The 2027 National Defense Authorization Act is still unfinished as Congress returns after the election. The House and Senate passed different versions, and they disagree on the pay raise: a tiered raise of 7%, 6% or 5% by rank in the House bill, and a flat 3.6% in the Senate bill. A common question is what happens to the January raise if the bill runs late.
The short answer
You get a raise on January 1, 2027 either way. Federal law sets a default raise every year, based on the growth in private-sector wages measured by the Employment Cost Index. For 2027 that formula produces 3.6%. If Congress does not pass a law that sets a different number, the 3.6% raise takes effect automatically.
So the defense bill matters for whether the raise is larger than 3.6% for some ranks, not for whether there is a raise at all.
What the bill decides
- If the final bill uses the Senate number, the raise is 3.6% for everyone, the same as the formula.
- If it uses the House tiers, junior enlisted members would get the most, and the raise would shrink with rank.
- If it ends somewhere in between, the final law sets the table.
See the side-by-side figures in House vs Senate on the 2027 raise.
How late can it be?
The defense bill has become law every year for more than six decades, usually in December. It has slipped into the new year before: the 2021 bill became law on January 1, 2021, after Congress overrode a veto. That year the raise matched the formula, so nothing changed for paychecks.
If a bill with a higher raise became law after January 1, the bill itself would say when the new rate starts. Until then, pay would be issued at the 3.6% formula rate.
The raise is not the same as funding
The defense bill sets policy, including the raise. The money to pay troops comes from separate spending bills. A delay in the defense bill does not stop paychecks. A lapse in spending bills is a different issue, and it affects when pay arrives, not the rate.
Plan with both numbers
Until the final number is known, it makes sense to plan your 2027 budget at 3.6% and treat anything above it as extra. The total pay calculator shows your 2026 pay and a what-if table at 3.6% and 5%. We will update every pay chart on this site the day the 2027 table is final.