2027 Military Pay Raises: Proposed Increases & Rank Breakdown

It’s that time of year when we get budget requests for the military, which always include proposals on military pay raises. Here’s what’s actually on the table right now. 

The White House’s 2027 budget request (not the NDAA) includes a tiered military pay raise based on rank. Under the proposal, military pay raises would look like this:

• E-5 and below: 7% raise
  

• E-6 through O-3: 6% raise
  

• O-4 and above: 5% raise

Immediately, I see a major shift from the previous 20 years or so, and something we’ve seen as recent as 2025: pay raises are based on rank, not a flat rate for all ranks. The 6% and 7% increases would be the highest single-year increases to military pay since 2002.

Before we look at what the pay charts would look like in 2027, it’s important to note: this is a proposal, not a done deal.  The President’s budget is a starting point. Congress still has to take it up, debate it, and pass it through the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) before any pay raise becomes law. 

The following charts will show what the 5% to 7% increases would look like for all servicemembers in all branches.

Officers and Warrant Officers with up to 11 Years of Service

Pay GradeFewer Than TwoTwo or MoreThree or MoreFour or MoreSix or MoreEight or More10 or more O-8$14,583$15,061$15,378$15,466$15,862$16,522$16,676 O-7$12,117$12,680$12,940$13,148$13,522$13,893$14,321 O-6$9,189$10,095$10,757$10,757$10,799$11,261$11,323 O-5$7,660$8,629$9,226$9,339$9,712$9,934$10,425 O-4$6,609$7,651$8,162$8,275$8,749$9,257$9,891 O-3$5,866$6,650$7,177$7,826$8,201$8,613$8,878 O-2$5,069$5,773$6,649$6,874$7,015$7,015$7,015 O-1$4,399$4,579$5,536$5,536$5,536$5,536$5,536 Prior Enlisted Officers Pay Grade<22346810 O-3E---$7,826$8,201$8,613$8,878 O-2E---$6,874$7,015$7,238$7,615 O-1E---$5,536$5,911$6,130$6,353 Warrant Officers Pay Grade<22346810 W-4$6,063$6,521$6,708$6,892$7,210$7,524$7,842 W-3$5,537$5,767$6,004$6,081$6,329$6,817$7,325 W-2$4,899$5,363$5,505$5,603$5,920$6,414$6,659 W-1$4,300$4,763$4,888$5,151$5,461$5,919$6,133

Officers and Warrant Officers with 12 to 25 Years of Service

Pay Grade12141618202224 O-10----$20,499$20,499$20,499 O-9----$20,499$20,499$20,499 O-8$17,304$17,484$18,025$18,807$19,528$20,010$20,010 O-7$14,748$15,177$16,522$17,659$17,659$17,659$17,659 O-6$11,323$11,966$13,104$13,771$14,439$14,819$15,203 O-5$10,785$11,251$11,961$12,300$12,634$13,014$13,014 O-4$10,383$10,725$10,922$11,035$11,035$11,035$11,035 O-3$9,316$9,544$9,544$9,544$9,544$9,544$9,544 O-2$7,015$7,015$7,015$7,015$7,015$7,015$7,015 O-1$5,536$5,536$5,536$5,536$5,536$5,536$5,536 Prior Enlisted Officers Pay Grade12141618202224 O-3E$9,316$9,685$9,897$10,186$10,186$10,186$10,186 O-2E$7,906$8,123$8,123$8,123$8,123$8,123$8,123 O-1E$6,573$6,874$6,874$6,874$6,874$6,874$6,874 Warrant Officers Pay Grade12141618202224 W-5----$10,780$11,327$11,734 W-4$8,319$8,738$9,137$9,464$9,783$10,250$10,634 W-3$7,565$7,841$8,126$8,639$8,985$9,192$9,412 W-2$6,900$7,195$7,425$7,634$7,883$8,047$8,177 W-1$6,433$6,727$6,959$7,172$7,431$7,431$7,431

