Major pay 2026/27 (OF3)

Take-home pay a month

£4,196.91

£50,362.92 a year from a salary of £68,624.00

Your details

Where you pay income tax

Pay level

Share of full time %

Percent of a full-time post

Student loan Postgraduate loan as well

Where your salary goes
	A year
Salary	£68,624.00
Income tax	£14,878.00
National Insurance	£3,383.08
Take-home pay	£50,362.92

How this was worked out

Salary: £68,624
Personal allowance: £12,570. Payroll applies it as tax code 1257L, which gives £12,579 of tax-free pay.
Taxable income: £68,624 − £12,579 = £56,045
Basic rate: £37,700 × 20% = £7,540
Higher rate: £18,345 × 40% = £7,338
Income tax: £14,878
National Insurance: (£50,270 − £12,570) × 8% = £3,016, plus (£68,624 − £50,270) × 2% = £367.08, total £3,383.08
Take-home pay: £68,624 − £14,878 − £3,383.08 = £50,362.92

The government accepted the AFPRB's 2026 Armed Forces pay award recommendations in full.

Tax year: 2026/27. Tax code: 1257L. Income tax nation: England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Pension: No Armed Forces Pension Scheme 2015 member contribution is taken from salary. Student loan: none unless selected in the calculator.
Full-time basic pay, for a full tax year. Money is rounded to the nearest penny.

OF3 officers earn £68,624 to £90,371 in 2026/27. After income tax and National Insurance, take-home is roughly £4,196.91 to £5,248.02 a month.

Major pay 2026/27 (OF3) Regular Forces pay after tax, 2026/27
Pay level	Trade supplement	Salary	Take-home a year	Take-home a month
OF3-01	—	£68,624	£50,362.92	£4,196.91
OF3-02	—	£68,624	£50,362.92	£4,196.91
OF3-03	—	£70,847	£51,652.26	£4,304.36
OF3-04	—	£73,070	£52,941.60	£4,411.80
OF3-05	—	£75,292	£54,230.36	£4,519.20
OF3-06	—	£77,515	£55,519.70	£4,626.64
OF3-07	—	£79,738	£56,809.04	£4,734.09
OF3-08	—	£81,960	£58,097.80	£4,841.48
OF3-09	—	£83,576	£59,035.08	£4,919.59
OF3-10	—	£85,225	£59,991.50	£4,999.29
OF3-11	—	£86,906	£60,966.48	£5,080.54
OF3-12	—	£88,621	£61,961.18	£5,163.43
OF3-13	—	£90,371	£62,976.18	£5,248.02

Pay scale: assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6a27f8383b15d05a7ce31f52/AFPRB_55th_Report_2026.pdf

OF3 ranks

OF3 is Major in the Army and the Royal Marines, Lieutenant Commander in the Royal Navy and Squadron Leader in the RAF.

The longest officer scale

The OF3 scale has 13 levels, more than any other officer rank. A note to the table says the top five levels are only for RAF Engineer Officers, by selection. Most majors and their equivalents therefore reach the top of their scale at the eighth level.

The first two levels pay the same. From the third level the steps are close to equal, and the extra RAF engineer levels continue in somewhat smaller steps.

Tax at OF3

All OF3 pay is well inside the higher rate band and stays below the level where the personal allowance starts to shrink. Each step up adds a little under sixty pence in the pound to take-home. The National Insurance rates page explains why the National Insurance share of a rise is small at this salary.

Questions

Who can reach the top OF3 levels?

Only RAF Engineer Officers, by selection. The note to the pay table limits the top five levels to them.

Does a major lose any personal allowance?

No, every OF3 salary is below the level where the allowance starts to taper, assuming no other income.

What does a major take home each month?

Between about £4,196.91 and £5,248.02 in 2026/27.