Military Retirement Tax Calculator 2026

Military retired pay is taxed as ordinary income at your 2026 federal bracket after the standard deduction, and the dollar amount depends on your filing status and other household income. At Rank and Pay, we build free pay and benefits calculators from official tables. This military retirement tax calculator applies the 2026 Internal Revenue Service (IRS) brackets to your retired pay. On $2,452 a month, the tax runs from $0 for a married retiree with no other income to 12% of retired pay when a spouse earns $60,000.

How Federal Tax on Retired Pay Is Figured

Federal tax on military retired pay is figured by subtracting the standard deduction from your income and applying the 2026 brackets to what is left. IRS Publication 525 says military retirement pay based on age or length of service is taxable and is reported as a pension on Form 1040 lines 5a and 5b. The brackets apply to taxable income, which is your income minus the deduction.

The calculator measures the tax your retired pay adds to the household return. It figures the 2026 tax on your other income alone, then the tax on your other income plus your retired pay, and reports the difference. That method stacks your retired pay on top of any other income, so a spouse's paycheck uses up the standard deduction and the 10% band before your retired pay is counted.

In our internal tax modeling, we ran the 2026 IRS tax tables against a $2,452 monthly retired pay for a single retiree with no other income. Federal tax came to $1,350.88 a year, or 4.6% of the retired pay:

• $2,452 × 12 = $29,424 of taxable retired pay.
• $29,424 minus the $16,100 single standard deduction leaves $13,324 of taxable income.
• The first $12,400 is taxed at 10%, which is $1,240.
• The remaining $924 is taxed at 12%, which is $110.88.
• Total tax is $1,350.88 a year, or $112.57 a month, and you keep $2,339 a month.

Filing status changes the answer for the same pension. A married couple filing jointly on that $2,452 a month owes $0 in federal income tax, because $29,424 is below the $32,200 joint standard deduction. They keep the full $2,452.

Add a spouse who earns $60,000 a year, and the same retired pay costs $3,530.88 a year. The spouse's wages minus the $32,200 deduction leave $27,800 of taxable income, which already fills the 10% band that ends at $24,800. Every dollar of retired pay then lands in the 12% band, and $29,424 × 12% = $3,530.88, or $294.24 a month.

The step-by-step block under the result cards shows the taxable retired pay, the standard deduction and the tax with and without your retired pay. You can check the math against the bracket table below.

2026 Brackets and Standard Deductions Used

The calculator uses the 2026 standard deductions and brackets from IRS Revenue Procedure 2025-32. The IRS 2026 inflation adjustment release notes that these figures apply to returns filed in 2027.

The 32% bracket runs to $256,225 for single filers, $512,450 for joint filers and $256,200 for heads of household. The 35% bracket runs to $640,600 for single and head of household filers and to $768,700 for joint filers. Income above those levels is taxed at 37%.

If you are 65 or older (or blind), the standard deduction rises by $1,650, or by $2,050 if you are unmarried and not a surviving spouse. Each rate applies only to the income inside its band. A top bracket of 12% does not mean all your retired pay is taxed at 12%, which is why the single retiree above pays 4.6%.

How to Use the Calculator

The calculator is headed "Federal Tax on Your Retired Pay." It needs your monthly retired pay, the amounts taken out before tax, your other income and your filing status. Fill in the fields from top to bottom:

1. Gross Retired Pay per Month ($). Enter your monthly retired pay before deductions. The default is $2,452. Find the figure on your Retiree Account Statement in myPay, or estimate it with our military retirement calculator.
2. VA Waiver per Month ($). Enter the retired pay you waive to receive Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) disability pay. The default is $0.
3. SBP Premium per Month ($). Enter the Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) cost taken out of your retired pay. The default is $0.
4. Other Taxable Household Income per Year ($). Enter a yearly total for a civilian job, a spouse's wages or Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) withdrawals. The default is $0. Our TSP withdrawal calculator can help you estimate withdrawals.
5. Tax Filing Status. Choose Single, Married filing jointly or Head of household. The default is Single.
6. I am 65 or older. Tick this box to add the additional standard deduction for age.

The results show four cards:

• Federal Tax per Month. The yearly tax caused by your retired pay, divided by 12.
• Retired Pay Kept per Month. Taxable retired pay minus that tax, divided by 12. It leaves out the waived amount and the SBP premium.
• Federal Tax per Year. The extra tax your retired pay adds to the household return.
• Effective Rate on Retired Pay. The yearly tax divided by your taxable retired pay. Under it, the card shows "Top bracket: N%" or "Below the standard deduction: no federal income tax."

Below the cards, a step-by-step block shows each calculation, and a note appears when the 65 or older box is ticked. Click "Copy result" to save the numbers. Links then lead to our state military retirement tax page and our Combat-Related Special Compensation (CRSC) and Concurrent Retirement and Disability Pay (CRDP) calculator, followed by book picks.

When Part of Your Retired Pay Is Not Taxed

Retired pay you waive for VA disability pay, the SBP premium and CRSC all stay out of taxable income, and the calculator handles the first two through their own fields. VA disability compensation is tax-free, as our guide to whether VA disability is tax-free explains. Any retired pay you waive to receive it drops out of the taxable amount in the calculator.