Officers and Warrant Officers with 26 to 40 Years of Service

Pay Grade2628303234363840 O-10$20,499$20,499$20,499$20,499$20,499$20,499$20,499$20,499 O-9$20,499$20,499$20,499$20,499$20,499$20,499$20,499$20,499 O-8$20,010$20,010$20,499$20,499$20,499$20,499$20,499$20,499 O-7$17,750$17,750$18,104$18,104$18,104$18,104$18,104$18,104 O-6$15,948$15,948$16,267$16,267$16,267$16,267$16,267$16,267 O-5$13,014$13,014$13,014$13,014$13,014$13,014$13,014$13,014 O-4$11,035$11,035$11,035$11,035$11,035$11,035$11,035$11,035 O-3$9,544$9,544$9,544$9,544$9,544$9,544$9,544$9,544 O-2$7,015$7,015$7,015$7,015$7,015$7,015$7,015$7,015 O-1$5,536$5,536$5,536$5,536$5,536$5,536$5,536$5,536 Prior Enlisted Officers Pay Grade2628303234363840 O-3E$10,186$10,186$10,186$10,186$10,186$10,186$10,186$10,186 O-2E$8,123$8,123$8,123$8,123$8,123$8,123$8,123$8,123 O-1E$6,874$6,874$6,874$6,874$6,874$6,874$6,874$6,874 Warrant Officers Pay Grade2628303234363840 W-5$12,185$12,185$12,795$12,795$13,434$13,434$14,107$14,107 W-4$11,072$11,072$11,293$11,293$11,293$11,293$11,293$11,293 W-3$9,712$9,712$9,712$9,712$9,712$9,712$9,712$9,712 W-2$8,177$8,177$8,177$8,177$8,177$8,177$8,177$8,177 W-1$7,431$7,431$7,431$7,431$7,431$7,431$7,431$7,431

Officers serving in combat zones receive special pay privileges. Those ranking 0-1 and above can eliminate portions of their pay from taxes due to the dangerous nature of their role. You can calculate your full paycheck by adding your “hostile fire or imminent danger” pay to your basic pay rate. 

Prior Enlisted Officer Pay Qualifications

Notably, officers who are prior enlisted may receive an increased pay rate based on their time spent in service, among other specifications. Consult the Department of Defense’s Financial Management Regulations for more in-depth information regarding pay rates. 

Enlisted Members with up to 11 Years of Service

Pay GradeFewer Than TwoTwo or MoreThree or MoreFour or MoreSix or MoreEight or More10 or More E-9------$7,325 E-8-----$5,996$6,261 E-7$4,168$4,549$4,723$4,954$5,134$5,444$5,618 E-6$3,605$3,968$4,143$4,313$4,490$4,890$5,045 E-5$3,577$3,850$4,040$4,223$4,398$4,581$4,703 E-4$3,362$3,534$3,726$3,915$4,082$4,082$4,082 E-3$3,035$3,226$3,422$3,422$3,422$3,422$3,422 E-2$2,887$2,887$2,887$2,887$2,887$2,887$2,887 E-1$2,576$2,576$2,576$2,576$2,576$2,576$2,576 E-1 <4 Mon$2,381------

Enlisted Members with 12 to 25 Years of Service

Pay Grade12141618202224 E-9$7,491$7,700$7,946$8,195$8,591$8,928$9,282 E-8$6,425$6,622$6,835$7,220$7,415$7,747$7,931 E-7$5,927$6,185$6,361$6,548$6,620$6,864$6,994 E-6$5,346$5,438$5,505$5,584$5,584$5,584$5,584 E-5$4,731$4,731$4,731$4,731$4,731$4,731$4,731 E-4$4,082$4,082$4,082$4,082$4,082$4,082$4,082 E-3$3,422$3,422$3,422$3,422$3,422$3,422$3,422 E-2$2,887$2,887$2,887$2,887$2,887$2,887$2,887 E-1$2,576$2,576$2,576$2,576$2,576$2,576$2,576

Enlisted Members with 26 to 40 Years of Service

Pay Grade2628303234363840 E-9$9,824$9,824$10,314$10,314$10,830$10,830$11,373$11,373 E-8$8,383$8,383$8,551$8,551$8,551$8,551$8,551$8,551 E-7$7,492$7,492$7,492$7,492$7,492$7,492$7,492$7,492 E-6$5,584$5,584$5,584$5,584$5,584$5,584$5,584$5,584 E-5$4,731$4,731$4,731$4,731$4,731$4,731$4,731$4,731 E-4$4,082$4,082$4,082$4,082$4,082$4,082$4,082$4,082 E-3$3,422$3,422$3,422$3,422$3,422$3,422$3,422$3,422 E-2$2,887$2,887$2,887$2,887$2,887$2,887$2,887$2,887 E-1$2,576$2,576$2,576$2,576$2,576$2,576$2,576$2,576

