Rex says
Money math without the spreadsheet headache. Plug in your numbers and I'll show you exactly where the dollars land.
Try a scenario
Click to load — tweak from there.Inputs
Result
Estimated monthly take-home pay
$5,332
Total monthly compensation (pay + allowances)
$6,060
Estimated monthly tax withheld
$378
Total annual compensation
$72,720
Effective tax rate on total compensation
6.2%
Psst — share this and help Rex grow
One click, a permanent link with your numbers baked in.
How to use this
- 1Enter monthly base pay ($).
- 2Enter monthly bah (housing allowance) ($).
- 3Enter monthly bas (subsistence allowance) ($).
- 4Enter effective federal + state tax rate on base pay (%).
- 5Enter monthly tsp contribution ($).
- 6Read your estimated monthly take-home pay on the right — it updates as you type.
- 7Hit Share to keep the scenario or send it to someone.
About this calculator
Military pay isn't just base pay off the chart — Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) and Basic Allowance for Subsistence (BAS) are tax-free allowances that often make up 30-40% of a service member's total compensation, and neither shows up on a W-2 as taxable income. BAH varies by rank, dependency status, and the specific duty station's zip code (higher in expensive markets like San Diego or DC, lower in rural posts), while BAS is a flat rate that differs slightly between enlisted and officers and is meant to cover food costs. This calculator adds base pay, BAH, and BAS together, then estimates take-home by subtracting federal tax withholding only on the taxable base pay portion (allowances are tax-exempt), giving a more accurate picture of total compensation and net pay than base pay alone.
Worked example
Using the values the calculator loads with:
Inputs
- Monthly base pay: 3500 $
- Monthly BAH (housing allowance): 2100 $
- Monthly BAS (subsistence allowance): 460 $
- Effective federal + state tax rate on base pay: 12 %
- Monthly TSP contribution: 350 $
Results
- Estimated monthly take-home pay: $5,332
- Total monthly compensation (pay + allowances): $6,060
- Estimated monthly tax withheld: $378
- Total annual compensation: $72,720
- Effective tax rate on total compensation: 6.2%
What each field means
Inputs
- Monthly base pay ($)
- The monthly base pay used in the calculation, measured in $. Starts at 3500 $ so you have a working example on load.
- Monthly BAH (housing allowance) ($)
- The monthly bah (housing allowance) used in the calculation, measured in $. Starts at 2100 $ so you have a working example on load.
- Monthly BAS (subsistence allowance) ($)
- The monthly bas (subsistence allowance) used in the calculation, measured in $. Starts at 460 $ so you have a working example on load.
- Effective federal + state tax rate on base pay (%)
- The effective federal + state tax rate on base pay used in the calculation, measured in %. Starts at 12 % so you have a working example on load. Accepted range: 0–40 %.
- Monthly TSP contribution ($)
- The monthly tsp contribution used in the calculation, measured in $. Starts at 350 $ so you have a working example on load.
Results
- Estimated monthly take-home pay
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars and shown as the headline result. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Total monthly compensation (pay + allowances)
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Estimated monthly tax withheld
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Total annual compensation
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Effective tax rate on total compensation
- Returned as a percentage. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
FAQ
Why aren't BAH and BAS taxed?
Congress designated both allowances as tax-exempt to ensure service members aren't taxed on money meant to cover housing and food costs, similar to how certain employer-provided benefits are excluded from taxable wages in the civilian world. This exemption significantly boosts effective take-home pay compared to an equivalent all-taxable civilian salary.
Why does my BAH look lower or higher than a friend's at a different base?
BAH rates are set per military housing area based on local rental market data, updated annually, and vary by rank and whether you have dependents. A junior enlisted member with dependents in San Diego will draw a much higher BAH than the same rank in a low-cost-of-living rural duty station.
Does BAH change if I live in government housing?
If you live in on-base government housing, you typically don't receive BAH at all, or receive a reduced 'partial BAH' in some situations — the allowance exists specifically to offset off-base housing costs, so it's forfeited or reduced when housing is provided in kind.
How does this affect Social Security and retirement calculations?
Since BAH and BAS aren't counted as wages for Social Security purposes either, they don't contribute to your Social Security earnings record or FERS-equivalent military retirement calculations, which use base pay only — something to factor in when comparing total military compensation to a civilian job for long-term benefit planning.
Accuracy and limitations
- Results are estimates before tax, fees, and inflation unless an input explicitly covers them.
- Rates are treated as fixed for the whole period — variable-rate products will drift from this projection.
- This is educational maths, not financial advice. Check anything contractual with the lender or your accountant.
Related tools
Cite this calculator
Writing about this topic? Grab a citation — every link helps keep these tools free.
RevenueLab. (2026). Military BAH/BAS Take-Home Calculator. Retrieved from https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/military-bah-bas-takehome
<p>Source: <a href="https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/military-bah-bas-takehome" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Military BAH/BAS Take-Home Calculator — RevenueLab</a> (2026).</p>
Source: [Military BAH/BAS Take-Home Calculator — RevenueLab](https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/military-bah-bas-takehome) (2026).