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My latest edition to this website and a much requested topic is salary! We are all itching to know how the military compensates it's physicians in comparison to those in the civilian world. Will you be paid less than your civilian counterparts? Probably, but the answer might not be that simple, as you will see...
As with any topic that I have not experienced, myself, I am hesitant to share information with you. However, on a rather uneventful weekend call at my latest ADT rotation, some of the residents were kind enough to walk me through their salaries. I might have missed a thing here or there, but I will update the information as soon as any mistakes are brought to my attention.
Instead of one chunk of change every two weeks (as typical residents are paid), your pay will be broken up into several parts. For the most part, you receive the same various pays and allowances as a non-physician officer, with extra bonuses to compensate you for being a doctor. Another important thing to note is that your pay will vary by location within the US as well as outside the continental US. I will be using a Family Med resident at Tripler Army Medical Center in 2020 as my example physician (hey, that was me!) - other specialties and locations will receive different salaries, and the amounts will change year to year. Using the links below, you will be able to determine your potential salary anywhere!
Here, I give you my actual salary and I updated it each year based on my actual LESs. I'm not bragging and I'm not one to be shy about discussing money (you can figure out anyone's salary in the military as all pays are clearly listed online and at the links, below.) DISCLAIMER: Based on the fact that my residency program is in Hawaii, which provides high housing allowance and COLA, all residents at my hospital are the highest-paid residents in the country. ALSO, I am married with a child, which gives me a higher BAH and BAS. To be clear, if you go to residency anywhere else in the military, you will be paid less, BUT you will still probably make more than your civilian friends.
Basic Pay
First up we have your basic pay. This is based off the pay scale used for every active duty service member. The figure below is based on an O-3 (Captain) rank with <2 years experience, which will most likely be you when you first start residency. The pay chart below is adjusted each year for inflation and will be your primary source of income. It is also adjusted by years of service. You will see that there is a pay increase at >2, 3, and 4 years of service meaning your salary will increase every year of residency (unless yours is longer than 4 years - you poor soul...)
$4,383.00/month BEFORE taxes.
Intern/Resident Pay
Next up is your Intern/Resident Pay. Here, you will receive a 1/12 fraction of this amount each month.
$1200/year (Intern); $8000/year (Resident) BEFORE taxes
https://www.dfas.mil/militarymembers/payentitlements/Pay-Tables/HPO4/
Basic Allowance for Housing
Housing is a topic that will vary greatly depending on your situation and choices. The first choice is whether or not you want to live on government housing. In exchange for the entirety of your housing allowance, you will be able to live in government housing. This set up will vary by location. Alternatively, you can live anywhere you want (within a reasonable distance) and collect housing allowance. The figure below is based on an O-3 (Captain) rank, which will most likely be you when you first start residency, and doing residency at Tripler Army Medical Center.
$3426.00/month (with dependents); $2943.00/month (without dependents) NOT taxed.
https://www.travel.dod.mil/Allowances/Basic-Allowance-for-Housing/BAH-Rate-Lookup/
Basic Allowance for Subsistence
Money for food! This amount varies monthly, but is the same anywhere you go.
$311.88/month NOT taxed.
Cost of Living Allowance (COLA):
COLA is an additional source of funding that is given if you live in certain areas. There is COLA for living in certain CONUS (Contiguous United States) locations and for OCONUS (Outside the Contiguous United States) locations. I have provided you the links to the locations and calculators below, and have provided an example location of the only OCONUS residency location, Tripler Army Medical Center (TAMC). Also at the link, below, you may find a list of locations that fall under CONUS for COLA.
OCONUS TAMC w/1 dependent: $508.00/month NOT taxed.
https://www.travel.dod.mil/Allowances/Overseas-Cost-of-Living-Allowance/Overseas-COLA-Rate-Lookup/
Totals:
I just wanted to highlight that the totals below are for people WITH dependents! You bachelors/bachelorettes can expect roughly $300 less per month (about $3600 less per year).
Intern Annual Salary WITH dependents (Before tax; resident will be $6800 more):
Tripler: $104,084
Walter Reed: $92,384
Madigan: $85,076
Intern Monthly Salary WITH dependents (Before tax; resident will be $567 more):
Tripler: $8,674
Walter Reed: $7,699
Madigan: $7,090
Thrift Savings Plan (TSP)
This is a special fund that deserves it's own category. The TSP was created in 1986 and is essentially a 401(K) for military folk. It has recently been adapted into the Blended Retirement System (BRS). This is more important for you residents and beyond, but I HIGHLY recommend you read the BRS page. Long story short, the Army will match up to 5% of your base pay that you invest into your retirement fund. If you don't put that 5% in, you are essentially throwing away free money. It only ends up being like $215 a month as of now, so it's small change, but has so much potential...
Up to 5% of your base pay/month
These last three are only given after residency:
Special Pay (IP)
This is the pay for your particular specialty. The figure shown below is for a Family Medicine doc. To be clear: YOU WILL NOT RECEIVE THIS PAY UNTIL AFTER YOU COMPLETE RESIDENCY.
$43,000/year BEFORE taxes.
https://www.dfas.mil/militarymembers/payentitlements/Pay-Tables/HPO4/
Retention Bonus (RB)
This is the incentive pay for you to stick around in the Army after your commitment is up. You will receive this as an annual lump sum on top of your IP. This amount varies by specialty and the number of years you are committing to stay. The figure shown below is for a Family Medicine doc. Hypothetically, if you receive this pay during a deployment, you get it tax-free, but I have heard mixed reviews of this occurring in practice.
$17,000/year for 2 years BEFORE taxes.
$25,000/year for 3 years BEFORE taxes.
$38,000/year for 4 years BEFORE taxes.
$50,000/year for 6 years BEFORE taxes.
https://www.dfas.mil/militarymembers/payentitlements/Pay-Tables/HPO4/
Board Certification Pay
Pay you will receive for becoming board-certified in your respective specialty. This figure used to be included in the pay chart below, but has been removed. Not to fear - the pay still exists! There is documentation of it in the 2023 Army Active Component Health Professions Officer Special and Incentive Pay Plan
$6000/year (broken up into monthly payments)
https://www.dfas.mil/militarymembers/payentitlements/Pay-Tables/HPO4/
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