Pay & Allowances

Special & Incentive Pay Rates

2026

Full 2026 DFAS rate tables — aviation, sea, submarine, diving, hazardous duty, SDAP, language, combat-zone pays. All branches.

Rates checked 2026-10-07 · 2026Reviewed by Guilherme Correia, active-duty U.S. Air Force

2026 special & incentive pay

Every special pay rate in one place.

Aviation, sea, submarine, diving, hazardous duty, SDAP, language bonus, hostile fire, family separation, combat-zone pays — with rates by branch, grade, and years of service where applicable. Click any card to expand.

Monthly incentive pay for officers and enlisted performing aviation duties. Rates vary by branch, years of aviation service, and crew status.

Effective: 2017-10-01

Years of Aviation ServiceMonthly Rate
2 or less$150.00
Over 2$250.00
Over 6$700.00
Over 12$1,000.00
Over 22$700.00
Over 24$450.00

HDIP for Flying — Air Crew Members (except Airborne Warning and Control Systems), by pay grade

Hazardous Duty Incentive Pay for Flying. Air crew rates vary by pay grade (officers, warrant officers, and enlisted); non-air crew members are paid a flat rate.

Vol. 7A Table 22-5 · Effective 1998-10-01

Pay GradeMonthly Rate
O-10$150.00
O-9$150.00
O-8$150.00
O-7$150.00
O-6$250.00
O-5$250.00
O-4$225.00
O-3$175.00
O-2$150.00
O-1$150.00
W-5$250.00
W-4$250.00
W-3$175.00
W-2$150.00
W-1$150.00
E-9$240.00
E-8$240.00
E-7$240.00
E-6$215.00
E-5$190.00
E-4$165.00
E-3$150.00
E-2$150.00
E-1$150.00

Non-air crew members: $150.00/month (flat, all grades)

Rates are effective October 1, 1998 and are unchanged in the March 2024 FMR revision. For the most current rates, see the Monthly Hazardous Duty Incentive Pay (HDIP) for Flying Rates table on dfas.mil.

Marine Corps HDIP-Flying

Marine Corps Monthly Hazardous Duty Incentive Pay for Flying

Crewmember Rates

Years of ServiceMonthly Rate
Less than 2$150.00
Over 2$165.00
Over 4$190.00
Over 8$215.00
Over 12$240.00

Non-Crewmember: $150.00/month

About this entitlement

What you need to know — straight from the regulation

What Special and Incentive Pay is

Special and Incentive (S&I) pays are monetary incentives authorized under 37 U.S.C. Chapter 5 to attract and retain service members with specialized skills, unusual duties, or difficult assignments. S&I pays are paid on top of basic pay and are administered under the DoD Financial Management Regulation (FMR), Volume 7A.

The categories shown on this page — Aviation Incentive Pay, Career Sea Pay, Submarine Duty Pay, Hazardous Duty Incentive Pay, Special Duty Assignment Pay, Foreign Language Proficiency Bonus, Hostile Fire Pay / Imminent Danger Pay, Family Separation Allowance, and others — each have their own authority and eligibility rules in the relevant chapter of DoD FMR Vol. 7A.

37 U.S.C. Chapter 5 (Special and Incentive Pays) · DoD FMR Vol. 7A

Tax treatment

Most S&I pays are taxable wages and are included in the W-2. Exceptions include Combat Zone Tax Exclusion (CZTE) — when a member is serving in a designated combat zone, basic pay and many special pays are excluded from federal income tax for enlisted members (with a cap applied to officers). The Savings Deposit Program (SDP) offers a 10% annualized deposit rate for deployed members and is administered by DFAS.

IRS Publication 3 (Armed Forces' Tax Guide) · DoD FMR Vol. 7A

Source & references

Primary source
DFAS Special Pay Tables; DoD Financial Management Regulation Volume 7A — view official publication
Regulatory reference
DoD FMR Vol. 7A (Special & Incentive Pay chapters) · 37 U.S.C. Chapter 5
Effective date
January 1, 2026

Military Toolkit is not affiliated with the Department of Defense, DFAS, DTMO, the Department of Veterans Affairs, or any government agency. Rates and rules on this page are pulled directly from the publications cited above. Always verify with your finance office, TMO, or the official rate page before making financial or planning decisions.

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REF: DoD FMR Vol. 7A (Special & Incentive Pay chapters) · 37 U.S.C. Chapter 5, effective 01 JAN 2026

DFAS Special Pay Tables, DoD FMR Volume 7A · Rate table last updated 2026-07-30

Results are estimates. Always verify with your finance office.

Reviewed by Guilherme Correia · Military Toolkit editorial

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Rates shown are for 2026. Always verify with your finance office. Some rates reflect most recent published DFAS tables and may be updated mid-year.