How This Pay Raise Impacts Your Paycheck

Let’s put some real numbers on this. Using current 2026 military pay rates, here’s what a raise at each proposed tier could mean for monthly basic pay:

7% Raise: E-5 and Below

Pay Grade and Experience2026 Monthly PayEstimated 2027 Monthly PayMonthly IncreaseE-1, less than 2 years$2,407$2,576+$169E-3, 2 years$3,015$3,226+$211E-4, 3 years$3,482$3,726+$244E-5, 4 years$3,947$4,223+$276

6% Raise: E-6 through O-3

Pay Grade and Experience2026 Monthly PayEstimated 2027 Monthly PayMonthly IncreaseE-6, 4 years$4,069$4,313+$244E-7, 6 years$4,844$5,134+$290E-8, 8 years$5,657$5,996+$339O-1, less than 2 years$4,150$4,399+$249O-2, 2 years$5,446$5,773+$327O-3, 4 years$7,383$7,826+$443

5% Raise: O-4 and Above

Pay Grade and Experience2026 Monthly PayEstimated 2027 Monthly PayMonthly IncreaseO-4, 8 years$8,816$9,257+$441O-5, 10 years$9,928$10,425+$497O-6, 12 years$10,783$11,323+$540

*These are estimates based on the current 2026 basic pay rates. Actual 2027 rates will depend on what Congress approves through the NDAA.

Why a Tiered Pay Raise Is Different and What It Might Signal

For as long as most servicemembers can remember, military pay raises have applied the same percentage to every rank. Everyone from a brand-new E-1 to a senior O-10 got the same increase. That’s been the standard approach for decades.

This proposal zags away from that approach, and instead aligns more like what happened in 2025, where you saw a 14.5% increase if you were a junior enlisted servicemember. That is compared to the 4.5% raise for everyone else. 

The goal then, I suspect, is the goal now: Get more people interested in joining the military. If you want more people to sign up and stay in, making the early years of service more financially rewarding is a logical lever to pull.

Whether or not that’s the primary intent, the effect would be the same: servicemembers at the E-5 level and below would see a noticeably larger pay boost than their senior counterparts.

Military Pay Dates

Fortunately, the military follows a consistent pay schedule from year to year, with paychecks typically issued on the 1st and 15th of each month, except when these dates fall on weekends or holidays.

Want a peek at exactly when you can expect your paycheck throughout the year? Here are the Military Pay Dates for Active-Duty Paychecks.          

Previous Military Pay Raises

What Happens Next

Here’s the short version of where things stand:

1. The President submitted the FY2027 budget proposal to Congress.

2. Congress will use it as a starting point, but they are not bound by it to start the NDAA bill process.

3. The House and Senate Armed Services Committees will develop their own versions of the NDAA.

4. Each committee will draft its own version of the NDAA bill, and each chamber will vote on it. Then reconciled versions go to a full Congressional vote. If passed the NDAA will go to the President’s desk to sign it into law.

5. If history holds, that happens sometime in the late fall or winter.

One thing to keep an eye out for: Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) and Basic Allowance for Subsistence (BAS) rate increase proposals or projections. We could get a clearer picture of these rate increases later in the year as housing market data plays a role in BAH. It wouldn’t be right to predict those allowance increases just yet, given the factors that go into determining them.  

Final Points

The NDAA is one of the most reliably bipartisan bills Congress passes each year. Defense spending and military pay tend to have broad support on both sides of the aisle. Interestingly enough, in the 2024 proposal that went into effect in 2025, the White House called for a flat-rate, and it was Congress that passed a tiered pay increase. I say that to say: you never know what the Congressional version of this pay increase looks like or what the final totals will be. 

We’ll keep tracking this as the NDAA process moves forward. Bookmark this page or check back in the fall for updates.

Meet the Author

Jon Rehagan is a 2-time Emmy Award-winning journalist who covers financial topics and military news for the veteran community. With 16 years in broadcast media (including roles in radio and...

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