Royal Navy pay rose by 3.6% for 2026/27, backdated to 1 April 2026. Every pay table below is the "1 April 2026" column of the AFPRB Fifty-Fifth Report, and those salaries already include the 14.5% X-factor.
Royal Navy pay is set under the Armed Forces Pay Review Body (AFPRB) framework - a single pay system used across all three services with rank-specific scales. The 2025/26 settlement delivered a headline 4.5% increase from 1 April 2025, accepted in full by the government. The 2026/27 award has now been announced: a 3.6% rise for all ranks, backdated to 1 April 2026 (AFPRB Fifty-Fifth Report 2026; GOV.UK announcement, 9 June 2026). Every pay table in this guide is the "1 April 2026" column of the AFPRB Fifty-Fifth Report, the rates that apply from 1 April 2026 after the 3.6% award, and those salaries already include the 14.5% X-factor. The guide also covers submarine pay, sea-service allowances and how the RN payslip should be read.
Check your Royal Navy JPA payslip - X-factor, submarine pay, sea allowances and tax code, verified in 30 seconds.
What each rank takes home
An Able Rating on £27,282 takes home about £1,930 a month. A Petty Officer at the top of the Trade Supplement 1 OR-6 range, £50,598, takes home about £3,325, and a Lieutenant at the top of OF-2, £64,852, about £4,014. Every figure below is computed from the AFPRB determination and the site's 2026/27 tax and National Insurance constants - none of it is typed by hand.
Able Rating, Petty Officer and Lieutenant: take-home at each increment
Salaries as determined, in force from 1 April 2026. Deductions on the 2026/27 tax year: income tax on the standard 1257L code with rest-of-UK bands, and Class 1 National Insurance on category A. No student loan and no overtime, allowances or enhancements.
| Grade and pay point | Salary / year | Income tax / year | NI / year | Take-home / year | Take-home / month |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Able Rating (OR-2) — Initial Pay | £27,282 | £2,942 | £1,177 | £23,163 | £1,930 |
| Able Rating (OR-2) — OR2-01 | £27,282 | £2,942 | £1,177 | £23,163 | £1,930 |
| Able Rating (OR-2) — OR2-02 | £28,001 | £3,086 | £1,234 | £23,680 | £1,973 |
| Able Rating (OR-2) — OR2-03 | £28,001 | £3,086 | £1,234 | £23,680 | £1,973 |
| Able Rating (OR-2) — OR2-04 | £29,764 | £3,439 | £1,376 | £24,950 | £2,079 |
| Able Rating (OR-2) — OR2-05 | £31,245 | £3,735 | £1,494 | £26,016 | £2,168 |
| Able Rating (OR-2) — OR2-06 | £32,377 | £3,961 | £1,585 | £26,831 | £2,236 |
| Able Rating (OR-2) — OR2-07 | £33,823 | £4,251 | £1,700 | £27,872 | £2,323 |
| Able Rating (OR-2) — OR2-08 / OR3-01 | £35,310 | £4,548 | £1,819 | £28,943 | £2,412 |
| Able Rating (OR-2) — OR2-09 / OR3-02 | £36,892 | £4,864 | £1,946 | £30,082 | £2,507 |
| Able Rating (OR-2) — OR2-10 / OR3-03 | £38,553 | £5,197 | £2,079 | £31,278 | £2,606 |
| Petty Officer (OR-6) — OR6-01 | £46,022 | £6,690 | £2,676 | £36,655 | £3,055 |
| Petty Officer (OR-6) — OR6-02 | £46,022 | £6,690 | £2,676 | £36,655 | £3,055 |
| Petty Officer (OR-6) — OR6-03 | £47,086 | £6,903 | £2,761 | £37,422 | £3,118 |
