Roth on military pay: BAS, deployments and combat pay
For most junior members, Roth is the better home for retirement dollars: you pay tax now at a low rate and never again. Military pay makes that easier, because BAS is not taxed and combat zone pay can go into Roth TSP tax-free in and tax-free out.
At a glance
- Low tax bracket now, tax-free withdrawals later: that is why Roth fits most junior members.
- BAS is not taxable, so let it cover groceries and send more taxable base pay to Roth.
- Combat zone pay into Roth TSP is tax-free going in and tax-free coming out.
- Limits this year: $24,500 for the TSP and $7,500 for an IRA, from the verified tables.
Who this is for: A junior enlisted sailor or young officer at NAS Lemoore deciding between traditional and Roth, especially one with a deployment coming.
Reviewed by Theron Morgan, CEO and founder, Avidity Capital Inc., a registered investment adviser, on 2026-10-07.
Why Roth dollars matter most for junior members
A traditional contribution skips tax now and pays it later, at whatever rate applies in retirement. A Roth contribution pays tax now and never again. When your bracket today is low, as it is for most junior enlisted members and new officers, paying the tax now is the cheaper side of the trade, and decades of growth come out tax-free.
The order in the app's pay-yourself-first plan reflects this: Roth TSP and a Roth IRA sit near the front for a member in a low bracket, with the match collected first because it is free.
BAS is not taxable, and that changes the math
BAS, your food allowance, is excluded from federal income tax. It is not earned income for IRA purposes, so it does not raise what you are allowed to put in an IRA. But it does something useful: it pays for groceries with money that was never taxed, which frees more of your taxable base pay to go into Roth.
Put plainly: let BAS buy the food, and send the base pay you would have spent on food to Roth TSP or a Roth IRA instead.
Combat zone pay into Roth TSP
Pay earned in a designated combat zone is excluded from federal income tax. If you contribute that pay to Roth TSP, it goes in tax-free and, as a qualified Roth withdrawal, comes out tax-free, growth included. That is the one time money is never taxed at any point, and it is the strongest argument for raising your Roth TSP contribution during a deployment. For officers, the exclusion is capped at the highest enlisted pay plus hostile fire or imminent danger pay; enlisted members exclude all of it.
The same pay contributed to traditional TSP also goes in tax-free, but the growth on it is taxed on the way out. Roth is the better destination for excluded pay.
The limits, from the verified tables
Your own TSP contributions are capped at $24,500 this year, with a catch-up of $8,000 at age fifty and over. An IRA, traditional or Roth combined, is capped at $7,500, with a catch-up of $1,100. Roth IRA eligibility phases out for single filers between $153,000 and $168,000 of modified adjusted gross income, and for married filing jointly between $242,000 and $252,000. BAH and BAS are not in that income figure, which keeps many military households eligible longer.
Both figures come from the reference tables, verified by Avidity Capital against the TSP and IRS pages.
What the app does
The pay-yourself-first plan places Roth and traditional contributions in order, collects the government match first under BRS, warns you when your TSP contributions for the year are near the limit, and names the workplace Roth instead of a Roth IRA once household income reaches the phase-out. The Investing step carries a note on Roth contributions from combat zone pay.
Questions people ask
Roth or traditional TSP?
For most junior members in a low bracket, Roth. Pay a little tax now and none later. Senior members in a higher bracket may lean traditional; an Avidity adviser can run your own numbers.
Does BAS count toward how much I can put in an IRA?
No. BAS is not taxable compensation, so it does not raise your IRA limit. Its value is that it pays for food with untaxed money, leaving more taxable base pay free for Roth.
What is special about combat zone pay in Roth TSP?
It is excluded from income tax going in, and as a qualified Roth withdrawal it comes out tax-free with its growth. Money that is never taxed at any point.
What are this year's limits?
TSP: $24,500 in your own contributions. IRA: $7,500, traditional and Roth combined. Both from the firm's verified reference tables.
Does the app pick funds for me?
No. This page and the app name no funds, allocations or products. The plan sets the order and the amounts; what you hold inside the account is a separate conversation with an adviser.
Next step
See your own numbers first. The free reality-check needs no account and no card.
This page is education, not individualized investment, tax, legal or insurance advice. It names no products, funds or allocations and carries no client stories. Where a document or a policy is needed, an estate attorney or a licensed insurance agent is the person who prepares it. Avidity Capital Inc. drafts no legal documents and receives no commission or referral fee from insurance, estate attorneys, mortgage lenders or real estate agents. Its compensation is the member's subscription and, for members who choose it, an advisory fee for managing assets; see Form CRS and Form ADV Part 2A. Avidity Capital Inc. is a registered investment adviser.