Does the Military Get Paid Today?
The checker below compares the current Eastern Time date with the payday schedule (the 2026 schedule is DFAS's own; 2027 is computed with the same rule) and tells you whether it is a military payday, which one, and when the next one is. Active-duty pay is released on the 15th and the 1st of each month; when either falls on a weekend or federal holiday, DFAS pays on the preceding business day. The full list is further down, and military pay dates has the detail for every month.
Maintained by Archie Chang · DFAS and bank pages checked October 25, 2026 · Methodology & sources
2026 military paydays from DFAS
These are the official 2026 active-duty paydays published by DFAS. They are the dates the Department of Defense releases the money; any earlier deposit below comes from the bank, not DFAS. Rows shaded amber are paydays that moved earlier because the 1st or 15th fell on a weekend or federal holiday.
| DFAS payday | Type | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Thursday, January 15, 2026 | Mid-month pay | Paid on the 15th, a Thursday. |
| Friday, January 30, 2026 | End-of-month pay | February 1, 2026 is a Sunday, so pay moves to the preceding business day, Friday. |
| Friday, February 13, 2026 | Mid-month pay | February 15, 2026 is a Sunday, so pay moves to the preceding business day, Friday. |
| Friday, February 27, 2026 | End-of-month pay | March 1, 2026 is a Sunday, so pay moves to the preceding business day, Friday. |
| Friday, March 13, 2026 | Mid-month pay | March 15, 2026 is a Sunday, so pay moves to the preceding business day, Friday. |
| Wednesday, April 1, 2026 | End-of-month pay | Paid on the 1st, a Wednesday. |
| Wednesday, April 15, 2026 | Mid-month pay | Paid on the 15th, a Wednesday. |
| Friday, May 1, 2026 | End-of-month pay | Paid on the 1st, a Friday. |
| Friday, May 15, 2026 | Mid-month pay | Paid on the 15th, a Friday. |
| Monday, June 1, 2026 | End-of-month pay | Paid on the 1st, a Monday. |
| Monday, June 15, 2026 | Mid-month pay | Paid on the 15th, a Monday. |
| Wednesday, July 1, 2026 | End-of-month pay | Paid on the 1st, a Wednesday. |
| Wednesday, July 15, 2026 | Mid-month pay | Paid on the 15th, a Wednesday. |
| Friday, July 31, 2026 | End-of-month pay | August 1, 2026 is a Saturday, so pay moves to the preceding business day, Friday. |
| Friday, August 14, 2026 | Mid-month pay | August 15, 2026 is a Saturday, so pay moves to the preceding business day, Friday. |
| Tuesday, September 1, 2026 | End-of-month pay | Paid on the 1st, a Tuesday. |
| Tuesday, September 15, 2026 | Mid-month pay | Paid on the 15th, a Tuesday. |
| Thursday, October 1, 2026 | End-of-month pay | Paid on the 1st, a Thursday. |
| Thursday, October 15, 2026 | Mid-month pay | Paid on the 15th, a Thursday. |
| Friday, October 30, 2026 | End-of-month pay | November 1, 2026 is a Sunday, so pay moves to the preceding business day, Friday. |
| Friday, November 13, 2026 | Mid-month pay | November 15, 2026 is a Sunday, so pay moves to the preceding business day, Friday. |
| Tuesday, December 1, 2026 | End-of-month pay | Paid on the 1st, a Tuesday. |
| Tuesday, December 15, 2026 | Mid-month pay | Paid on the 15th, a Tuesday. |
| Thursday, December 31, 2026 | End-of-month pay | January 1, 2027 is New Year's Day, a federal holiday, so pay moves to the preceding business day, Thursday. |
2027 military pay calendar: computed, not official
DFAS had not published a 2027 schedule on the pages we checked. These dates apply the same rule (the 15th and the 1st, moved to the preceding business day) to the federal holiday calendar. Check DFAS once it publishes 2027.
