch is free for the military community. It is founder-funded today and designed to be funded by clearly disclosed affiliate partnerships and advertising, not by selling your data and not by charging you.
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- We build our guides from primary sources. Material facts carry a source. Figures carry a date.
- We check carefully and we can still miss something, so the official source is the final authority.
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Sources
DFAS: pay tables, BAS, understanding your pay, special pays, Family Separation Allowance, Savings Deposit Program. DTMO BAH lookup. IRS combat zone exclusion. Justice Department, Servicemembers Civil Relief Act. The 2027 figures and their sources are on the 2027 pay chart, the deployment figures and dates on the deployment money guide, and the paydays on the pay dates page.