| Petty Officer (OR-6) — OR6-04 | £48,243 | £7,135 | £2,854 | £38,255 | £3,188 |
| Petty Officer (OR-6) — OR6-05 | £49,415 | £7,369 | £2,948 | £39,098 | £3,258 |
| Petty Officer (OR-6) — OR6-06 | £50,598 | £7,671 | £3,023 | £39,904 | £3,325 |
| Lieutenant (OF-2) — OF2-01 | £54,716 | £9,318 | £3,105 | £42,293 | £3,524 |
| Lieutenant (OF-2) — OF2-02 | £54,716 | £9,318 | £3,105 | £42,293 | £3,524 |
| Lieutenant (OF-2) — OF2-03 | £56,405 | £9,994 | £3,139 | £43,272 | £3,606 |
| Lieutenant (OF-2) — OF2-04 | £58,095 | £10,670 | £3,173 | £44,253 | £3,688 |
| Lieutenant (OF-2) — OF2-05 | £59,784 | £11,346 | £3,206 | £45,232 | £3,769 |
| Lieutenant (OF-2) — OF2-06 | £61,474 | £12,022 | £3,240 | £46,212 | £3,851 |
| Lieutenant (OF-2) — OF2-07 | £63,163 | £12,697 | £3,274 | £47,192 | £3,933 |
| Lieutenant (OF-2) — OF2-08 | £64,852 | £13,373 | £3,308 | £48,172 | £4,014 |
Salary source: AFPRB 55th Report 2026, Appendix 1. Trade Supplement 1 and inclusive of the 14.5% X-factor, which is how the AFPRB publishes them, so they will not match a JPA basic-pay line on their own. No pension line: Armed Forces Pension Scheme 2015 is non-contributory for the member. Work out your own figures on the take-home calculator.
The Armed Forces Pay Review Body publishes one pay spine for all three Services, so an OR-6 in the Army, the RAF and the Royal Navy is paid the identical figure to the penny. The rank names differ; the rows do not. If you have compared this table against the Army or Royal Navy guide and found the same numbers, that is the determination, not a copying error.
AFPS 15 is non-contributory - there is no member contribution line, so unlike the NHS, teacher and police scales there is nothing coming off before income tax. That makes the published salary and the figure tax is charged on the same number, and it is the single biggest structural difference between forces pay and the other public-sector scales.
The published figures already include the 14.5% X-factor and Trade Supplement 1, which is how the AFPRB prints them, so they will not match a JPA basic-pay line on their own.
How Royal Navy pay is structured
Every Royal Navy Service person is paid on a defined pay scale linked to:
- Rank - the seniority position (Able Rating, Leading Hand, Petty Officer, Chief Petty Officer, Warrant Officer for Ratings; Midshipman, Sub-Lieutenant, Lieutenant, Lieutenant Commander, Commander, Captain and above for Officers).
- Pay Increment (Level) - within most ranks there are several increment steps reflecting time in rank.
- Pay Supplement (Spine) - Supplement 1 to 4, where higher supplements reflect specialist Trade Groups attracting higher pay.
Within these dimensions, a numerical pay level corresponds to an annual gross salary, paid monthly in 12 equal instalments by Defence Business Services (DBS) payroll. The Royal Navy uses the same AFPRB pay model as the Army and RAF, so a Petty Officer (OR-6) sits on the same OR-6 pay band as an Army Sergeant or an RAF Sergeant. An Army Staff Sergeant or Colour Sergeant is OR-7, level with a Chief Petty Officer, not with a Petty Officer.
