We’ve all heard people say that some soldiers marry a “random” girl just for the higher pay or they have children expecting a huge increase in their paycheck. Where do these rumors start? So, here I am to debunk the myth!

Marriage

When a soldier gets married, this authorizes him (in most cases) to live off post. At the very least, he’ll be authorized family housing on post. At this point, he either begins to receive BAH (housing allowance) or lives in “free” housing on post. So the housing allowance is a definite increase. But keep in mind, it also comes with an increase in bills since he’s now paying a mortgage or rent along with utilities, etc. so in most case it is a wash. If the soldier was already living off post and receiving BAH, he will receive an increase when he marries as he will then receive BAH at the “with dependents” rate. For our duty station, the increase is roughly $150.

When the soldier moves out of the barracks and into housing (on or off post), he will no longer be eating in the chow hall on the Army’s dime. Instead, he will receive BAS since the Army is no longer providing “three squares a day”. Once again, this is an increase in pay and once again, it comes with an increase in expense…so a wash.

There is no increase in base pay for extra dependents. Unless the soldier is living overseas, BAH and BAS are the only pays that will change when a soldier adds his first dependent. Again, have I mentioned how much I hate the word dependent?

I should also mention that if a soldier who is married deploys or is in training for more than 30 days, he will receive family separation allowance, which is currently $250 a month. So there’s your increase in pay. The catch is you have to live without your husband to get it!

Children

If the soldier is already married when he has children, there will be no increases to his pay. No increase in base pay, no increase in BAH and no increase in BAS. NONE. The Army does not pay additional for additional dependents beyond the first.

If the soldier is stationed overseas, pay rates can differ based on his home country and there may be special allowances. This information provided above assumes the soldier is stationed CONUS.

I’m willing to bet I missed something when laying out the pay differences. So if you notice an error, by all means let me know!

I think I receive more emails about pay than anything else. So I’m going to try to address some of the most common questions. The pay rates given below are based on 2010 rates. All of these are assuming the soldier is married, lives off post and is stationed CONUS. If your soldier is single or lives on post, he will not receive BAH.

1.      Will he get paid in basic training? If so, how much?

While your soldier is in basic, he will receive base pay based on his grade/rank. For instance, the base pay for an E-3 is $1,705.80. This pay is taxable while he is in training or at his duty station. If he is married, he will also receive BAH (housing) based on where the wife lives as well as FSA (family separation allowance). BAH can vary greatly depending on location. You can look up rates online – it is based on rank, zip code and whether there are dependents. FSA is $250/month and begins after the 30^th day of separation. Be aware that FSA is normally $100/month but since the war in Iraq started, it has been $250/month. Allowances are NOT taxable regardless of whether he is in training, at his duty station or deployed.

2.      How long will it take to get paid for the first time?

Your soldier’s pay will be direct deposited into his bank account on the 1^st and 15^th of each month. Some always seems to get the pay a few days ahead of time while others don’t receive it until the exact day. This largely depends on your bank. It will generally be about six weeks before he receives his first paycheck. Some may receive it sooner and some later but six weeks is a general rule of thumb.

3.      What are clothing allowances?

Each year, your soldier will receive a clothing allowance. This is generally paid around his anniversary date. In 2010, a male with less than three years of service would receive $370.80.  This allowance is to replace any uniforms, etc.

4.      What pay will he receive once he is assigned to his duty station?

He will receive his base pay, BAS (food) and BAH. BAS in 2010 is $323.87. This allowance is not taxable. He may also be entitled to special pays such as airborne (commonly referred to as jump pay) which is an additional $150/month. Special pays are based on his MOS and any additional training he has received.

5.      When will we receive his bonus?

Most people were told that their soldier would receive his bonus as soon as his training was complete. I know exactly ZERO people who have had it actually happen that way. His bonus is broken up over the time of his enlistment. He is eligible to receive up to $7,000 as his first payment. Any remaining bonus will be divided among the rest of his years of service. So if his bonus is $13,000 with a four year enlistment – he will receive $7,000 the first year and $2,000 per year thereafter. We have received my husband’s bonus at the first of each year, others receive it close to his anniversary date. The key – don’t count on it until its in your hands!

And remember, this bonus is taxable! If he receives a bonus while he is deployed, it is generally not taxable. But the bonus must be awarded overseas. For instance, if when it is time to receive his enlistment bonus he happens to be deployed, it will be taxed. Because technically when he was awarded the bonus (at the time of enlistment) he was stateside. If he re-enlists when he is overseas, it generally is not taxable because he earned the bonus while deployed.

6.      What extra pay will he be awarded when he is deployed?

First, his pay is not taxable when he is overseas (state and federal). He will continue to receive his normal pay (base, BAS, BAH and any special pays). In addition, after 30 days, he will receive separation pay of $250 if he is married. He will also receive imminent danger/hazardous duty pay of $225 as well as location pay of $100. There have been many rumors that location pay was increasing to $750. While there is a bill for it, there is no sign that it will pass. The max location pay available now is $300 and the majority of soldiers only receive $100 so even if it increases to $750, its unlikely we’ll see that much of an increase. I know some who basically already had that money spent believing he would receive that much when he deployed and were disappointed to say the least when it didn’t show up. Don’t spend your money before you get it!

