Foreign Service Salary Calculator & Comparison Tool

This calculator estimates a Foreign Service salary at one or more posts and lines the results up side by side. Pick a grade and step, add up to ten overseas posts or U.S. locations, and switch on the pay extras that apply to you. It's an estimate, so your SF-50 and Earnings and Leave Statement stay the official numbers.

What you enter

• Your pay system, grade and step. Foreign Service, General Schedule and Senior Foreign Service grades are all there.
• Your family size, which changes the cost of living allowance.
• The posts or U.S. locations to compare, up to ten in all.
• Optional extras, such as LEAP for special agents, the physicians comparability allowance, skills incentive pay, shift work and overtime, and separate maintenance allowance.
• Optional deductions, such as your federal filing status, TSP contribution, health plan and a state tax rate.

What you get

Each post gets a card with base pay, overseas pay or locality pay, cost of living allowance, hardship differential, danger pay and a total. U.S. locations also show pay per pay period, the difference from Washington, D.C., and a note when the federal pay cap applies. Turn on deductions and the tool estimates take-home pay too.

Where the numbers come from

• The Foreign Service salary schedules for the current pay year, shown in the tool's subtitle.
• OPM's locality pay areas and county lists for U.S. locations.
• The State Department's post allowance tables for cost of living allowance, hardship differential and danger pay.
• A "Most recent update" date in the tool shows when the data it reads was last refreshed.

What it leaves out

It doesn't know your tax situation beyond the rates you type in, and it doesn't estimate bonuses or awards unless you enter them. Retroactive pay and agency-specific rules aren't covered. Allowance rates change, so check the date in the tool before you rely on a number.

Common questions

Why is overseas pay different from Washington pay?

Overseas, Foreign Service pay uses overseas comparability pay in place of a locality rate. The tool sets it at two thirds of the Washington locality rate, which is why the overseas and DETO rates sit below Washington's.

What is DETO mode?

It's for domestic employees who telework from an overseas location. The tool uses the DETO rate instead of overseas allowances and lists which allowances don't apply.

Why does a result say it's at the federal pay cap?

Basic pay can't go past the federal pay cap. When a result reaches it, the card says so, shows the cap amount, and the number stops there.

Related

• Per Diem and Comp Time Calculator
• Transfer Allowance Estimator
• Post Visualizer