Military pay · grade group
Field grade officer pay (O-4 to O-6) in 2026
Basic pay of majors, lieutenant colonels and colonels (lieutenant commanders, commanders and Navy captains), with the 2026 cap and what these grades mean at retirement.
O-4 to O-6 basic pay in 2026
O-5, over 4
$8,894.10
| Per year | $106,729 |
| Before the 3.8% raise (approx.) | $8,568 |
| Per drill (1/30 of a month) | $296.47 |
An O-4, major or lieutenant commander, with more than twelve years earns $9,888.30 a month of basic pay in 2026; an O-5, lieutenant colonel or commander, with more than eighteen years $11,713.80; and an O-6, colonel or Navy captain, with more than twenty-two years $14,112.90, after the 3.8% raise of January 1, 2026. The field grade rows run long: the O-4 row rises until over 18 years, the O-5 row until over 22 and the O-6 row until over 30. The O-6 row meets a ceiling written in law: basic pay for O-6 and below cannot exceed Level V of the Executive Schedule, $15,408.30 a month in 2026, and the DFAS table shows the capped amounts in its last columns. These are the grades at which most officers retire, typically as an O-5 at twenty to twenty-four years or an O-6 at twenty-six to thirty, so their tables decide most officer pensions.
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · How we calculate
O-4 to O-6 basic pay, 2026
| Years | O-4 | O-5 | O-6 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Over 10 | $9,420 | $9,928.50 | $10,783.50 |
| Over 12 | $9,888.30 | $10,271.70 | $10,783.50 |
| Over 14 | $10,214.40 | $10,715.10 | $11,396.40 |
| Over 16 | $10,401.60 | $11,391.30 | $12,479.70 |
| Over 18 | $10,509.90 | $11,713.80 | $13,115.40 |
| Over 20 | $10,509.90 | $12,032.70 | $13,751.10 |
| Over 22 | $10,509.90 | $12,394.80 | $14,112.90 |
| Over 24 | $10,509.90 | $12,394.80 | $14,479.20 |
| Over 26 | $10,509.90 | $12,394.80 | $15,188.70 |
| Over 28 | $10,509.90 | $12,394.80 | $15,188.70 |
| Over 30 | $10,509.90 | $12,394.80 | $15,408.30 |
Promotion points and pay
Field grade promotions come later and less surely than junior ones. An officer typically becomes an O-4 around the tenth year, an O-5 around the sixteenth and, for a minority, an O-6 around the twenty-second, with variations by service and career field. Each promotion moves the officer to a higher row at the same seniority: at sixteen years, the O-4 rate is $10,401.60 and the O-5 rate $11,391.30, $989.70 more a month. Officers who are not selected twice for the next grade generally have to leave unless they are close to retirement, which is why these steps matter for planning.
The officer retirement at these grades
| Retirement | High-3 (estimate) | BRS (estimate) |
|---|---|---|
| O-4 at 20 years | $5,255 | $4,204 |
| O-5 at 22 years | $6,618 | $5,294 |
| O-6 at 26 years | $9,411 | $7,529 |
| O-6 at 30 years | $11,392 | $9,113 |
Officers in the grades of O-5 and above must normally serve three years in the grade to retire in it; retiring earlier usually means retiring in the previous grade, which lowers the pension even though the high-36 average already reflects the higher pay. The retirement calculator accepts your own high-36 average and months of service, and the military retirement pay page shows the figures for other grades.
Allowances at field grade
BAH at these grades is priced on larger homes, so it is the highest of the officer table below the general officer grades: with dependents, an O-5 receives $5,493 in San Diego, $3,318 in Norfolk and $2,913 in Colorado Springs in 2026. The BAH rates page lists every area. The grades above O-6 have their own page: general and flag officer pay.
Where the O-6 cap starts to matter
The Level V cap is $15,408.30 a month in 2026. The uncapped O-6 rate would pass it only in the last columns, so the cap concerns colonels and Navy captains with very long careers, generally beyond twenty-six years. For them, the yearly raise may be partly or entirely absorbed by the cap if the Executive Schedule rises less than military pay. Officers at lower grades are not affected at all, and the O-4 and O-5 rows stay well below the cap at every seniority.
Field grade officers with prior enlisted service
The O-1E to O-3E rates end at promotion to O-4. A major who was a sergeant for six years is paid from the same O-4 row as any other major, with the years of enlisted service counted in the column. At fourteen years, that is $10,214.40 a month, whatever the path to the grade.
Reserve component field grade officers are paid from the same rows during active duty and by drill periods otherwise, one thirtieth of the monthly rate for each period, which is why the table also appears in reserve pay calculations.