Military pay · grade group
General and flag officer pay (O-7 to O-10) in 2026
The basic pay of brigadier generals to four-star generals and admirals, and why the pay cap makes most of the table identical.
O-7 to O-10 basic pay in 2026
O-8, over 4
$14,729.40
| Per year | $176,753 |
| Before the 3.8% raise (approx.) | $14,190 |
| Per drill (1/30 of a month) | $490.98 |
General and flag officers are paid from the same DFAS table as everyone else, but most of their row is flattened by a cap. In 2026 basic pay for grades O-7 to O-10 cannot exceed Level II of the Executive Schedule, $18,999.90 a month. A brigadier general or rear admiral lower half (O-7) starts at $11,540.10 and reaches $17,242.20 at over 30 years, below the cap. A major general or rear admiral (O-8) reaches the cap from over 22 years. Lieutenant generals and vice admirals (O-9) and generals and admirals (O-10) are paid the capped amount in every column, because the table starts at over 20 years and the uncapped rates would exceed it. The cap also applies to the four-star officers who lead the services and to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Grades O-6 and below have a lower cap, $15,408.30, Level V of the Executive Schedule.
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · How we calculate
O-7 to O-10 basic pay, 2026
| Years | O-7 | O-8 | O-9 | O-10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 or less | $11,540.10 | $13,888.50 | n/a | n/a |
| Over 6 | $12,878.70 | $15,106.50 | n/a | n/a |
| Over 10 | $13,639.20 | $15,882 | n/a | n/a |
| Over 14 | $14,454.30 | $16,651.80 | n/a | n/a |
| Over 18 | $16,817.70 | $17,911.80 | n/a | n/a |
| Over 20 | $16,817.70 | $18,598.20 | $18,999.90 | $18,999.90 |
| Over 22 | $16,817.70 | $18,999.90 | $18,999.90 | $18,999.90 |
| Over 24 | $16,817.70 | $18,999.90 | $18,999.90 | $18,999.90 |
| Over 26 | $16,904.40 | $18,999.90 | $18,999.90 | $18,999.90 |
| Over 30 | $17,242.20 | $18,999.90 | $18,999.90 | $18,999.90 |
| Over 34 | $17,242.20 | $18,999.90 | $18,999.90 | $18,999.90 |
| Over 38 | $17,242.20 | $18,999.90 | $18,999.90 | $18,999.90 |
How the cap works
Title 37 limits military basic pay to a level of the civilian Executive Schedule, the pay scale of senior political appointees. For general and flag officers, the limit is Level II; for everyone else, Level V. When the Executive Schedule is frozen or rises less than military pay, the cap bites into more cells of the table. In 2026, it leaves the O-7 row untouched, flattens the upper part of the O-8 row from over 22 years, and covers the whole O-9 and O-10 rows. DFAS publishes the capped amounts directly, so the table above is what officers are actually paid.
The cap applies to basic pay only. General and flag officers receive the officer rate of BAS, BAH where they do not live in government quarters, and in certain positions a personal money allowance for official entertainment. Many live in designated quarters on an installation and therefore do not draw BAH. When they do, the O-7 rate is the highest of the DTMO table: with dependents, $4,770 a month in the Washington area in 2026.
Retirement above the cap
Retired pay of general and flag officers is computed from the high-36 average of basic pay. Whether that average uses the capped or the uncapped rates of the table has changed several times in law, and the answer depends on the date of retirement, so DFAS applies the rule in force for each officer. The retirement calculator works from the capped 2026 rates and should be read as an estimate for these grades.
Grade titles
O-7 is brigadier general in the Army, Air Force, Marine Corps and Space Force, and rear admiral lower half in the Navy and Coast Guard. O-8 is major general or rear admiral. O-9 is lieutenant general or vice admiral, O-10 general or admiral. The grades O-9 and O-10 are tied to positions designated by the President and confirmed by the Senate. The O-4 to O-6 page covers the grades below, and the 2026 pay chart every grade of the table.
For the same reason, a pay raise voted for the military does not always reach general and flag officers in full: when the Executive Schedule rises less than the military table, the capped grades gain only what the Executive Schedule gains, and the gap between uncapped and paid amounts widens.
One consequence is easy to miss: in 2026 a long-serving O-7 and an O-10 draw basic pay only $1,757.70 a month apart, and the same amount once the O-7 is promoted to O-8 with enough years, while their duties differ enormously. Pay at this level is a matter of law and positions, not of the seniority columns.