The Average Military Officer's Pay
Officers in the United States military form the core group of leadership needed to make each individual service run smoothly. Because of this responsibility, officers are entitled to competitive salaries that range from close to $50,000 a year for entry level members to in excess of six figures for those of a higher rank.
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Components
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Military officer pay is made up of three main components. Each officer is entitled to a base salary, which is determined by the Department of Defense each year and published in a table that specifies the amount per month each service member receives depending on rank and time-in-serve. In addition to this, officers also receive a stipend for housing, known as the Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH), and for living expenses, known as the Basic Allowance for Subsistence (BAS).
Amounts
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In 2010, entry level officers (O-1s) received an average $49,339.68 a year. This pay increases, however, with rank and experience. For example, an O-3 with 10 years of service earned $87,409.68 a year, while an O-6 with 20 years of service earned $134,864.88 a year.
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Taxes
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While salaries for officers are already competitive, they are made even more so due to the fact that members of the military receive certain tax breaks that those in the general public do not. For example, while the average O-1 earned $49,339.68 a year in 2010, the officer actually paid $5,323.79 less in taxes than a civilian. Thus, the officer made the equivalent of $54,663.47 in the civilian arena.
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References
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Comments
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Please clarify how an average O-1 pays $6k less in taxes a year. Your article is misleading because all military personnel are subject to the same tax rates based on total yearly income as every civilian who must pay federal income taxes. As a result, there are no special tax benefits afforded military members on their taxable income.
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Things sure have changed since I was in...
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And how much does the average grunt make. The one who actually does the work and fighting?
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This makes a lot of sense. "I get beat by my father. I hate it how he doesn't beat my sister, its not fair!"
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they also pay a price. their families never know what its like to know everyone in the neighborhood. They are strangers in school and they are lucky if they end the school year in the same school. They have different accents than their neighbors, and know different rules for games. The only big positive about it is that military kids can see thru the local taboos as arbitrary.
