Military compensation has more moving parts than a civilian salary: a pay table by rank and years, tax-free allowances, drill pay for the Guard and Reserve, and two retirement systems. Here is each piece for 2026, with the official numbers and a calculator for the part you need.
Basic pay is set by grade and years of service in a table that took effect January 1, 2026, under the President’s December 18, 2025 pay order. The military pay calculator looks up any grade and year. A few examples, with BAS added:
| Grade and service | Basic pay a month | With BAS | Per year |
|---|---|---|---|
| E-1 (4+ months) | $2,407.20 | $2,884.15 | $34,609.80 |
| E-4, 3 years | $3,482.40 | $3,959.35 | $47,512.20 |
| E-5, 6 years | $4,110.00 | $4,586.95 | $55,043.40 |
| E-7, 20 years | $6,245.70 | $6,722.65 | $80,671.80 |
| O-1, under 2 | $4,150.20 | $4,478.68 | $53,744.16 |
| O-3, 4 years | $7,382.70 | $7,711.18 | $92,534.16 |
| O-5, 20 years | $12,032.70 | $12,361.18 | $148,334.16 |
BAS, the food allowance, is $476.95 a month for enlisted members and $328.48 for officers in 2026. Pay at the top is capped: $18,999.90 a month for generals and admirals and $15,408.30 for O-6 and below.
Most members also receive BAH, a housing allowance that depends on duty station, grade and dependents; the Defense Travel Management Office publishes the rates by duty location. IRS Publication 3 lists both BAH and BAS as excluded from income, so only basic pay and taxable special pays are taxed. That is why an E-4 with 3 years taking home $3,959.35 a month in basic pay and BAS is better off than a civilian with the same gross pay.
A drill pays 1/30 of the monthly basic pay for your grade and years (37 U.S.C. 206), and service rules allow at most two drills a day, so a two-day weekend is four drills. An E-4 with 2 years earns $110.10 per drill and $440.40 per weekend. The drill pay calculator adds the year’s 48 drills and annual training.
Members who joined before 2018 and didn’t opt in to the Blended Retirement System earn 2.5% of their High-3 average (highest 36 months of basic pay) per year of service; BRS members earn 2.0%. For an E-7 retiring at 20 with a High-3 of about $6,118.50 (estimated from the 2026 table), that is $3,059.25 a month under High-3 and $2,447.40 under BRS. The military retirement calculator compares the two and shows REDUX, the older plan with a $30,000 bonus at 15 years and a lower multiplier before 62.
BRS makes up for the smaller pension in three ways, which the BRS calculator works out:
To see how those TSP contributions grow, use the TSP calculator.
It depends on grade and years of service: from $2,407.20 a month for an E-1 with 4 months or more to the $18,999.90 cap for senior generals and admirals, in the table effective January 1, 2026.
No. IRS Publication 3 lists both as excluded from income; basic pay is taxable.
Each drill pays 1/30 of monthly basic pay for your grade and years of service, and a two-day weekend is usually four drills.
High-3 pays 2.5% of your highest 36-month average basic pay per year of service; BRS pays 2.0% but adds TSP contributions of up to 5%, continuation pay and a lump-sum option.
$476.95 a month for enlisted members and $328.48 for officers.