| Computed payday | Type |
|---|---|
| Friday, January 15, 2027 | Mid-month pay |
| Monday, February 1, 2027 | End-of-month pay |
| Friday, February 12, 2027 | Mid-month pay, moved earlier from a weekend or holiday |
| Monday, March 1, 2027 | End-of-month pay |
| Monday, March 15, 2027 | Mid-month pay |
| Thursday, April 1, 2027 | End-of-month pay |
| Thursday, April 15, 2027 | Mid-month pay |
| Friday, April 30, 2027 | End-of-month pay, moved earlier from a weekend or holiday |
| Friday, May 14, 2027 | Mid-month pay, moved earlier from a weekend or holiday |
| Tuesday, June 1, 2027 | End-of-month pay |
| Tuesday, June 15, 2027 | Mid-month pay |
| Thursday, July 1, 2027 | End-of-month pay |
| Thursday, July 15, 2027 | Mid-month pay |
| Friday, July 30, 2027 | End-of-month pay, moved earlier from a weekend or holiday |
| Friday, August 13, 2027 | Mid-month pay, moved earlier from a weekend or holiday |
| Wednesday, September 1, 2027 | End-of-month pay |
| Wednesday, September 15, 2027 | Mid-month pay |
| Friday, October 1, 2027 | End-of-month pay |
| Friday, October 15, 2027 | Mid-month pay |
| Monday, November 1, 2027 | End-of-month pay |
| Monday, November 15, 2027 | Mid-month pay |
| Wednesday, December 1, 2027 | End-of-month pay |
| Wednesday, December 15, 2027 | Mid-month pay |
| Thursday, December 30, 2027 | End-of-month pay, moved earlier from a weekend or holiday |
December 31, 2027 is the observed New Year's Day holiday for federal offices, so this payday moves back one more business day. That follows DFAS's December 2021 schedule, when New Year's Day 2022 fell on a Saturday and end-of-month pay was released Thursday, December 30, 2021. Check DFAS once it publishes this year's dates.
Pay for January 1, 2027, a federal holiday, is already in the 2026 list above (December 31, 2026).
Why some members see pay a day or two early
DFAS releases the money on the payday. Some banks make direct deposits available earlier, and that early date belongs to the bank, not DFAS. The checker flags those days when the bank has published or implied one.
- USAA: says early access is generally one to two business days before the scheduled payment date, not guaranteed. The window on our page is our estimate, not USAA's dates. See USAA military pay dates.
- Navy Federal: publishes its own 2026 military posting calendar and says Active Duty Checking members receive direct deposit net pay 1 business day early. See Navy Federal military pay dates.
Related military pay pages
What a payday pays: the military pay calculator and the 2026 military pay chart. Every payday by month: military pay dates.
Military payday questions
Does the military get paid today?
Use the checker at the top of this page. It reads your device clock in your browser and compares the Eastern Time calendar date with the DFAS payday schedule, so the answer is always for the current date. Active-duty paydays are the 15th and the 1st of each month, moved to the preceding business day when they fall on a weekend or federal holiday.
Did the military get paid today?
The checker answers for the current Eastern Time date. To check a day that has already passed, look it up in the full list of 2026 paydays below: a day is a payday only if it appears in that list.
When does the military get paid this month?
The checker lists this month’s paydays for the current month. The full military pay calendar for 2026 and the computed 2027 dates are on this page and on the military pay dates page.
Which time zone does the checker use?
Eastern Time. DFAS is a U.S. agency and its schedule lists calendar dates, not times, so we use the Eastern Time date for everyone. A visitor west of Eastern Time sees the next day’s answer a few hours earlier than their own midnight, and a visitor east of it sees it later. Your own bank’s posting time and your LES decide when the money is actually in your account.
Why did some members see their pay a day or two early?
DFAS sets the payday; the bank decides when funds show up. USAA says early access is generally one to two business days before the scheduled payment date and is not guaranteed; the dates on our USAA page are our estimate from that wording. Navy Federal publishes its own posting calendar and says Active Duty Checking members receive their direct deposit net pay 1 business day early. Neither is a DFAS date.
Are the 2027 paydays official?
No. DFAS’s 2026 Active Duty Paydays page is the only official schedule we have used. The 2027 dates are calculated with the same rule and the federal holiday calendar, and are labelled computed everywhere on this page.
When can I see my LES?
Your leave and earnings statement (LES) is in myPay. DFAS lists the dates each month’s LES becomes available on its payday schedule page; we do not copy those dates here, so check the DFAS page linked below.
Do Army, Navy, Air Force and other branches get paid on different dates?
This page uses DFAS’s single 2026 Active Duty Paydays schedule and does not list separate branch calendars. For what each paycheck contains, see the military pay calculator and the 2026 military pay chart.
Sources: DFAS: 2026 active duty paydays · USAA: direct deposit and payday · Navy Federal: active duty posting calendar · Federal Reserve Financial Services: holiday schedules
Does the Military Get Paid Today?: general information only.