What does a Lieutenant Colonel take home 2026/27?

On the £95,850 entry figure, take-home is about £66,150 a year or £5,513 a month, after Income Tax and National Insurance and with no pension deduction. At the £110,806 top of the scale it is about £72,664 - a smaller gain than the gross difference suggests, because part of it falls in the 60% allowance-taper band.

Does the personal allowance taper affect a Lieutenant Colonel?

From the fourth increment upwards, yes. £100,836 at OF4-04 is the first point above the £100,000 threshold, and at the £110,806 top of the scale about £10,806 sits in the taper, taxed at an effective 60%. There is no pension contribution to pull adjusted net income back down, because the scheme is non-contributory.

Army Lieutenant Colonel Salary 2026/27: OF-4 Take-Home

Lieutenant Colonel is OF-4, equivalent to an RAF Wing Commander and a Royal Navy Commander, and typically a battalion or regiment commanding officer. Pay in 2026/27 runs from £95,850 to £110,806 across eight increment levels. Figures include X-Factor and the 3.6% award accepted on 9 June 2026.

Typical pay & take-home

OF4-05: £103,328
Typical range: £95,850–£110,806
Take-home at median: £69,822 England, no pension applied — use the salary calculator for your scheme.

At the median for this profession, you earn about 165% above the UK full-time median (£39,039), placing you in the top 5% of UK earners.

See exact take-home for £103,328 →

The AFPRB scales after the 3.6% award, with the four trade supplements for Other Ranks and take-home on a non-contributory pension: Armed forces pay scales 2026/27, every rank →

What influences army lieutenant colonel (of-4) pay

Eight increment levels, from £95,850 at OF4-01 and OF4-02 to £110,806 at OF4-08, with no trade supplements because officers do not have them.

This is the rank where the personal allowance taper starts to matter. The allowance falls by £1 for every £2 of income above £100,000, so from OF4-04 at £100,836 upwards part of the pay sits in the 60% effective band. At the top of the scale about £10,806 is inside it.

Because the Armed Forces pension is non-contributory, there is no member contribution to reduce adjusted net income, so nothing softens the taper the way a net pay arrangement does for an NHS or Civil Service equivalent on similar money.

X-Factor is already included in every figure quoted here.

Career progression

Major (OF-3): £68,624 to £81,960.
Lieutenant Colonel (OF-4): £95,850 to £110,806.
Colonel (OF-5): £115,881 to £127,272.
Brigadier (OF-6): £137,874 to £143,406.

Frequently asked questions

What does a Lieutenant Colonel take home 2026/27?: On the £95,850 entry figure, take-home is about £66,150 a year or £5,513 a month, after Income Tax and National Insurance and with no pension deduction. At the £110,806 top of the scale it is about £72,664 - a smaller gain than the gross difference suggests, because part of it falls in the 60% allowance-taper band.
Does the personal allowance taper affect a Lieutenant Colonel?: From the fourth increment upwards, yes. £100,836 at OF4-04 is the first point above the £100,000 threshold, and at the £110,806 top of the scale about £10,806 sits in the taper, taxed at an effective 60%. There is no pension contribution to pull adjusted net income back down, because the scheme is non-contributory.

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