National Guard Pay Calculator 2026: Drill and AT Pay
Estimate National Guard and Reserve pay by month and by year. Pick your grade and years of service, enter your drill periods, annual training days and any extra duty days, and the calculator uses the 2026 DFAS basic pay rates. The same drill pay applies to the Army National Guard, Air National Guard and the Reserve components. See every rate in the drill pay chart 2026, or active duty basic pay in the military pay chart 2026.
Maintained by Archie Chang · DFAS drill pay tables and rules checked October 25, 2026 · Methodology & sources
National Guard and Reserve pay calculator
- Pay for 1 drill
- $143.33
- Drill pay per month
- $573.32
- Drill pay per year
- $6,879.84
- Monthly basic pay for the grade (2026 table)
- $4,299.90
- Drill pay: 48 drills in the year
- $6,879.84
- Extra drills
- $0.00
- Annual training basic pay (15 days)
- $2,149.95
- Extra active duty days basic pay
- $0.00
- BAS estimate (15 days)
- $0.00
- Housing allowance (as entered)
- $0.00
- Estimated total for the year, before taxes
- $9,029.79
The number of paid drills per year is limited by your service's rules (37 U.S.C. 206 lets the Secretary concerned set limits), so enter what your unit schedules and pays. Basic pay comes from the 2026 DFAS table. The BAS line is an estimate and housing is only what you enter. Drill pay, annual training pay and these allowances are not reduced for taxes here; your LES or finance office is the record of what you are paid.
How Guard and Reserve pay is figured
Drill pay. For each inactive-duty training period (a drill), a member is paid 1/30 of the monthly basic pay of the same grade and years of service (37 U.S.C. 206). A weekend is usually 4 drill periods, so 4 drills is four times the pay for 1 drill. For an E-5 with over 8 years of service in 2026, 1 drill is $143.33 and a 4-drill weekend is $573.32.
Annual training (AT). Training duty on orders is paid as active duty, under 37 U.S.C. 204, at a daily rate of 1/30 of monthly basic pay per DoD FMR Vol. 7A Ch. 1. The calculator starts with 15 days because that is a common planning figure, not a rule: your unit sets the number, so replace it with the days on your orders. At the E-5 example, 15 days of basic pay is $2,149.95.
Years of service. Use cumulative years of service for pay purposes, the DFAS column header, not only time in the Guard. If you are unsure what to enter, ask your unit pay office.
Allowances on orders. BAS is estimated here as the monthly rate divided by 30 for each day on orders, if you tick the box; your orders and meal arrangements decide what you are actually paid. Housing during orders of 30 days or less is a separate DoD rate rather than the locality BAH, unless the orders support a contingency operation, which gets the active duty rate (37 U.S.C. 403(g)), so enter the amount yourself. For the active duty rates, see BAS rates and the BAH calculator.
Not included. Taxes, special and incentive pays, bonuses, travel and per diem, and retirement points. For a retired-pay estimate, start with the military retirement pay calculator.
National Guard pay questions
How much does the National Guard pay per drill weekend?
Each drill period pays 1/30 of a month of basic pay for your grade and years of service, and a weekend is usually 4 drill periods. Under the DFAS 2026 drill pay tables, an E-5 with over 8 years of service is paid $143.33 for 1 drill and $573.32 for 4 drills.
How is National Guard and Reserve drill pay calculated?
By law, a Guard or Reserve member is paid at the rate of 1/30 of the basic pay of a member of the same grade on active duty for each inactive-duty training period (37 U.S.C. 206). DFAS rounds that to the cent and prints the amounts for 1 drill and 4 drills.
How is annual training pay calculated?
Annual training is paid as active duty: basic pay under 37 U.S.C. 204, at a daily rate of 1/30 of monthly basic pay per DoD FMR Vol. 7A Ch. 1. Allowances such as BAS and BAH depend on your orders; the calculator adds BAS only as an estimate and housing only as an amount you enter.
Do drill weekends include BAH or BAS?
Drill pay is basic pay only. For enlisted reservists who are not entitled to basic pay under 37 U.S.C. 204, the Secretary concerned may provide rations in kind when duty periods total at least 8 hours in a day, and a commutation when rations in kind are not available (37 U.S.C. 402). BAS and BAH are not part of the DFAS drill pay amounts.
Which housing allowance applies on annual training orders?
For orders of more than 30 days, a reservist gets the same BAH as a similar active duty member. For orders of 30 days or less that are not in support of a contingency operation, the law has the Secretary of Defense set a separate rate (37 U.S.C. 403(g)); orders of 30 days or less in support of a contingency operation get the active duty rate. This calculator does not have that rate, so you enter the amount from your orders or finance office.
Is drill pay taxable?
Drill pay is military pay and is generally taxable income. This page does not compute tax; see IRS Publication 3 for the military rules and your LES for what is withheld.