Ratings pay scale 2026/27
Every figure below is transcribed from the AFPRB Fifty-Fifth Report 2026, Appendix 1, Table 1.1 (Other Ranks Trade Supplement 1), "1 April 2026" column. Supplement 1 is the base spine; Trade Supplements 2 to 4 (Tables 1.2 to 1.4 of the same report) apply to specialist trades and pay materially more at every increment level - on Supplement 4, OR2-10 is £41,164, OR4-06 is £48,497, OR6-06 is £56,611, OR7-12 / OR8-06 is £65,249 and OR9-06 is £68,982. Pay is set by increment level, not by rank alone.
| Rank | Increment level | Annual salary from 1 April 2026 (Supplement 1) |
|---|---|---|
| Able Rating | Initial Pay | £27,282 |
| OR2-01 | £27,282 | |
| OR2-02 | £28,001 | |
| OR2-03 | £28,001 | |
| OR2-04 | £29,764 | |
| OR2-05 | £31,245 | |
| OR2-06 | £32,377 | |
| OR2-07 | £33,823 | |
| OR2-08 / OR3-01 | £35,310 | |
| OR2-09 / OR3-02 | £36,892 | |
| OR2-10 / OR3-03 | £38,553 | |
| Leading Hand (Leading Rate) | OR4-01 | £40,989 |
| OR4-02 | £40,989 | |
| OR4-03 | £42,054 | |
| OR4-04 | £42,660 | |
| OR4-05 | £43,227 | |
| OR4-06 | £43,826 | |
| Petty Officer | OR6-01 | £46,022 |
| OR6-02 | £46,022 | |
| OR6-03 | £47,086 | |
| OR6-04 | £48,243 | |
| OR6-05 | £49,415 | |
| OR6-06 | £50,598 | |
| Chief Petty Officer / Warrant Officer 2 | OR7-01 | £51,615 |
| OR7-02 | £51,615 | |
| OR7-03 | £52,396 | |
| OR7-04 | £53,219 | |
| OR7-05 | £54,014 | |
| OR7-06 | £54,845 | |
| OR7-07 / OR8-01 | £56,024 | |
| OR7-08 / OR8-02 | £56,024 | |
| OR7-09 / OR8-03 | £57,199 | |
| OR7-10 / OR8-04 | £58,310 | |
| OR7-11 / OR8-05 | £59,279 | |
| OR7-12 / OR8-06 | £60,271 | |
| Warrant Officer 1 (WO1) | OR9-01 | £64,704 |
| OR9-02 | £64,704 | |
| OR9-03 | £65,071 | |
| OR9-04 | £65,802 | |
| OR9-05 | £66,532 | |
| OR9-06 | £67,201 |
Source: AFPRB Fifty-Fifth Report 2026, Appendix 1, Table 1.1, "1 April 2026" column.
The Royal Navy's own recruitment pages quote lower numbers, and it is worth saying why rather than reconciling them: they have not been updated for the 2026 award. The site quotes a "day one" Rating salary of £26,344, £39,565 on promotion to Leading Rating, £44,000 at Petty Officer and a Warrant Officer top of £66,585 (royalnavy.mod.uk). Two of those four are the 1 April 2025 column to the pound: £39,565 is OR4-01 in Table 1.1 and £66,585 is OR9-06 on Trade Supplement 4 in Table 1.4. The other two are not AFPRB scale points at all. Initial Pay on 1 April 2025 was £26,334 in every trade supplement, ten pounds below the £26,344 advertised, and no OR6 rate in any of the four supplements was £44,000 in either year, so that figure is a rounded floor rather than a step on the spine. What none of the four is, is a fuller package measured on a different basis: they are last year's scales, or a rounding of them.
Note: Initial Pay is the trainee step for personnel still in Phase 1 training; qualified Able Ratings move up the OR2 levels and, once trade-trained, onto a higher trade supplement.
