Military vs. civilian pay: what a civilian job has to pay to match

Special pay is anything taxable on top of basic pay (SDAP, sea pay, flight pay, hazardous duty, a bonus spread over the year). Tax-free allowances are COLA, family separation allowance, or an OHA difference. The clothing allowance fills in with the FY2026 standard replacement rate from the DFAS table for your service when you pick an enlisted grade (Coast Guard is not on the DFAS table: enter yours); edit it if your LES shows a different amount.

A civilian salary does not change with family size. Military pay does: BAH steps up to the with-dependents rate, and a family on TRICARE Prime pays no premium. Pick "Spouse or children" above and enter the with-dependents BAH so both sides count the family.

Sources and assumptions. Basic pay: DFAS 2026 pay tables as carried on the StandWatch pay chart. BAS: DFAS, $476.95 enlisted and $328.48 officer per month (2026). BAH: your figure from the DTMO lookup, with or without dependents as you select. Clothing: FY2026 standard clothing replacement allowances, effective October 1, 2025, from the DFAS table (Army $613.19 men and $610.00 women, Navy $615.60 and $619.20, Air Force $591.60 and $610.20, Marine Corps $842.76 and $847.32, Space Force $656.28 and $700.22; first-term members get the lower basic rate); uniform allowances are excluded from income per IRS Publication 3. Federal tax: 2026 standard deduction and brackets per IRS Revenue Procedure 2025-32 ($16,100 single, $32,200 joint), applied to basic pay and special pay on the military side and to salary on the civilian side, no other deductions. Child tax credit: $2,200 per qualifying child for 2026 with up to $1,700 refundable (Rev. Proc. 2025-32 section 3.05), the refundable part limited to 15% of earned income over $2,500, phased out above $200,000 single or $400,000 joint (IRS); the same credit applies on both sides. Social Security and Medicare: 6.2% to the 2026 wage base of $184,500 plus 1.45%, on basic and special pay for the member and on all wages for the civilian. Health: TRICARE Prime active-duty family enrollment fee $0, deductible $0, and network copays $0 for 2026 (TRICARE cost comparison); the civilian defaults are the KFF 2025 Employer Health Benefits Survey average worker share of the premium ($1,440 single, $6,850 family) and the average deductible ($1,886 single, among workers with a deductible; $3,118 family, the PPO aggregate), both editable. Retirement: BRS automatic 1% plus up to 4% match on the first 5% you contribute; the civilian match is your entry. State tax is one flat rate you enter. SGLI, leave, commissary, education benefits, and childcare are listed below and not in the math. Estimate, not advice, and not a verdict.

Pension: High-3 at 2.5% per year of service and BRS at 2.0%, times the average of the highest 36 months of basic pay (DoD, Blended Retirement System). The panel uses the 2026 basic pay for the retirement grade at that length of service as the High-3 figure, which is a little high (the average of three years is below the last year) and ignores future raises. Retiree healthcare: TRICARE Prime enrollment fees for retirees from the TRICARE 2026 cost table (Group A $381.96 individual and $765 family, Group B $462.96 and $927; retiree Prime copays of $26 primary care and $39 specialty are not in the math), against the KFF 2025 average total premium for employer coverage ($9,325 single, $26,993 family, employer and worker shares together), used here as the cost of comparable coverage bought without a military retirement. The retired pay estimator runs the full pension with SBP and COLA. Estimate, not advice, and not a verdict.