The Military Wallet
By Jon Rehagen ·
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730/25 Update: The House Armed Services Committee and Senate Committed on Armed Services have approved their versions of the defense spending bill. The committee reviews follow the White House’s budget proposal, which is calling for a 3.8% military pay raise for all servicemembers.
We also have a bit of an update on the BAH outlook. Both versions of the NDAA that passed through committee in each chamber call for the DoD to use a pilot program that would affect how it is calculated. Currently, BAH rates are determined by rank and zip code. So we’re definitely going to keep an eye out on that program and try to learn more details about how it would determine allowances.
The following charts will show what the proposed 3.8% increase would look like for all servicemembers in all branches.
Officers serving in combat zones receive special pay privileges. Those ranking 0-1 and above can eliminate portions of their pay from taxes due to the dangerous nature of their role. You can calculate your full paycheck by adding your “hostile fire or imminent danger” pay to your basic pay rate.
Notably, officers who are prior enlisted may receive an increased pay rate based on their time spent in service, among other specifications. Consult the Department of Defense’s Financial Management Regulations for more in-depth information regarding pay rates.
So what would that 2026 pay increase look like in your take home pay per month?
The Military Wallet’s methodology:
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Fortunately, the military follows a consistent pay schedule from year to year, with paychecks usually going out on the 1st and 15th of each month, except for when these dates fall on weekends or holidays.
Want a peek at exactly when you can expect your paycheck throughout the year? Here are the Military Pay Dates for Active-Duty Paychecks.
Lawmakers are now looking through the budget request. The biggest thing that needs to happen is talks about what in the White House’s proposal lawmakers will sign off on, and what they won’t. Fortunately for the military community, pay raises are rarely disputed, so it’s easy to fathom that this pay raise, maybe a few tenths of a percentage point one way or the other, will be what servicemembers see in 2026.
Usually the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) is signed in the late summer, early fall. I’d believe that is still a fair expectation for this year since both the White House and Congress are controlled by the same party. Even if the two weren’t the same party, the NDAA is usually the easiest budget bill to pass Congress because supporting the troops and their pay is a bipartisan effort.
Earlier this spring, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth tweeted that the budget would be more than $1 trillion, which would be a first in U.S. history. This latest proposal from the White House shows that was true.
Thank you Mr. President!
COMING SOON: the first TRILLION dollar @DeptofDefense budget.
President @realDonaldTrump is rebuilding our military — and FAST.
(PS: we intend to spend every taxpayer dollar wisely — on lethality and readiness) pic.twitter.com/WcZlNAHgDG
Usually this part of the budget process is the least-painful for the White House and lawmakers because both sides tend to want the best for the country’s defense. Also in the White House’s favor this year, Congress is a Republican majority this year, so they’ll likely run into very little push back on budgetary issues related to defense.
I’d expect a budget deal on defense, known as the NDAA, to be signed by the fall at the very latest this year.
This latest proposal doesn’t have any request for Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) and Basic Allowance for Subsistence (BAS) increases. This projection will be even more difficult to predict. For perspective, the last proposal for the 2025 defense budget called for a 4.5% increase to both. However BAH rates jumped 5.4% and BAS increased by only 1.2%.
So it’s hard to really figure what lawmakers will put an emphasis on this time. It would even be easier to possibly predict if both allowances had decreased, or increased, because we could get an idea of how lawmakers value each allowance.
First years of new administrations can always be a bit tricky for predicting military pay increases, mainly because defense priorities could be different than previous administrations. The 3.8% increase is the starting point, I suspect it will be close the end point. Now we just have to see what lawmakers decide to vote on, and pass.
I’ll be updating this content as frequently as news drops on budgetary talks, so be sure to bookmark this page, or come back periodically to see any updates. I will also make sure this gets sent out in our newsletter!
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Posted In: Featured Military Pay
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says
will the retired soldier get a raise in 2026 next year +
says
Hello Alphonso, the government addresses military retirement pay raises each year. Raises are based on Cost of Living Adjustments (COLA). The raise amount is usually announced in October or November after it has been determined. Best wishes!
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Advertiser Disclosure: The Military Wallet and Three Creeks Media, LLC, its parent and affiliate companies, may receive compensation through advertising placements on The Military Wallet. For any rankings or lists on this site, The Military Wallet may receive compensation from the companies being ranked; however, this compensation does not affect how, where, and in what order products and companies appear in the rankings and lists. If a ranking or list has a company noted to be a “partner,” the indicated company is a corporate affiliate of The Military Wallet. No tables, rankings, or lists are fully comprehensive and do not include all companies or available products. You can read more about our card rating methodology here.
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