Military BAH and BAS Income Estimator

How to do it

1. 1
   Enter base pay and BAH

   Type monthly base pay and your BAH from the official calculator.

2. 2
   Choose enlisted or officer

   The BAS rate is taken from the table for your status.

3. 3
   Add other taxable pay

   Enter special pay or other monthly taxable pay if you have any.

4. 4
   Enter your marginal tax rate

   This is used to compute the taxable-equivalent income.

5. 5
   Read the totals

   See monthly and yearly pay, the tax-free share and the civilian salary that matches.

About this tool

Military compensation is more than base pay. Housing (BAH) and subsistence (BAS) allowances are generally not taxed, so they are worth more than the same amount of civilian salary. This calculator adds your base pay, your BAH and the BAS rate for enlisted members or officers, and shows total monthly and yearly pay, the share that is tax-free, the tax you save on the allowances and the civilian salary needed to match. BAH depends on rank, location and dependents, so you enter your own rate from the official BAH calculator; the BAS rates are in an editable table.

Who this is for Service members comparing a military offer with a civilian job, families planning a move, and recruiters or counselors explaining total compensation. It is also useful to see how a change in BAH after a move affects the monthly budget.

The three parts Base pay is taxable and depends on rank and years of service. Basic Allowance for Housing is paid according to the location of your duty station, your pay grade and whether you have dependents; look up the monthly amount in the Defense Travel Management Office calculator and type it in. Basic Allowance for Subsistence is a flat amount: $476.95 a month for enlisted members and $328.48 for officers in 2026.

The tax advantage Because BAH and BAS are not part of taxable income, every dollar of allowance is worth more than a dollar of salary. The calculator divides the tax-free amount by one minus your marginal tax rate to show the taxable salary you would need elsewhere to take home the same amount. The rate you type should be your combined federal and state marginal rate.

Reading the results The top figures are your total monthly pay and the taxable-equivalent monthly pay. The detail shows each component, the yearly totals, the tax-free share of the total and the tax saved on allowances. A bar chart shows the split between base pay, BAH and BAS.

Worked example An enlisted member with $4,200 of base pay, a BAH of $2,100 and BAS of $476.95 receives $6,776.95 a month, or $81,323 a year. The tax-free allowances are $2,576.95 a month, 38 percent of the total. At a 22 percent marginal rate, the taxable equivalent is $4,200 plus $2,576.95 divided by 0.78, about $7,503.78 a month.

Limits Special pays, bonuses, state tax rules for military and the exact BAH rate with dependents are not calculated here. This is an educational estimate, not tax advice.

Worked example

With base pay of $4,200, BAH of $2,100 and enlisted BAS, total monthly pay is $6,776.95 and, at a 22 percent marginal tax rate, the taxable equivalent is $7,503.78 a month.