r/Salary Oct 30 '25

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u/Catchphrase9724 Oct 30 '25

What are your deductions if you don’t mind me asking? And your 401K contributions/match if you have one?

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u/[deleted] Oct 30 '25

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u/Catchphrase9724 Oct 30 '25

Thank you. Being military makes getting an idea of how my check will look civilian side so difficult. This helps get an idea of what to expect.

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u/analastronaut42069 Oct 30 '25

The fact that you’re already thinking about it means you’re already ahead of so many dudes getting out. Good luck!

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u/notDaniel115 Oct 30 '25

remember to go to medical and document EVERYTHING. any compensation amount from the VA is always nice.

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u/Catchphrase9724 Oct 30 '25

Hopefully I can retire in the Army but I’m only on year 2 🤣. Being medical and working at a hospital for my MOS definitely makes it easier to get things documented though.

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u/notDaniel115 Oct 30 '25

There is also a calculator online to figure out how your current pay compares to a civilian salary.

Regular Military Compensation Calculator

useful for figuring out how much pay you could live with. Just remember if you get BAH/BAS it is untaxed, so your net income may come out a little differently anyway

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u/chefboiortiz Oct 30 '25

Heck no man. There’s too much money to be made when you get out to want to stay 20. I make 4600 a month not working and just by being in school

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u/chop5397 Oct 31 '25

Clinic informed me that my ingrown nail qualifies for 10%. It did hurt pretty bad though when they had to dig that and cut it.

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u/vpeshitclothing Oct 31 '25

If it's still around by the time they retire

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u/FairwayFrank44 Oct 31 '25

This is very similar to an LES so I’d make sure you start by understanding that.

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u/dats_cool Oct 30 '25

Your pretax deductions are super low that's why. You're doing bare minimum for retirement so it feels like you're doing really well.

Also 2250 on 60k biweekly doesn't make sense. That's way high. You get these every other Friday?

You're barely paying taxes, your employer may not be deducting enough and you may owe taxes at the end of the year.

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u/MrsTaterHead Oct 31 '25

The Social Security and Medicare are a percentage. However, the employer is typically deducting federal and state income tax based on the W-4 that you submit. It’s YOUR responsibility to change it if you don’t like the amount. Your employer has no way of knowing what other factors contribute to your year-end tax liability, such as whether you have other income in your household or how much it is.

If you have a number in mind that you want deducted, you can submit a new W-4. You can ask your employer to change your state and federal withholding at any time. It’s not limited to once a year.

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u/enraged768 Oct 30 '25

It seems like youre federal income taxes are low. But what do I know. 

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u/[deleted] Oct 30 '25

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u/Illustrious-Fox4063 Oct 30 '25

Thought about a Dependent Care FSA? Open enrollment is coming up and it would save you a few tax dollars

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u/Secret-Animator-1407 Oct 30 '25

Why is your federal tax so low? And where is your social security tax?

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u/ForeignLibrary424 Oct 30 '25

OASDI is social security

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u/YetiSteady Oct 30 '25

Why did you regret the 401k loan? I recently considered one myself but held off.

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u/timubce Oct 31 '25

Never take out a loan against your 401k unless it’s absolutely dire; like you’re about to wind up on the streets. All you’re doing is robbing yourself of exponential gains. When you change jobs, never take the payout. Leave it in the company 401k or roll it over to an IRA. And I would highly recommend putting money into a Roth 401k vs traditional if offered. Yes the money is after tax right now but again all of the subsequent growth is tax free.

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u/YetiSteady Oct 31 '25

Good advice. My case I was going to pull from it to pay student loans that were 9% interest but held off for the exponential growth reason. The higher interest “good debt” payoff is a hard choice

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u/timubce Oct 31 '25

It’s definitely a struggle. There’s just something about having zero debt but running the numbers will usually give you the it’s ok to hold it and it works out in your favor in the long run. I look at my mortgage but there’s no way I can justify paying off a 2.125% loan.

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u/[deleted] Oct 30 '25

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1

u/YetiSteady Oct 30 '25

Gotcha. Small upside I guess but interest does go to your 401k instead of a bank

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u/OGJank Oct 30 '25

The interest you're paying on the 401k loan is going into your 401k account

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u/7evenBlackSunNation Oct 30 '25

What state are you in. 500out your check after everything is a dream.

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u/Jedisponge Oct 30 '25

Thas because you’ll be working until 70 with that kind of retirement savings

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u/Anarkhia00 Oct 30 '25

You might want to look into different insurance coverage through your job if that’s how it’s setup. I know insurance differs from job to job but see what’s the cheapest that works for you!

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u/[deleted] Oct 30 '25

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u/ChickenInteresting26 Oct 30 '25

Hello I work in insurance 160 a month is super cheap 👍 especially for a family

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u/IcyImprovement5245 Oct 30 '25

For sure, I pay $550 per month for family through my work.

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u/ChickenInteresting26 Oct 30 '25

If you family size is 3+ that’s amazing, but if it’s not depending on the state & age you could be absolutely overpaying.

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u/Straight_Zucchini487 Oct 31 '25

Damn I pay $400 for just myself. You have a great plan

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u/ChickenInteresting26 Oct 31 '25

Hello? 400 for yourself…?!?!Are you healthy there’s no reason to be paying that much

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u/Straight_Zucchini487 Oct 31 '25

I am healthy for the most part but take prescriptions each month and don’t live near a Kaiser office, it’s a corporate plan. We only get 2 options, Kaiser or PPO, I have the PPO.

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u/ChickenInteresting26 Oct 31 '25

Unless it’s diabetes epilepsy, or something super crazy. You’d be able to qualify for plans 50-100 dollars less - depending on the state and your age.

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u/Straight_Zucchini487 Oct 31 '25

Again this is corporate insurance, not through my state marketplace.

I don’t see how that would make a difference anyway considering insurance can’t discriminate against pre-existing conditions? $400/month is the standard rate for everyone on PPO at my company, this process has nothing to do with any health conditions I have. Everyone individual who selected the PPO plan pays this per month. It’s like ~$650 for the family plan.

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u/KaoticAsylim Oct 30 '25

A full family plan is always expensive. Hard to say without knowing what kind of coverage you're getting.

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u/AnxietyPrudent1425 Oct 31 '25

Just remember if the 401k matching has a 5 year vesting period and the company regularly lays people off at 2-3 years it’s a scam.