Military pay charts

What a pay chart shows

A basic pay chart is a grid. Each row is a pay grade, and each column is a band of cumulative years of service. The cell where your grade and band meet is your monthly basic pay. The amount is in dollars per month, before taxes and deductions.

Basic pay is one part of military pay. The chart does not include housing, meal, or special pay allowances, and it is not the amount that reaches your bank account. The BAH guide explains the housing allowance, which is paid separately.

Which schedule applies

The 2025 and 2026 charts are separate schedules. Each one applies to the calendar year it names. A chart from one year does not become correct in the next year, even when the grade and years of service stay the same.

The site does not publish a 2027 chart, and no 2027 schedule appears on this site. Until a schedule is published, the 2026 chart is the most recent one on this site.

Grades and columns on the charts

• Enlisted grades run from E-1 to E-9, and warrant officers from W-1 to W-5.
• Commissioned officers run from O-1 to O-10. Officers with more than 4 years of prior enlisted or warrant service are listed separately as O-1E to O-3E.
• The first column is 2 or less years of service. Each later column reads Over N, meaning more than N years and up to the next column.
• A dash or a “not shown” label marks a cell the official table does not publish. It is not a zero.

For a step-by-step reading guide with a worked example, see how to read a pay chart.

Common questions

Do branches have different charts?

No. Basic pay is one national schedule for every branch (37 U.S.C. 203). A branch page shows the same national table along with what the site does not publish for that branch.

Why is my pay different from the chart?

The chart shows basic pay only. Allowances, special pays, taxes, and deductions change the amount you receive. Your own Leave and Earnings Statement (LES) is the record of what you were paid. For pay questions about your own account, use DFAS or myPay.

Where do the numbers come from?

The DFAS published tables, and for 2026 the rates set by Executive Order 14368. Each chart names its source and check date. The sources list gives every source and its status, and the editorial policy explains how figures are checked.

What the charts do not include

• Basic allowance for housing (BAH), which depends on location and dependency status.
• BAH estimates by housing area, from the 2025 DTMO file.
• Basic allowance for subsistence (BAS), overseas housing allowance (OHA), and special or incentive pays.
• Federal and state income tax, Social Security, and retirement or savings deductions.

To estimate basic pay for one grade and years of service, use the basic pay calculator.