Where can federal employees find the official 2026 pay tables and effective dates once released?
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Executive summary
Federal employees should look to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) as the primary official source for 2026 pay tables and effective dates; OPM posts GS, locality, special rate and related pay materials on its Salaries & Wages pages and its PDF salary tables (see OPM Salaries & Wages overview and 2025 examples) [1] [2]. Secondary official notices and effective-date details commonly appear in the President’s alternative pay plan and OPM announcements; multiple outlets report a proposed effective date of the first pay period in January 2026 or January 11, 2026, but the final effective date will be set when OPM publishes the official tables [3] [3] [4].
1. Where the official tables will appear — go to OPM first
The Office of Personnel Management is the government’s designated publisher of GS, locality, special rate, FWS and Executive/Senior pay materials; its “Salaries & Wages” pages host the official tables and PDFs agencies rely on, and offer a PayPolicy contact for questions [1]. Historical and current-year pay tables (for example, 2025 PDFs and the GS salary calculator) are already hosted under OPM’s pay-leave pages, so federal HR shops monitor that site for the 2026 releases [2] [5].
2. What to expect in timing and effective dates — official release vs. press estimates
News and advocacy sites routinely publish estimates before formal OPM release; several outlets cite a likely effective date tied to the first full pay period of January 2026 or a specific date such as January 11, 2026, for both the GS base adjustment and law-enforcement special rates [4] [3]. Those dates stem from the President’s alternative pay-plan letter and preliminary reporting, but the authoritative effective date will be what OPM posts with the official tables [3] [3].
3. Why non‑OPM sites show “2026” tables early — use them for planning, not payroll
Industry and advocacy sites (FedSmith, FederalPay, GeneralSchedule.org, etc.) publish estimated 2026 GS tables based on proposed raises or the White House letter; these give quick estimates of pay impacts (for example, FedSmith’s estimated 1% table) but explicitly note the tables are provisional until OPM publishes final figures [6] [7] [8]. Use such tables for budgeting or scenario planning; do not treat them as authoritative for official payroll adjustments [6].
4. Special rates, locality pay and agency exceptions — separate releases possible
OPM’s web area covers multiple pay systems: GS base tables, locality-pay definitions, special-rate tables and Federal Wage System schedules; historically OPM issues different PDFs (e.g., Salary Table 2025-RUS) and calculators at the same site [2] [5]. Department of Defense and other agencies may set specific rates for Alaska, Hawaii, territories, and foreign post rates, meaning some pay schedules (FWS, overseas allowances) can be delayed or published separately [9] [10].
5. How to monitor and verify when the official tables are live
Watch OPM’s Salaries & Wages landing page and the pay-tables PDF directories for the formal 2026 files; OPM also provides email contacts for pay-table questions (PayPolicy@opm.gov or Pay-Leave-Policy@opm.gov referenced on the Salaries & Wages page) [1]. Agencies commonly send local HR bulletins after OPM posts files; payroll offices will follow OPM’s stated effective dates when programming pay systems [2].
6. Conflicting proposals and why dates/percentages change
Multiple viewpoints appear in reporting: the President’s alternative pay plan (reported as 1% with 3.8% for some law-enforcement roles and a January 11 effective date) contrasts with other budget proposals or union-backed bills that sought larger increases or freezes; the Federal Salary Council’s recommendations and statutory formulas can imply different percentage projections [3] [11] [12]. That policy context explains why private sites publish differing “expected” tables and why the final OPM posting resolves the conflict.
7. Practical checklist for employees right now
1) Bookmark OPM’s Salaries & Wages page and the GS/general pay-table directories [1]. 2) Use reputable estimation sites for planning but confirm changes only from OPM PDFs or official agency HR notices [6] [7]. 3) Expect OPM to show the official effective date in its release; press reports give probable dates (e.g., early January 2026/Jan. 11) but final authority rests with OPM’s publication [3] [4].
Limitations: available sources do not mention a single, final OPM URL for the 2026 PDF because OPM had not yet posted the official 2026 pay tables in the provided material; employees should therefore treat OPM.gov as the canonical source and confirm any specific date/percent in that official release [1] [2].