7. When will he receive raises?

While there is no guarantee, there is typically a cost of living raise in January of each year. Over the past few years, it has been in the 2.5-4% range. In addition, he will have an increase in pay when he is promoted to a new rank as well as with years of service (2nd year, 3rd year, 4th year and every even year after that).

The LES (Leave Earnings Statement) is basically his pay stub. He can elect to receive the paper stub or just view it online at https://mypay.dfas.mil/mypay.aspx. You must have his social security number and pin in order to login and see his LES. The site can give you further details about how to get this if you don’t have it.

To me, the way the system works is backwards. On the 15^th of the month, the LES has no detail just the amount paid. On the last day of the month is when his LES will have the breakdown of his pay. If his paycheck is the same every month, this is no problem. However, when he is in training, has just arrived at a new post or is deployed, he will rarely get two paychecks that are the same. Sometimes, the amounts vary greatly. You will have no idea what you are getting paid for until the end of the month. One word of advice: If his paycheck suddenly becomes larger, do not spend the money until you know that it is definitely yours to spend. The Army will quickly debit your account when they realize they have made a mistake. In fact they will debit your account to get their money back much quicker than they will credit your account with money they owe you.

On to the LES:

ID Row:

Soldier’s Name, SS#, Grade (Rank), Pay Date, Years of Service, ETS (date his current enlistment will end), Branch, ADSN/DSSN (number used to identify the finance office), Period Covered (period he is being paid for)

Entitlements: his income

Base pay: this is his base pay (which is taxable) and is dependent on his rank. For instance, base pay for E3 is $1,456 (as of 2005). This pay is generally not taxable if he is deployed (certain circumstances apply)

BAS: Basic allowance for subsistence (food). This is also non taxable.

BAH: Housing allowance (non-taxable). The amount is determined based on dependents and the zip code. Note that whether you are married with no kids or married with ten kids, the BAH remains the same.

Special pay: this could be parachute pay, diving pay, etc. Generally, this pay results from your soldier attending a special training course.

Other entitlements can include hardship pay (common for those stationed in Korea), hazardous duty and imminent danger pay (extra pay when deployed to one of these areas), and family separation allowance (if your solider is away from dependents for thirty days or more).

Deductions:

This includes all deductions from his pay including all federal and state taxes.

SGLI: this is his contribution towards his $400,000 life insurance policy

MGIB: he must pay $100 for the first twelve months in service towards his Montgomery GI Bill

Mid-month pay: on the last paystub of the month, his mid-month pay will show as a deduction.

Allotments:

This column is for any items that are being deducted such as money that is going to a checking/savings account, insurance payments, bonds, etc.

Summary:

+ Amt Fwd: the amount of any unpaid pay or allowances from the prior LES

+ Tot Ent: the total of all entitlements

- Tot Ded: the total of all deductions

- Tot Allt: total of all allotments

= Net Amt: net amount of his pay

- Cr Fwd: all unpaid pay or allowances due to appear on the next LES

= EOM Pay: amount to be paid at the end of the month

DIEMS: date initially entered military service

RETPLAN: type of retirement plan

Leave Row:

BF Bal: brought forward balance

Ernd: amount of leave earned (in days)

Used: amount of leave used (in days)

Cr Bal: amount of leave available (in days)

ETS Bal: projected leave balance to the member’s ETS

Lv Lost: amount of leave lost

Lv Paid: amount of leave paid to date

Use/Lose: projected number of days that will be lost if not taken

The next three rows are for taxes: Fed Taxes, FICA Taxes, State Taxes:

M/S: Denotes married or single

Ex: Denotes number of exemptions

Pay Data Row:

BAQ Type: type of basic allowance being paid (with dependents or without dependents)

BAQ Depn: type of dependent (i.e. “spouse”)

VHA Zip: the zip code used to compute BAH (or BAQ)

Rent Amt: amount of rent paid (if applicable)

Share: number of people the soldier shares housing costs with

Stat: VHA status – accompanies or unaccompanied

JFTR, Depns, 2^nd JFTR: for COLA purposes

BAS Type: type of rations the soldier is receiving

Charity Type: amount of charitable contributions

TPC: this field is not used

PACIDN: active unit identification code (UIC)

Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) Row:

Base Pay Rate: amount elected for TSP

Base Pay Current: reserved for future use

Spec Pay Rate: percentage of special pay elected for TSP

Spec Pay Current: reserved for future use

Inc Pay Rate: percentage of incentive pay elected for TSP

Inc Pay Current: reserved for future use

Bonus Pay Rate: percentage of bonus pay elected for TSP

Bonus Pay Current: reserved for future use

TSP YTD Deductions: total deductions year to date for TSP

Deferred: total amount deferred for tax purposes

Exempt: total amount exempt for tax purposes

Remarks Section:

YTD Entitle: total of all entitlements in the calendar year

YTD Deduct: total of all deductions in the calendar year

You will then notice a section of remarks that are used to make you aware of general notices.

On January 1, 2010, all soldiers received a base pay increase of 3.4%.

For current rates, visit:

BAH Rates

Base Pay & Special Pay Rate Tables