Military Pay Calculator

For 2026, Executive Order 14368 sets the monthly basic pay rates for the uniformed services and the monthly cadet and midshipman rate. Executive Order

Federal law sets basic pay as a monthly rate for each pay grade. U.S. Code

How to Read the 2026 Pay Table

• The order was signed Dec. 18, 2025, and its uniformed services pay table took effect Jan. 1, 2026. Executive Order
• The order’s table counts years of service as computed under 37 U.S.C. 205. Executive Order
• Years of service for pay are counted from the basic pay date, which the Army calls the pay entry basic date, the Navy and Marine Corps the pay entry base date, and the Air Force the pay date. Defense Dept.
• For most members who serve without a break in service, the basic pay date is the date they entered active or inactive service; time between periods of service usually is not counted. Defense Dept.
• The member’s personnel office can provide a statement of service, which can include the basic pay date. Defense Dept.

Footnotes That Change the Figure

• The regular E-1 rate applies to members who have served four months or more on active duty; those with less than four months are paid $2,225.70 a month in 2026. Executive Order

An E-9 serving in one of these senior enlisted positions is paid $11,166.90 a month in 2026, whatever the years of service: Executive Order

• Sergeant major of the Army. Executive Order
• Master chief petty officer of the Navy. Executive Order
• Master chief petty officer of the Coast Guard. Executive Order
• Chief master sergeant of the Air Force. Executive Order
• Sergeant major of the Marine Corps. Executive Order
• Chief master sergeant of the Space Force. Executive Order
• Senior enlisted advisor to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Executive Order
• Senior enlisted advisor to the chief of the National Guard Bureau. Executive Order
• A senior enlisted member placed on terminal leave pending retirement right after that service keeps the higher rate for up to 60 days. One hospitalized during or right after that service keeps it for up to 180 days while hospitalized. Defense Dept.
• By law, basic pay for O-7 to O-10 can’t exceed the monthly equivalent of Level II of the Executive Schedule, and basic pay for all other officers and enlisted members can’t exceed Level V. U.S. Code
• The same order sets Executive Schedule pay for 2026 at $228,000 a year for Level II and $184,900 for Level V. Executive Order
• The order’s table applies the Level II limit to O-7 through O-10, including officers serving as chairman or vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, as a service chief, as chief of the National Guard Bureau or as a combatant commander. Executive Order
• The order’s footnote gives the Level II limit as $18,899.90 a month. That conflicts with the order’s own table, whose highest O-9 figure is $18,999.90, and with Level II’s $228,000 divided by 12. This tool shows the table’s figures. Executive Order
• For O-6 and below, the order puts the Level V limit at $15,408.30 a month for 2026. Executive Order
• The regular O-1, O-2 and O-3 rates don’t apply to an officer credited with over four years of active duty as an enlisted member or warrant officer; those officers are paid from the O-1E, O-2E and O-3E rows. Executive Order
• Over four years means at least four years and one day, and enlisted and warrant officer years count together. Defense Dept.
• Active service here includes Regular and Reserve service: active duty for training in enlisted or warrant officer status, annual Reserve training duty and full-time National Guard duty. Defense Dept.
• Active service in a dual status (temporary officer, permanent enlisted) in the Navy or Marine Corps doesn’t count. Defense Dept.
• An officer credited with at least 1,460 points toward a Reserve retirement for service as an enlisted member, a warrant officer or both also qualifies for the O-1E to O-3E rates. U.S. Code
• That points test applies to any O-1 to O-3 officer, not only those paid from Reserve funds. Defense Dept.
• Monthly pay for cadets and midshipmen at the service academies is $1,452.90 in 2026. Executive Order
• Federal law entitles cadets at the Military, Air Force and Coast Guard academies and midshipmen at the Naval Academy to monthly cadet or midshipman pay. U.S. Code
• A service academy prep school student selected from civilian life gets the cadet rate; one who was already enlisted gets the higher of enlisted basic pay or the cadet rate. U.S. Code
• A permanent professor at the Military, Naval or Air Force academy, or a member of the Coast Guard Academy’s permanent commissioned teaching staff, with over 36 years of service gets an extra $250 a month. U.S. Code

BAS: The Separate Food Allowance

• Each member entitled to basic pay is also entitled to a Basic Allowance for Subsistence (BAS), a separate monthly allowance for food, except during basic training. U.S. Code
• The enlisted BAS rate for each year equals the monthly cost of the Agriculture Department’s liberal food plan for a man age 19 to 50. U.S. Code
• The officer rate rises each Jan. 1 by the same percentage as the enlisted rate. U.S. Code
• The Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) publishes the current BAS rates in its BAS table at dfas.mil. Defense Dept.
• A single BAS rate applies to all officers. Defense Dept.
• In federal military pay law, “officer” means a commissioned or warrant officer. U.S. Code
• Enlisted members get the standard enlisted BAS rate unless they qualify for BAS II and the proper authority approves it. Defense Dept.
• Members aren’t entitled to BAS during basic military training, including initial officer training such as Officer Candidate School or Officer Training School, unless they have continuous prior enlisted service. Defense Dept.
• BAS II is twice the standard enlisted rate. It may be paid to enlisted members at a permanent station who are assigned to single government quarters without adequate food storage or preparation facilities, where no government mess is available and the government can’t otherwise provide meals. Defense Dept.
• BAS also isn’t paid during excess leave, an unexcused absence without leave of more than 24 hours, or a court-martial sentence that forfeits pay and allowances. Defense Dept.
• A member paid BAS must pay for meals the government provides, with some exceptions. Defense Dept.

What the Lookup Leaves Out

The lookup shows basic pay only: not BAH, special and incentive pays, bonuses or taxes.

• The Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) is a separate monthly allowance that varies with pay grade, dependency status and location. U.S. Code

Where to Ask

• The member’s personnel office can provide a statement of service, which can include the basic pay date. Defense Dept.

Ask the unit’s finance office about a specific paycheck.

Related GovFacts Articles

• Decoding Service Pay: A Guide to U.S. Military Compensation
• What is BAS? Your Guide to the Basic Allowance for Subsistence
• Military Allowances Explained: Beyond Pay, BAH, and BAS