Military Pay Chart 2020 & 2021

Military Pay Chart 2020 & 2021 – A military member that serves on basic duty and active duty is entitled to receive an allowance, services, and benefits as arranged by law. Having a steady paycheck with a bonus that frees from tax is one of the biggest benefits of working within the military. Below, you can read the explanation of the military pay chart and the samples of the chart for 2020 and 2021.

Basic Military Pay Chart

The basic pay chart shows a list of compensation for the military members. The chart is comprised based on two primary variables: their rank and their service years, which related to their pay grade in general.

The basic pay is rated on monthly basis and subjected to taxes just like civilian’s taxable income. Similar to civilians that work in the private sector with a regular salary, the military member is not eligible for overtime work payment as well. Most of them will receive their monthly pay twice a month with the total pay split in half for each, except for Army members in Air Force who can choose to receive their monthly payment once a month instead.

Military Pay Chart 2020 & 2021

Seven Factors That Impact Military Pay

There are several factors that impact military pay, which include:

  1. The general pay raises annually
  2. The raises that apply every two years of their service
  3. The raises of BAH (Basic Allowance for Housing)
  4. The raises of BAS (Basic Allowance for Subsistence)
  5. Special bonus based on specialties such as flight, combat, language skills, or hazardous duty
  6. Promotions
  7. Total drill period numbers (for reserve and guard)

Military Pay Chart 2020

The President of the United States has approved the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act on December 20, 2019. It contains adjusted military pay, which increased as much as 3.1% – a similar amount that’s recommended by U.S.C. Title 37 proposes a payment increase based on the Employment Cost Index (ECI). The proposed raise is applied to start from January 1, 2020, and went into effect on paychecks issued from January 15 of the year.

The following sample table of monthly basic pay for military members is applied for active military components, including Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard.

2020 Military Pay Chart for Basic Duty Enlisted (less than 2 to over 40 years)

Pay Grade (<4 months) < 2 2 3 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 30 34 38 over 40
E-9 5473 5597 5753 5937 6122 6420 6671 6936 7340 7707 8092 8497
E-8 4480 4678 4801 4948 5107 5395 5540 5788 5925 6264 6390 6390 6390
E-7 3114 3399 3529 3702 3837 4068 4198 4429 4621 4752 4892 4947 5128 5226 5597
E-6 2694 2964 3095 3222 3355 3653 3770 3994 4064 4114 4172 4172 4172 4172 4172
E-5 2468 2634 2761 2891 3094 3307 3481 3502 3502 3502 3502 3502 3502 3502 3502
E-4 2263 2378 2507 2634 2747 2747 2747 2747 2747 2747 2747 2747 2747 2747 2747
E-3 2043 2171 2303 2303 2303 2303 2303 2303 2303 2303 2303 2303 2303 2303 2303
E-2 1942 1942 1942 1942 1942 1942 1942 1942 1942 1942 1942 1942 1942 1942 1942
E-1 1603 1733 1733 1733 1733 1733 1733 1733 1733 1733 1733 1733 1733 1733 1733 1733

2020 Military Pay Chart for Active Duty Officer (less than 2 to over 40 years)

Pay Grade < 2 2 3 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 30  34 38 Over 40
O-10 16025 16025 16025 16025 16441 16441 16441
O-9 15079 15296 15610 16025 16441 16441 16441
O-8 11000 11360 11599 11666 11965 12463 12579 13052 13188 13596 14186 14730 15093 15093 15093 15471 15857 15857
O-7 9140 9565 9761 9917 10200 10479 10803 11125 11448 12463 13320 13320 13320 13320 13388 13656 13656 13656
O-6 6931 7615 8114 8114 8145 8495 8541 8541 9026 9884 10388 10891 11178 11468 12030 12270 12270 12270
O-5 5778 6509 6960 7045 7326 7494 7864 8135 8486 9023 9278 9530 9817 9817 9817
O-4 4985 5771 6156 6242 6599 6983 7460 7832 8090 8238 8324 8324 8324 8324 8324
O-3 4383 4969 5363 5847 6127 6435 6634 6961 7131 7131 7131 7131 7131 7131 7131
O-2 3787 4314 4968 5136 5241 5241 5241 5241 5241 5241 5241 5241 5241 5241 5241
O-1 3287 3422 4136 4136 4136 4136 4136 4136 4136 4136 4136 4136 4136 4136 4136
Commissioned Officer With Over 4 Years of Active Service as an Enlisted Member or Warrant Officer
O-3E 5847 6127 6435 6634 6961 7236 7395 7611 7611 7611 7611 7611
O-2E 5136 5241 5408 5690 5908 6070 6070 6070 6070 6070 6070 6070
O-1E 4136 4417 4580 4747 4911 5136 5136 5136 5136 5136 5136 5136
Warrant Officers
W-5 8054 8463 8768 9104 9560 10038 10540
W-4 4530 4873 5013 5150 5387 5622 5859 6217 6530 6827 7071 7309 7658 7945 8273 8438 8438 8438
W-3 4136 4309 4486 4544 4729 5094 5473 5652 5859 6072 6455 6713 6868 7033 7256
W-2 3660 4007 4113 4187 4424 4793 4976 5156 5376 5548 5704 5890 6013 6110 6110
W-1 3213 3559 3652 3848 4081 4423 4583 4807 5027 5200 5359 5552 5552 5552 5552

