Where will the official 2026 federal pay tables be published online?

1. Where “official” pay tables live: OPM is the authoritative online source

For governmentwide pay tables — General Schedule (GS), Law Enforcement Officer (LEO) schedules, special rates and Federal Wage System (FWS) guidance — the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is the central, authoritative publisher; its Salaries & Wages landing page and the GS pay-systems pages are where agencies and employees are directed for official tables and policy materials ^{[1] [2]}.

2. What you’ll find on OPM’s pages: GS, locality, special rates, and policy materials

OPM’s published materials include the GS-base pay structure, locality pay definitions and maps, special-rate tables, and Federal Salary Council recommendations that underlie locality decisions; OPM’s site is the repository for the final, legally relevant numbers once the president’s pay agent and executive actions are formalized ^{[2] [4] [1]}.

3. Timing and the finalization process: Executive action precedes the tables

Several news and industry sources note that the 2026 GS pay table will not be finalized until OPM posts final figures after the 2026 federal pay raise is authorized — typically by Executive Order in December for a January effective date — and then OPM issues the official tables ^{[5] [6]}. Industry trackers and advocacy sites publish estimates in advance, but they plainly state those are provisional until OPM’s final posting ^[5].

4. Department-level and DoD specifics: separate pages and potential delays

For Defense-specific wage matters and some NAF (nonappropriated fund) pay schedules, the Department of Defense maintains its own Wage and Salary pages; DoD reporting warns that issuance of some FY2026 FWS and NAF pay schedules can be delayed pending DoD Wage Committee actions and release of FY2026 pay limitations ^[3]. That means even after OPM posts governmentwide tables, some DoD facility or NAF tables may appear later on DoD servers ^[3].

5. Private-sector mirrors and estimates: useful but not authoritative

Private sites — FederalPay.org, GeneralSchedule.org, FedSmith, FedManager and similar outlets — routinely publish GS and FWS tables, calculators, and “estimated 2026” pay scales. These are helpful for planning and interpreting proposed raises, but they explicitly acknowledge their tables are provisional or derived from proposed budget figures until OPM issues final tables ^{[7] [8] [5] [9]}. Rely on OPM for the official numbers ^[1].

6. What to monitor and when: practical next steps for employees

Monitor OPM’s Salaries & Wages page and the General Schedule pages for the official 2026 tables and special rates ^{[1] [2]}. If you work within DoD or under a facility-level FWS schedule, also check the DoD Wage and Salary page for any DoD-specific releases or delays ^[3]. Industry trackers will flag anticipated dates, but they repeatedly note the final source is OPM ^{[5] [6]}.

7. Disagreements and limitations in reporting

Sources disagree on timing and the magnitude of proposed raises: some outlets and the White House budget proposed a 1% across‑the‑board raise with larger increases for some law‑enforcement personnel, while Federal Salary Council materials show alternate comparability calculations; these differences explain why private sites publish “estimated” tables before OPM finalizes numbers ^{[10] [9] [4]}. Available sources do not mention a single URL beyond OPM and agency pages as the official online host — private aggregators reproduce or interpret OPM data but are not the definitive source ^{[1] [2]}.

8. Bottom line for readers: trust OPM, use others for forecasts

For legally binding, official 2026 federal pay tables and special-rate schedules, go to OPM.gov — Salaries & Wages and the General Schedule/pay-systems pages — and treat private sites as interpretive forecasts that are useful but provisional ^{[1] [2] [5]}. For DoD or NAF employees expect potential additional notices on DoD’s Wage and Salary pages if committee timing delays publication ^[3].