United States · Military and federal pay 2026
Military and federal pay 2026
Military basic pay rose 3.8% on January 1, 2026: an E-1 gets $2,407.20 a month, and allowances for housing (BAH) and food (BAS, $476.95 for enlisted members) come on top, not taxed. Federal civilians on the GS scale get up to $197,200.
Every figure comes from the published tables, with a date and a source. Pick a calculator or a chart:
Calculators and charts
- Military pay calculator Basic pay, BAH, BAS and take-home pay for your rank, years of service, ZIP code and home state.
- Military pay chart 2026 Monthly basic pay for every grade, E-1 to O-10, at every length of service.
- BAH calculator Your 2026 housing allowance from a ZIP code, pay grade and dependents, with a second ZIP to compare.
- BAH rates by location All 338 housing areas, each with its 24 grades with and without dependents.
- GS pay scale 2026 The General Schedule base table and every locality’s own table.
- GS pay calculator Salary and take-home pay for a GS grade, step and locality.
- VA disability calculator Your combined rating with VA math, and the monthly payment for your household.
What are the key military pay figures for 2026?
- Basic pay rose 3.8% on January 1, 2026. E-1: $2,407.20 a month; O-7 to O-10 are capped at $18,999.90.
- BAS: $476.95 a month for enlisted members, $328.48 for officers.
- BAH: 338 housing areas; an E-5 with dependents gets $2,061 a month in the middle one.
- GS: locality pay in 58 areas; the pay cap is $197,200 a year.
- VA disability: $180.42 a month at 10% to $3,938.58 at 100% for a veteran alone, from December 1, 2025.
The same facts, one per line with their sources, for AI tools and anyone quoting them: military and federal pay data.
How do military and federal pay work?
- BAH explained: how BAH works in 2026 How the Basic Allowance for Housing is set in 2026: your duty station’s ZIP code, your grade and dependents, across 338 housing areas, and why it is not taxed.
- GS pay explained: grades and locality pay How General Schedule pay works in 2026: grades and steps, locality pay of 17.06% to 46.34%, the $197,200 pay cap and the 2027 freeze plan.
- VA math explained: combined ratings How VA combines disability ratings under 38 CFR 4.25: why 50% and 30% make 70%, not 80%, with the rounding rule and worked examples from the regulation.
Questions about military and federal pay
How much did military pay go up in 2026?
3.8% for every grade on January 1, 2026. An E-1 now gets $2,407.20 a month in basic pay.
What is BAS in 2026?
$476.95 a month for enlisted members and $328.48 for officers, not taxed.
What is the average BAH?
There is no single figure: BAH depends on the ZIP code, grade and dependents. For an E-5 with dependents, the middle of DTMO’s 338 housing areas is $2,061 a month in 2026.
What is the GS pay cap in 2026?
$197,200 a year. Locality pay runs from 17.06% in the Rest of U.S. area upward, in 58 areas.
Is there a 2027 military pay raise?
Proposed, not final: 7% for E-1 to E-5, 6% for E-6 to O-3 and 5% for O-4 and above in the President’s plan, and 3.6% for all grades in the Senate committee’s bill.
Where do these figures come from?
From the tables DFAS, DTMO, OPM and VA publish, copied into our own tables and checked on October 7, 2026, each with its source. This site is independent: not affiliated with any of those agencies.