Officer pay scale 2026/27
| Rank | Increment level | Annual salary from 1 April 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Midshipman (OF-0) | not published | Appendix 1 of the AFPRB Fifty-Fifth Report 2026 does not publish an OF-0 scale; Officer Cadet and Midshipman training rates are set separately by MOD. Check JPA for your own rate. |
| Sub-Lieutenant | OF1-01 | £35,925 |
| OF1-02 | £42,948 | |
| OF1-03 | £44,415 | |
| OF1-04 | £45,883 | |
| OF1-05 | £47,351 | |
| Lieutenant | OF2-01 | £54,716 |
| OF2-02 | £54,716 | |
| OF2-03 | £56,405 | |
| OF2-04 | £58,095 | |
| OF2-05 | £59,784 | |
| OF2-06 | £61,474 | |
| OF2-07 | £63,163 | |
| OF2-08 | £64,852 | |
| Lieutenant Commander | OF3-01 | £68,624 |
| OF3-02 | £68,624 | |
| OF3-03 | £70,847 | |
| OF3-04 | £73,070 | |
| OF3-05 | £75,292 | |
| OF3-06 | £77,515 | |
| OF3-07 | £79,738 | |
| OF3-08 | £81,960 | |
| Commander | OF4-01 | £95,850 |
| OF4-02 | £95,850 | |
| OF4-03 | £98,351 | |
| OF4-04 | £100,836 | |
| OF4-05 | £103,328 | |
| OF4-06 | £105,821 | |
| OF4-07 | £108,314 | |
| OF4-08 | £110,806 | |
| Captain (RN) | OF5-01 | £115,881 |
| OF5-02 | £115,881 | |
| OF5-03 | £117,780 | |
| OF5-04 | £119,678 | |
| OF5-05 | £121,577 | |
| OF5-06 | £123,475 | |
| OF5-07 | £125,374 | |
| OF5-08 | £127,272 |
Source: AFPRB Fifty-Fifth Report 2026, Appendix 1, Table 1.5 (Officers), "1 April 2026" column.
The same gap appears on the officer side. The recruitment site quotes £34,676 on day one, £41,456 as a Sub-Lieutenant and £52,815 as a Lieutenant (royalnavy.mod.uk). Those are the 1 April 2025 figures for OF1-01, OF1-02 and OF2-01 to the pound. £34,676 is lower than the £35,925 in the table above it, so it cannot be a fuller package figure; it is simply the previous year's column.
Above Captain (RN), the scales are published too. Commodore (OF-6) is in Table 1.5 at £137,874 (OF6-01 and OF6-02), £139,257 (OF6-03), £140,640 (OF6-04), £142,023 (OF6-05) and £143,406 (OF6-06) from 1 April 2026. The flag ranks are in the same table: Rear Admiral (OF-7) £151,825 to £164,054, Vice Admiral (OF-8) £181,743 to £210,000 and Admiral (OF-9) £227,179 to £254,531. Senior Officer pay moved from the Review Body on Senior Salaries to the AFPRB in July 2025, so from the 2026 round it is published rank by rank like every other scale.
X-factor - the 14.5% across the board
Every full-time Regular is paid an X-factor of 14.5%, a pensionable addition to pay that compensates for the conditions of military service. The AFPRB salary tables already include it: "All salaries include X-Factor (where applicable)" (AFPRB Fifty-Fifth Report 2026, Appendix 1). The conditions it reflects include:
- 24/7 availability for operational duty and sea deployment.
- Frequent and prolonged separation from family while at sea.
- Limited freedom of speech and association compared to civilian employees.
- Geographic mobility and turbulence of postings.
- Hazards of military and maritime service.
The AFPRB states that the full 14.5% rate applies to full-time UK Regular personnel, with other rates for other commitment types. It is pensionable, and it is built into both the AFPRB tables above and the salaries the Royal Navy advertises, so do not add 14.5% to a table figure.
Source: MOD Discover My Benefits - X-Factor.
Submarine pay and specialist supplements
Submarine service attracts some of the most generous supplements in the Armed Forces. The figures below are those quoted on the Royal Navy's pay and benefits page; the 2026 award raised targeted payments by 3.6% and added a submariner retention payment (GOV.UK, 9 June 2026), so check JPA for your current rate:
| Element | Value |
|---|---|
| Dolphins qualification bonus (general) | £5,000 |
| Dolphins bonus (Warfare Specialist Submariner) | £7,500 |
| Additional Submariner Pay (annual) | £6,106 to £10,690 |
| Submariner Retention bonus (after 6 years) | £25,000 |
Additional Submariner Pay starts on completion of submariner training and rises with time served as a submariner. The £25,000 retention bonus is paid after six years' qualified submarine service.
