What does a Warrant Officer Class 1 take home 2026/27?

On the £64,704 bottom of the range, take-home is about £48,086 a year or £4,007 a month, after Income Tax and National Insurance and with no pension deduction. At the £68,982 top it is about £50,567.

Does a WO1 pay the High Income Child Benefit Charge?

On base pay alone, yes, if you or your partner get Child Benefit and your adjusted net income is the higher of the two (gov.uk). The threshold is £60,000 of adjusted net income and the whole OR-9 range is above it. There is no pension contribution to bring the figure down, because the Armed Forces scheme is non-contributory - which is why a WO1 is affected where an NHS or police equivalent on the same gross often is not.

Army Warrant Officer Class 1 Salary 2026/27: OR-9 Take-Home

Warrant Officer Class 1 is OR-9, the most senior non-commissioned rank, held as Regimental Sergeant Major and equivalent appointments. Pay in 2026/27 runs from £64,704 to £68,982 across six increment levels, a narrower band than any rank below it. Figures include X-Factor and the 3.6% award accepted on 9 June 2026.

Typical pay & take-home

OR9-04, supplement 1: £65,802
Typical range: £64,704–£68,982
Take-home on that salary: £48,723 England, no pension applied — use the salary calculator for your scheme.

At £65,802, you earn about 69% above the UK full-time median (£39,039), placing you between the 75th percentile (£54,009) and the 90th percentile (£76,903) of UK full-time earnings.

See exact take-home for £65,802 →

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 warrant officer class 1 (or-9) pay

The OR-9 band is unusually tight: £4,278 separates the bottom increment from the top of the highest supplement, against £13,634 between £51,615 and £65,249 at OR-7. Progression has largely run its course by this rank.

Trade supplement barely applies here. Supplements 1 and 2 pay identically at every OR-9 increment, and supplement 3 matches them everywhere except the bottom two increments, OR9-01 and OR9-02, where it pays £64,731 against £64,704. Only supplement 4 pays materially more - £68,982 against £67,201 at the top increment.

Because the Armed Forces pension is non-contributory, there is no member contribution to reduce adjusted net income. A WO1 on £64,704 is therefore over the £60,000 High Income Child Benefit Charge threshold on base pay alone, where a police or NHS equivalent on the same gross would have a contribution pulling them under it.

X-Factor is already included in every figure.

Career progression

Staff Sergeant (OR-7): £51,615 to £65,249.
Warrant Officer Class 1 (OR-9): £64,704 to £68,982.
Commissioned from the ranks (AFPRB Table 1.18, Levels 1 to 19): £52,561 to £72,280.
Major (OF-3): £68,624 to £81,960.

Frequently asked questions

What does a Warrant Officer Class 1 take home 2026/27?: On the £64,704 bottom of the range, take-home is about £48,086 a year or £4,007 a month, after Income Tax and National Insurance and with no pension deduction. At the £68,982 top it is about £50,567.
Does a WO1 pay the High Income Child Benefit Charge?: On base pay alone, yes, if you or your partner get Child Benefit and your adjusted net income is the higher of the two (gov.uk). The threshold is £60,000 of adjusted net income and the whole OR-9 range is above it. There is no pension contribution to bring the figure down, because the Armed Forces scheme is non-contributory - which is why a WO1 is affected where an NHS or police equivalent on the same gross often is not.

All UK professions →

Sources

Armed Forces' Pay Review Body, Fifty-Fifth Report 2026, Appendix 1
gov.uk - High Income Child Benefit Charge
ONS - ASHE 2025 Table 14.7a, annual pay by SOC 2020 occupation (occupational pay)
ONS — Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings 2025 (UK full-time median and percentiles)
HMRC — Rates and thresholds 2026/27
Our full methodology & calculation sources →