Methodology

Every number on this site is read from a published government table. Nothing is estimated, smoothed, modeled, or copied from another calculator. This page names the source behind each one so you can check it yourself.

Who maintains it

Owen Barrett builds and maintains MilitaryCalc. His background is software and personal finance rather than military service, which is why nothing on this site is estimated or modeled: every figure is read straight from a published DoD, DFAS or VA table, and the methodology page names the exact source file behind each calculator. Corrections go to the contact page and a wrong rate is fixed the same week it is reported.

Sources, calculator by calculator

BAH

Each December, when DTMO publishes the next year

DoD Defense Travel Management Office, BAH-ASCII rate files

339 housing areas, 27 paygrades, with and without dependents, 2023 through 2026. Parsed from the published ASCII files, never retyped.

BAH by ZIP

With the annual BAH release

DTMO ZIP-to-MHA crosswalk

40,959 ZIP codes resolved to a military housing area in the browser, so nothing about your location is sent anywhere.

Base pay

January, after the annual pay raise takes effect

DFAS military pay tables

Monthly basic pay by paygrade and years of service.

BAS

January

DFAS subsistence allowance tables

Separate enlisted and officer rates.

GI Bill

Checked automatically every day; the site rebuilds when VA changes a figure

VA.gov Post-9/11 (Chapter 33) rate page

Tuition caps, book stipend and monthly housing allowance for the current academic year.

VA disability

Each December, with the COLA announcement

VA.gov compensation rate tables

Every rating from 10% to 100% by dependent status, including the 2026 COLA.

VA loan

When VA revises the schedule

VA funding fee schedule

Funding fee by down payment, service type and first or subsequent use.

TSP

Each November, with the IRS limit announcement

TSP.gov contribution limits and the BRS match schedule

Elective deferral and catch-up limits, agency match tiers.

Retirement

When DoD revises a formula

militarypay.defense.gov retirement formulas

High-3 and Blended Retirement System multipliers, including the BRS lump-sum options.

CONUS COLA and combat pay

With each DoD publication

DTMO COLA tables and the DoD special and incentive pay schedule

Location-based COLA index and hostile fire / imminent danger pay.

How the tables get here

The DoD publishes BAH as fixed-width ASCII files. A parser in this repository reads those files directly into the site's data, so a rate cannot be mistyped on the way in. The GI Bill rates are re-read from VA.gov once a day by an automated job, and the site rebuilds itself if a figure has changed.

When a year is superseded the old tables stay on the site rather than being deleted, which is why each housing area shows a four-year history instead of only the current rate.

What this site is not

Not affiliated with the Department of Defense, the VA, or any branch of service.
Not a lender, not a claims agent, and not a place that sells your details to either.
Not a substitute for your LES or a VA award letter - those are the record, this is the math.