Source: Royal Navy Pay and Benefits - Submariner Extra Financial Benefits.
Other Royal Navy specialist supplements shown as separate payslip lines include:
- Aircrew (Flying Pay) - Fleet Air Arm pilots and observers, parallel to the RAF flying pay scales.
- Diver / Mine Clearance Diver - hazardous-duty supplement.
- Special Forces support / Royal Marines attachments - operational readiness pay.
- Nuclear watchkeeper / propulsion - specialist engineering supplements.
- Linguist - paid by examined competence level.
None of these is pensionable. AFPS 15 defines pensionable earnings as "Basic pay, but excluding allowances, expenses, bonuses, financial incentives, Loan Service Pay, and any form of Recruitment and Retention Pay" (MOD, AFPS 15: Your Pension Scheme Explained, glossary), and each of the payments above is a Recruitment and Retention Payment. Trade Supplement is the exception, because it is a column of basic pay rather than an addition to it.
Operational Allowance and Longer Separation Allowance (sea service)
When deployed on operations or serving at sea away from base port:
- Operational Allowance - a daily payment for personnel in a specified operational location, exempt from income tax under section 297A of ITEPA 2003. MOD publishes the rate as £29.02 per day (MOD Discover My Benefits - Operational Allowance, page last updated 24 January 2024).
- Longer Separation Allowance (LSA) - paid on cumulative qualifying separation, which is why it matters so much at sea. There are sixteen Levels, not fourteen. Level 1 covers everything up to 280 days of qualifying separation at £9.58 a day from 1 April 2026, and Level 16 (3,161 days and over) pays £43.77 (AFPRB Fifty-Fifth Report 2026, Appendix 3). Because the count is cumulative across a career rather than per deployment, a first six-month deployment is a Level 1 deployment.
LSA is taxable; Operational Allowance is exempt by statute. The Royal Navy also provides free meals and accommodation while at sea, which materially raises effective take-home compared with a shore-based civilian role. See Service Personnel Tax Reliefs 2026 for the full breakdown.
Pension - AFPS 15
All new Royal Navy joiners since 1 April 2015 are automatically members of the Armed Forces Pension Scheme 2015 (AFPS 15):
- Type: Defined Benefit (CARE - Career Average Revalued Earnings).
- Employee contribution: zero (non-contributory - exceptional among public-sector schemes).
- Accrual rate: 1/47 of pensionable pay per year.
- Revaluation: the Average Weekly Earnings index while serving. MOD's booklet: "This growth, known as indexation, is based on the Average Weekly Earnings index." Not CPI.
- Normal Pension Age: 60. "The NPA for AFPS 15 is 60." A deferred pension is paid from your State Pension Age instead.
- Early Departure Payment (EDP): lump sum and income stream at the 20/40 point, which needs age 40 and 20 years of Regular service, both.
Source for those three: MOD, AFPS 15: Your Pension Scheme Explained.
AFPS 15 is one of the most valuable schemes in UK public service. From 1 April 2024 "MOD's Armed Forces SCAPE employer contribution rate increased to 73.5% of pensionable pay" (AFPRB Fifty-Fifth Report 2026, Appendix 4, footnote 107). The McCloud remedy applies to legacy AFPS 75 and AFPS 05 service for personnel who joined before April 2015. See Armed Forces Pension AFPS 2026 for full pension detail.
