Military to Civilian Pay Calculator
Find the civilian salary you would need to keep the same after-tax income as your military pay. Enter your grade, years of service, BAH and filing status. The calculator takes your 2026 basic pay, BAH and BAS, works out the federal income tax and FICA you pay, then solves for the civilian salary that leaves the same amount after the same taxes. For your monthly take-home pay, use the military pay calculator.
Maintained by Archie Chang · Rates and rules checked against DFAS, DoD, IRS, SSA and VA October 25, 2026 · Methodology & sources
Your military pay, to compare
DFAS bands are "over N": exactly 4 years is in "Over 3 to 4 years", and 4 years and 1 day is in "Over 4 to 6 years".
Married filing separately is not supported.
Extra pays are amounts you enter from your LES. Nothing is added automatically for combat zone tax exclusion; see the deployment pay calculator.
Example: E-5 and O-3 at San Diego 92101 with dependents
An E-5 with 5 years of service, filing single, has $100,785 a year in basic pay, BAH ($3,975 a month) and BAS. After $3,503 of federal income tax and $3,623 of FICA, that leaves $93,658. A civilian filing single needs a salary of about $120,581 to keep $93,658 after $17,698 of federal income tax and $9,224 of FICA.
An O-3 with 6 years of service, filing jointly, has $146,750 a year in cash pay ($4,518 a month BAH) and $133,702 after tax. The matching civilian salary is about $164,949. Both are estimates with no state tax and no value placed on benefits.
How the civilian equivalent is calculated
- Military cash pay = basic pay from the 2026 pay chart + BAH ( by ZIP code) + BAS + extra pays you enter.
- Subtract federal income tax (2026 standard deduction and brackets, on basic pay and taxable extras only) and FICA on the same pay. BAH and BAS are not taxed.
- Find the civilian salary where salary minus 2026 federal income tax and FICA equals that same after-tax amount. After-tax income only rises as salary rises, so the answer is unique.
- Compared with RMC, which grosses up only for federal income tax, the civilian salary is higher mainly because FICA applies to a civilian's whole salary, plus any extra pays you entered. State tax is not included in either.
Not included: state income tax, health care, retirement and TSP matching, and other benefits. See TSP contribution limits, deployment pay and military pay dates.
Military to civilian pay questions
How do I convert military pay to a civilian salary?
Add up your cash pay (basic pay, BAH, BAS and any extra pays), subtract the federal income tax and FICA you pay, and then find the civilian salary that leaves the same amount after the same taxes. Because BAH and BAS are not taxed and civilian pay is taxed in full, the civilian salary has to be higher than your cash pay. This calculator does the solve for you with the same engine as the military pay calculator.
How much civilian salary equals E-5 or O-3 military pay?
With 2026 tables, San Diego 92101 BAH with dependents ($3,975 for an E-5, $4,518 for an O-3) and no extra pays: an E-5 with over 4 years filing single needs about $120,581 a year, and an O-3 with 6 years filing jointly needs about $164,949 a year. These are our estimates under the stated assumptions, not published figures.
What is Regular Military Compensation (RMC)?
DoD defines RMC as basic pay plus BAH plus BAS plus the federal tax advantage of the untaxed allowances (37 U.S.C. 101(25)), figured as the extra income a member would need to keep the same take-home pay if the allowances were taxable (GAO-04-721R). For the E-5 example it is about $113,400 a year. The civilian equivalent here is higher ($120,581) because RMC grosses up only for federal income tax, while a civilian also pays Social Security and Medicare on the whole salary and a member pays them only on basic pay and taxable extra pays. Extra pays you enter widen the gap further.
What does the calculator leave out?
State income tax, health care (TRICARE), the military retirement benefit or TSP matching, the GI Bill, commissary and exchange savings, free or subsidized housing in government quarters, and every other benefit. Those can be worth thousands of dollars a year, so a civilian offer needs its own comparison of benefits. TSP and SGLI are left out of both sides because they are choices, not taxes.
Does the calculator use my actual civilian taxes?
It uses the 2026 federal brackets and standard deduction for the filing status you choose, plus Social Security and Medicare. It is an estimate from annual tax with no credits, no itemized deductions, no pre-tax benefits such as a civilian 401(k) or health premiums, and no state or local income tax. In a state with income tax the civilian salary needed would be higher.
Is BAH really untaxed?
Yes. IRS Publication 3 lists BAH and BAS among the government pay items excluded from gross income, while basic pay is included. That is the source of the tax advantage in RMC.
Which BAH should I use?
Use the BAH for the ZIP code of your permanent duty station, your pay grade and your dependency status. The calculator looks it up from DoD's 2026 files, or you can enter the amount from your LES. If you live in government quarters, choose no BAH and the equivalent salary will not count housing, so add the value of the housing yourself.
Are extra pays included in the match?
Only the amounts you type in. Enter taxable special pays and non-taxable pays such as family separation allowance in the optional boxes and the equivalent salary rises to match them. Nothing is added automatically for combat zone tax exclusion; the deployment pay calculator covers that.