Definitions & calculations
A comparison you can inspect.
Fixed profiles, visible calculation choices, and separate treatment of actual data and projections.
The profiles.
The featured comparison uses an Air Force O-3 over six years of service, with-dependents BAH at Hill AFB, Utah (ZIP 84056; UT291), and a GS-15 step 1 in the Rest of U.S. locality area. Rank, years-of-service bracket, dependency status, location, grade, and step stay fixed over time. They are comparison profiles, not equivalent jobs.
Three ways to read annual compensation.
| Basis | Captain | GS-15 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash | Basic pay + BAH + BAS | Gross salary |
| Tax-equivalent | Cash + modeled federal gross-up | Gross salary |
| Selected model | Tax-equivalent − Social Security | Gross − FERS − Social Security |
Tax gross-up = nontaxable allowances × 22% ÷ (1 − 22%). Social Security = 6.2% of covered pay up to the annual wage base. FERS in the featured selected comparison = 4.4% of civilian gross pay.
These are partial analytical comparisons. None is a full take-home-pay calculation or total-benefits valuation. Medicare, individual income taxes, health coverage, pension accruals, bonuses, special pays, and service-obligation differences are not valued here. A 4.4% FERS contribution is not applicable to every civilian employee.
2027 projection.
The August 26 presidential pay plan supplies the 6% O-3 basic-pay adjustment and unchanged civilian base/locality schedule. The model holds 2026 BAH and BAS flat. Future allowance tables or subsequent policy action can change the projection. Pay plan, pp. 1–2.
The actual growth chart.
Each annual cash or gross-salary value is divided by the same profile's 2001 value and multiplied by 100. Relative growth advantage = (captain index ÷ civilian index − 1) × 100. The chart uses actual 2001–2026 data, with no FERS subtraction, tax gross-up, or forecast. The result describes relative growth, not a percentage-point difference or a current dollar-pay advantage.
Historical retirement treatment.
Some retained explorer series use the contribution rate applicable to a newly covered regular FERS employee in each year. They describe changing entry conditions, not the career of one continuous employee. The featured 2026–2027 comparison states its 4.4% assumption explicitly.
Reproducibility.
Featured calculation inputs · Military annual series · Civilian annual series · All retained data and downloads.
2026 base pay and GS-15 salary were cross-checked against DFAS, O-3 over 6 and OPM, RUS grade 15 step 1. The published model supplies the allowance history. The annual chart is recalculated directly from the retained source series.