Take $4,000 a month with a $500 VA waiver, filing as head of household, with $85,000 of other income:

• Taxable retired pay is ($4,000 − $500) × 12 = $42,000.
• The other income minus the $24,150 deduction leaves $60,850, which already sits in the 12% band.
• The first $6,600 of retired pay fills the 12% band up to $67,450, for $792.
• The remaining $35,400 is taxed at 22%, for $7,788.
• Total tax is $8,580 a year, or $715 a month, which is 20.4% of the retired pay.

Publication 525 says the reduction in retirement pay for an SBP annuity for a spouse or children is not included in income. For the single retiree on $2,452 a month, a $150 monthly premium cuts taxable retired pay to $27,624. Tax drops to $1,152.40 a year, which is $198.48 less than with no premium.

Publication 525 also says CRSC can be excluded from income. The calculator has no CRSC field, so enter only your retired pay in the gross field and leave the CRSC payment out.

Certain military disability pensions are not taxable, such as payments for a combat-related injury. A disability pension based on years of service is generally taxable, except the part you would have received based on your percentage of disability. The calculator does not split a disability pension into these parts, so work out the taxable part with IRS Publication 525 and enter only that amount as gross retired pay.

If the VA later gives you a retroactive service-connected rating, retired pay for the retroactive period is excluded up to the VA benefit amount. You can claim a refund for that period with Form 1040-X and the VA determination letter, as IRS Publication 525 explains. At the far end, if you waive all of your retired pay to receive VA disability pay, the calculator shows $0 tax on retired pay.

When the Estimate Is Wrong for You

The estimate covers federal income tax using the standard deduction, so several situations move your real bill away from it:

• Age 65 or older. Ticking the box for the single retiree on $2,452 a month raises the deduction to $16,100 + $2,050 = $18,150. Taxable income falls to $11,274, all at 10%, for $1,127.40 a year, which is $223.48 less. The One, Big, Beautiful Bill (OBBB) added a separate senior deduction that the calculator does not include, so your bill can come in lower than the result.
• Itemizing. The calculator always uses the standard deduction. If you itemize, treat the result as a rough figure.
• Tax credits. The calculator subtracts no credits, so the result is the tax before any credit you claim.
• State tax. The result is federal only. Our state military retirement tax page covers how states treat retired pay.
• Misstated other income. Other income is entered as one yearly figure. If you guess low, the calculator places your retired pay in lower brackets than your return will.

Setting Your Withholding

You can update the federal withholding on your retired pay in myPay. Use the Federal Tax per Month card as a starting point for the amount to withhold. The calculator measures only the tax your retired pay adds, so that figure assumes the tax on your other income is covered separately.

For the married couple with a $60,000 spouse, that starting point is $294.24 a month. Rerun the calculator when your other income, filing status or VA waiver changes, then update myPay to match. Our military retirement guides cover the pay figures that feed into the calculator.

Our Takeaway

For a retiree whose retired pay is the household's only income, the standard deduction absorbs much of the pension. A married couple on $2,452 a month owes $0, and a single retiree owes about 4.6%. A spouse's wages or a civilian job push the same retired pay into the 12% or 22% bracket. Other household income moves your tax more than the size of the pension does.

Heavy itemizers should not rely on this estimate, because it uses only the standard deduction. The answer also changes with a VA waiver or CRSC, an SBP premium, age 65 or older and state tax.

Enter your own retired pay and your household's other income, then compare the Federal Tax per Month card with what myPay withholds today.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is military retirement taxed at?

Military retired pay based on age or length of service is taxed as ordinary income at your 2026 federal bracket after the standard deduction. A single retiree on $2,452 a month with no other income pays about 4.6% of it, with a top bracket of 12%. With a spouse earning $60,000, the same retired pay is taxed at 12.0%.

Is military retirement taxed federally?

Yes. IRS Publication 525 says military retirement pay based on age or length of service is taxable and is reported as a pension on Form 1040 lines 5a and 5b. Parts of it can be excluded, including the SBP premium, CRSC and certain disability pensions.

Does VA disability reduce the tax on military retirement?

Yes. When you waive retired pay to receive VA disability pay, the waived amount leaves your taxable income, and the VA compensation itself is tax-free. Enter the waiver in the VA Waiver per Month field to see the effect.

Is SBP taken out before taxes?

Yes. Publication 525 says the reduction in retirement pay for an SBP annuity for a spouse or children is not included in income. Enter the monthly premium in the SBP Premium per Month field, and the calculator removes it before figuring tax.

Which states do not tax military retirement?

This calculator figures only federal income tax. Look up your state in our state-by-state guide to military retirement taxes. Then run your numbers in the military retirement tax calculator above and click "Copy result" to save your 2026 federal estimate.

Related Resources

• Military Retirement Calculator (gross retired pay)
• Is Military Retirement Pay Taxable? State-by-State Rules
• CRSC vs CRDP Calculator
• VA Disability Rating Calculator