Military Family Budget Calculator
Budget with base pay, BAH, BAS allowances, TSP contributions, and tax-free income benefits.
About this calculator
This calculator reflects a feature unique to military compensation: two of your three pay components, Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) and Basic Allowance for Subsistence (BAS), are tax-free, while base pay is taxed like ordinary income. It applies a simplified flat 12% federal tax rate to base pay only — a rough stand-in for the lower brackets typical of enlisted and junior-officer pay, not an exact calculation of your real tax liability, which depends on rank, filing status, state, and combat-zone exclusions. After estimated tax, it subtracts your Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) contribution — the military's version of a 401(k) — to arrive at take-home pay.
For budgeting, it assumes your BAH is sized to cover housing (a reasonable starting assumption since BAH rates are set by the Department of Defense specifically to match local housing costs for your rank and station), and estimates a food budget as BAS plus $150 per dependent. It recommends saving 15% of take-home pay, with whatever remains after housing, food, and that savings target reported as discretionary income. Because the tax rate is a flat simplification and doesn't account for combat pay tax exclusions, state tax variation, or actual withholding, treat the take-home figure as an estimate for planning purposes — check your Leave and Earnings Statement (LES) for your real net pay.
Financial Disclaimer
This calculator is for educational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Results are estimates based on the inputs provided. Consult a qualified financial advisor before making investment or financial planning decisions.
Inputs
Results
Total monthly pay ($)
$5,700.00
How to Use This Calculator
- Enter base pay, Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH), and Basic Allowance for Subsistence (BAS) per month.
- Enter the number of dependents and the TSP contribution percentage of base pay.
- Review total monthly pay and tax-free income (BAH plus BAS combined).
- Check take-home pay after estimated taxes and the TSP contribution, along with the monthly TSP amount.
- Compare the housing budget (set to BAH) against the discretionary budget left after housing, food, and savings.
How the result changes with Base pay/month ($)
| Base pay/month ($) | Total monthly pay ($) |
|---|---|
| 1,750 | $3,950.00 |
| 2,625 | $4,825.00 |
| 5,250 | $7,450.00 |
| 8,750 | $10,950.00 |
What each input means
- Base pay/month ($)
- Monthly base pay (taxable).
- BAH allowance/month ($)
- Basic Allowance for Housing (tax-free).
- BAS allowance/month ($)
- Basic Allowance for Subsistence (tax-free).
- Number of dependents
- Spouse and children.
- TSP contribution (%)
- Thrift Savings Plan contribution % of base pay.
What each result means
- Total monthly pay ($)
- Base pay plus all allowances.
- Take-home pay ($)
- After taxes and TSP contribution.
- Tax-free income ($)
- BAH and BAS combined (not taxed).
- TSP contribution ($)
- Monthly retirement savings.
- Housing budget ($)
- BAH covers housing costs.
- Discretionary budget ($)
- Available after housing, food, savings.
How this is calculated
Worked example, using the default values
- Identify Input Parameters4 parametersBase pay/month ($) = 3500, BAH allowance/month ($) = 1800, BAS allowance/month ($) = 400, Number of dependents = 2 = 5 input(s) provided
- Calculate Total monthly payTotal monthly pay = basePay + bahAllowance + basAllowance5700 = $5,700
- Calculate Take-home payTake-home pay = netPay - tspMonthly5105 = $5,105
- Calculate Tax-free incomeTax-free income = bahAllowance + basAllowance2200 = $2,200
Engine last updated . Checked against 2 independently-derived tests — how we verify calculators. Built by Paul Gunder, a software engineer, not a licensed financial, medical, or legal professional.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why are BAH and BAS excluded from the tax calculation?
The calculator only applies its estimated 12% tax rate to base pay — BAH (housing allowance) and BAS (subsistence allowance) are added to total pay but left out of the taxable-income figure entirely, since both allowances are genuinely tax-free under military pay rules, unlike base pay which is taxed like ordinary income.
How is the food budget estimated?
It adds your entered BAS allowance to $150 per dependent you enter, so a family with two dependents would see $300 added on top of BAS. This isn't derived from your actual grocery spending — it's a flat per-dependent estimate layered onto the allowance meant to cover food costs.
Does the calculator assume my actual tax rate, or something simplified?
It applies a flat 12% rate to base pay only, described as a rough stand-in for the lower tax brackets typical of enlisted and junior-officer pay — not your actual tax liability, which depends on your rank, filing status, state of legal residence, and any combat-zone tax exclusions. Check your Leave and Earnings Statement (LES) for your real net pay.
How does the discretionary budget get calculated?
After take-home pay is reduced by the housing budget (set equal to your BAH), the food budget (BAS plus the per-dependent amount), and a savings target (15% of take-home pay), whatever remains is reported as discretionary budget, with a minimum of $0 if those three categories exceed take-home pay.
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