How the Royal Navy payslip reads
An illustrative Leading Hand payslip on OR4-01, Trade Supplement 1 (£40,989 a year from 1 April 2026, X-factor included), might show:
| Line | Monthly value |
|---|---|
| Basic pay including X-factor (OR4-01, £40,989 ÷ 12) | £3,415.75 |
| Total gross monthly pay | £3,415.75 |
Below this come:
- AFPS 15 contribution: £0 (non-contributory).
- Income tax at marginal rate.
- Class 1 National Insurance.
- Accommodation charge (if living in Single Living Accommodation or Service Family Accommodation).
Year-to-date columns show cumulative gross pay, tax, and National Insurance for the tax year. While deployed at sea, sea allowances and LSA appear as additional credit lines, and accommodation charges may be suspended.
To check whether those tax, NI and AFPS 15 lines look right on your own JPA slip, see How do I check my payslip is correct?.
Tax code notes
Most Royal Navy personnel hold the standard 1257L tax code unless circumstances change:
- Welsh tax code if Welsh resident (C prefix).
- Scottish tax code if Scottish resident (S prefix). Note: Service personnel can elect to retain the tax code of where they last lived as a civilian, which is administered separately by HMRC under MOD guidance - useful for those who move base port frequently.
- Emergency tax codes during initial entry, recovered via P800 reconciliation.
Because pay is administered centrally by DBS, a wrong tax code propagates across every pay period until corrected - so it pays to check the code on each payslip and confirm it through your Personal Tax Account at GOV.UK.
Pay progression example
A typical pay progression for a Royal Navy rating:
| Year | Rank | Increment level | Annual pay from 1 April 2026 (Supplement 1) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Year 1 (Phase 1 training) | Able Rating | Initial Pay | £27,282 |
| Year 2 (trade-trained AB) | Able Rating | OR2-03 | £28,001 |
| Year 4 (first promotion) | Leading Hand | OR4-01 | £40,989 |
| Year 6 (mid Leading Hand) | Leading Hand | OR4-03 | £42,054 |
| Year 8 (Petty Officer) | Petty Officer | OR6-01 | £46,022 |
| Year 12 (Chief PO) | Chief PO | OR7-01 | £51,615 |
| Year 18 (Warrant Officer) | WO1 | OR9-01 | £64,704 |
Pay is reviewed annually on 1 April, with increments timed to the anniversary date. Promotion-driven rises are step changes, not increments; submarine and trade supplements stack on top.
Action checklist for Royal Navy personnel
For Royal Navy Service personnel managing their pay:
- Confirm your pay Supplement and Level on the JPA system each pay period.
- Verify your X-factor (14.5%) is applied correctly to basic pay.
- Track submariner pay and Dolphins bonus timing if you are qualifying for submarine service.
- Track Operational Allowance days for your tax-free entitlement while deployed.
- Check your LSA tier is advancing correctly during long deployments.
- Review your AFPS 15 statement annually. If you have Annual Allowance exposure, note that money-purchase AVC contributions are themselves a Pension Input Amount and add to it rather than relieving it.
- Set up your Personal Tax Account at GOV.UK to confirm tax code accuracy.
More military pay guides
Start at the UK Armed Forces pay, pensions and payslips hub for the full cluster, or go straight to:
- X-factor deep dive - how the 14.5% interacts with submarine pay, sea allowances and your pension.
- Service personnel tax reliefs - Operational Allowance, LSA on deployment and the other Service reliefs.
- Armed Forces Pension AFPS 15 - the non-contributory pension behind the £0 deduction line on your payslip.
Disclaimer
PayslipIQ provides automated educational guidance based on the figures you supply. It is not regulated tax or financial advice. Armed Forces pay is set by the AFPRB and administered by Defence Business Services, with rank-specific and trade-specific variations. The tables in this guide are the AFPRB Fifty-Fifth Report "1 April 2026" rates, which include the 3.6% award backdated to 1 April 2026. For substantial pay queries or Annual Allowance / pension questions, consult the Forces Pension Society, your Unit HR or a regulated tax adviser experienced with Service personnel.
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