Military Pay Chart 2021

The senate of the United States has passed its 2021 National Defense Authorization Act proposal on, July 23, 2020. The substance is in line with the proposal created by the House of Representatives and The President. It recommends military pay raises as much as 3.0%. Before the proposal receives final approval from the President, any content differences in each bill between the Senate and the House of Representatives must be reconciled first.

House of Representatives also has passed the National Defense Authorization Act of their version on July 21, 2020. It is planned to be voted by entire Senate members by the following week, but as mentioned above, the proposed substance regarding military pay raise for 2021 is similar at 3.0%.

2021 Military Pay Grade Chart for Basic Duty Enlisted (less than 2 to over 40 years)

Pay Grade (<4 months) < 2 2 3 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 30 34 38 Over 40
E-9 5637 5765 5926 6115 6306 6612 6871 7144 7560 7938 8335 8752
E-8 4615 4819 4945 5097 5261 5557 5706 5962 6103 6452 6582 6582 6582
E-7 3208 3501 3635 3813 3952 4190 4324 4562 4760 4895 5039 5095 5282 5383 5765
E-6 2775 3053 3188 3319 3455 3763 3883 4114 4185 4237 4297 4297 4297 4297 4297
E-5 2542 2713 2844 2978 3187 3406 3585 3607 3607 3607 3607 3607 3607 3607 3607
E-4 2330 2450 2583 2713 2829 2829 2829 2829 2829 2829 2829 2829 2829 2829 2829
E-3 2104 2236 2372 2372 2372 2372 2372 2372 2372 2372 2372 2372 2372 2372 2372
E-2 2001 2001 2001 2001 2001 2001 2001 2001 2001 2001 2001 2001 2001 2001 2001
E-1 1652 1785 1785 1785 1785 1785 1785 1785 1785 1785 1785 1785 1785 1785 1785 1785

2021 Military Pay Grade Chart for Active Duty Officer (less than 2 to over 40 years)

Pay Grade < 2 2 3 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 30 34 38 Over 40
O-10 16506 16506 16506 16506 16506 16506 16506
O-9 15531 15755 16079 16506 16506 16506 16506
O-8 11330 11701 11947 12016 12324 12837 12957 13444 13583 14004 14612 15172 15546 15546 15546 15935 16333 16333
O-7 9414 9852 10054 10215 10506 10794 11127 11458 11791 12837 13720 13720 13720 13720 13789 14065 14065 14065
O-6 7139 7843 8358 8358 8390 8749 8797 8797 9297 10181 10699 11218 11513 11812 12391 12638 12638 12638
O-5 5951 6704 7168 7256 7546 7719 8100 8379 8740 9293 9556 9816 10111 10111 10111
O-4 5135 5944 6341 6429 6797 7192 7684 8067 8333 8485 8574 8574 8574 8574 8574
O-3 4515 5118 5524 6023 6311 6628 6833 7170 7345 7345 7345 7345 7345 7345 7345
O-2 3901 4443 5117 5290 5399 5399 5399 5399 5399 5399 5399 5399 5399 5399 5399
O-1 3386 3524 4260 4260 4260 4260 4260 4260 4260 4260 4260 4260 4260 4260 4260
Commissioned Officer With Over 4 Years of Active Service as an Enlisted Member or Warrant Officer
O-3E 6023 6311 6628 6833 7170 7454 7617 7839 7839 7839 7839 7839
O-2E 5290 5399 5571 5861 6085 6252 6252 6252 6252 6252 6252 6252
O-1E 4260 4549 4718 4890 5058 5290 5290 5290 5290 5290 5290 5290
Warrant Officers
W-5 8296 8717 9031 9377 9847 10339 10856
W-4 4666 5019 5163 5305 5549 5790 6035 6403 6726 7032 7283 7528 7888 8184 8521 8691 8691 8691
W-3 4260 4438 4620 4680 4871 5247 5637 5821 6034 6254 6648 6915 7074 7244 7474
W-2 3770 4127 4237 4312 4557 4937 5125 5311 5537 5714 5875 6067 6193 6293 6293
W-1 3309 3665 3761 3964 4203 4556 4721 4951 5177 5355 5520 5719 5719 5719 5719

Please note the sample tables above are still based on prediction for adjusted pay rates for military members for 2021. It also contains basic pay only, which means it doesn’t contain other entitlements, such as Basic Allowance for Sustenance (BAS) and Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH).