Estimate your annual savings from military shopping benefits — the commissary, sales-tax-free Exchange purchases, and on-base fuel — from DeCA's published regional savings rates and your own local fuel price gap.
Rates last verified August 2026 against the published source tables.
Commissary savings are measured by DeCA against local commercial grocers, and the regional spread is wide enough that one national figure misleads. The stateside average is 21.3% across 45 stores, but that runs from 16.9% in the South Central region to 33.8% in Alaska and Hawaii — which is why this calculator asks which region you shop in rather than applying one rate to everyone. Overseas stores are measured against local foreign retail and save considerably more.
The Exchange saving is not a discount, it is the sales tax you do not pay: AAFES, NEX and MCX charge no state or local sales tax, so what the benefit is worth depends on your state's rate and how much you spend there. On-base fuel works differently again. AAFES surveys five or more nearby off-base stations at least weekly, excluding members-only warehouse clubs, and matches the lowest surveyed price for each grade — so the benefit is not a discount off the going rate, it is paying the cheapest local price without having to shop for it. There is no national figure for that, which is why the per-gallon gap is yours to enter rather than a constant.
None of this is an entitlement. Every figure here is avoided cost, not money anybody pays you. There is no form and no claim — which also means there is nothing to lose by not filing, and nothing to gain from the numbers unless you actually shop where they apply.
The fuel saving is zero if you already fill up on base. The base pump matches the lowest local price rather than discounting it. The saving modeled here is the gap between that and where you would otherwise buy — a member who already buys the cheapest local fuel saves nothing by switching.
The commissary saving depends on what you buy. DeCA measures its savings against local commercial grocers across a basket. A shopper who buys mostly items the commissary does not stock, or who would otherwise shop at a discounter rather than a supermarket, will not see the regional average.
Access is by ID, and it extends further than most people assume. A valid military ID admits you. Since 2020 all service-connected disabled veterans, Purple Heart recipients, former prisoners of war and approved caregivers have commissary and exchange privileges as well — a group that frequently does not know it.
The exchange saving is the tax you do not pay. AAFES, NEX and MCX charge no state or local sales tax. It is applied at the till with nothing to claim, and it is worth most to shoppers in high-tax states — which is why this page asks where you shop rather than applying one rate.
Online orders count. ShopMyExchange and the commissary's own delivery service carry the same tax treatment as the store. For a member stationed somewhere without a nearby exchange, that is most of the benefit.
The commissary sells at cost plus a small surcharge rather than at retail margin, so savings depend heavily on what you buy and what you would otherwise pay locally. Savings are largest where local grocery prices are high and smallest near competitive discount grocers. Use your own typical monthly grocery spend in the calculator above rather than a national average — the result varies far more by location and shopping habits than most published figures suggest.
Yes — merchandise purchases at the Exchange (AAFES, NEX, MCX, CGX) are not subject to state or local sales tax, because the exchanges are federal instrumentalities. In a state with high combined sales tax, that exemption alone is a meaningful discount before any difference in shelf price is considered, which is why the saving is larger for members stationed in high-sales-tax states. Motor fuel is the one exception: exchanges pay state, local and federal fuel taxes on it.
On-base fuel is not tax-free. The Hayden-Cartwright Act requires the exchanges to pay state and local motor-fuel taxes, and federal fuel tax applies as well — fuel is the main exception to the exchanges' sales-tax exemption. What AAFES does instead is survey five or more nearby stations at least weekly and match the lowest price it finds, so the pump price tracks the cheapest station in your area rather than beating it. That is still worth money if your usual station is not the cheapest one around, because you get the low price without hunting for it — but the saving is the gap to where you would otherwise fill up, not a fixed discount, and it is zero if you already buy at the cheapest station near you. Weigh it against the detour, too: driving well out of your way to reach the base station can erase it.
It depends on the relationship between local rents and your BAH. Most on-base housing in the US is privatized (MHPI), so you draw BAH and assign it to the housing company by allotment; rent is set to your BAH and usually covers utilities, so costs are predictable but you keep no surplus. In the remaining government-owned quarters you draw no BAH at all. Off base, you keep whatever remains if you find housing below your BAH — and pay the difference if you go above it. In markets where rents sit well under BAH, living off base can be meaningfully cheaper; in tight markets the opposite is often true. Check your rate with the BAH calculator before deciding. Commute, housing quality and waitlists matter as much as the raw numbers.