GS promotion calculator 2026: your new step and raise under the two-step rule
Pick your current grade and step, the grade you are promoted to and your locality area: the calculator applies the standard method of 5 CFR 531.214 to the 2026 tables.
Promotion to GS-12
Step 1
$89,508, a raise of +$7,360 (9.0 %).
| Now: GS-11 step 4 | $82,148 |
| Plus two step increases of your grade | $87,128 |
| New rate: GS-12 step 1 | $89,508 |
| Waiting period for the next step | starts again |
Prepared by Radif Partners · How the figures are built · read on opm.gov, ecfr.gov and ssa.gov · not an official determination
When a General Schedule employee is promoted, the agency does not pick a step freely. The standard method of 5 CFR 531.214(d)(3) takes your current GS base rate, adds two within-grade increments of the grade you are leaving, applies your locality percentage, then places you at the lowest step of the new grade that equals or exceeds that amount. A GS-11 step 4 in Rest of U.S. earns $82,148 in 2026; two increments of $2,127 lift the target to $87,128, so the promotion lands at GS-12 step 1, $89,508, a raise of $7,360 or 9 %. A GS-12 step 10 promoted to GS-13 in Washington-Baltimore lands at step 6. The promotion is an equivalent increase, so the waiting period for your next step starts over on its effective date. Until January 18, 2027 you also need 52 weeks at the next lower grade before advancing to GS-6 or above; an OPM final rule removes that time-in-grade requirement from January 19, 2027, while qualification standards stay.
The standard method, line by line
5 CFR 531.214 sets four steps for a promotion from one GS grade to a higher one when the same pay schedules apply before and after. Step A applies any geographic conversion if your worksite changes at the same time, and processes any within-grade or quality step increase due on the same day. Step B takes your existing GS base rate in the old grade and adds two within-grade increases of that grade. Step C turns that amount into a payable rate with the locality payment or special rate supplement of your position before promotion at your worksite after promotion. Step D finds the lowest step rate of the new grade, in its highest applicable rate range, that equals or exceeds the step C figure. That step rate is your new pay.
An alternate method exists when the pay schedules differ before and after, for instance when a special rate table applies to the new position but not the old one. The agency must use it if it gives a higher rate. Most promotions within one locality area and one occupational series use the standard method alone, and that is what the calculator above computes.
Worked examples in the 2026 tables
The size of the raise depends on where you stand in your old grade. Low steps usually land at step 1 or 2 of the new grade with a large percentage gain, because the grades overlap less at the bottom. High steps land higher in the new grade, with a smaller percentage gain, because the two increments of your old grade are worth less than the gap between grades.
| Promotion | Area | Old rate | Two-step target | New step | New rate | Raise |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GS-11/4 to GS-12 | Rest of U.S. | $82,148 | $87,128 | Step 1 | $89,508 | $7,360 (9 %) |
| GS-11/8 to GS-12 | Rest of U.S. | $92,107 | $97,087 | Step 4 | $98,459 | $6,352 (6.9 %) |
| GS-12/3 to GS-13 | Washington DC | $109,243 | $116,071 | Step 1 | $121,785 | $12,542 (11.5 %) |
| GS-12/10 to GS-13 | Washington DC | $133,142 | $139,970 | Step 6 | $142,084 | $8,942 (6.7 %) |
| GS-13/3 to GS-14 | Washington DC | $129,904 | $138,024 | Step 1 | $143,913 | $14,009 (10.8 %) |
| GS-9/5 to GS-11 | Rest of U.S. | $69,954 | $74,070 | Step 1 | $74,678 | $4,724 (6.8 %) |
Take the GS-12 step 10 in Washington-Baltimore. The GS-12 base step 10 rate is $99,404; two increments of $2,549 bring it to $104,502 of base pay, and the area's 33.94 % turns that into $139,970. GS-13 step 5 pays $138,024, just short, so the employee lands at step 6, $142,084. A GS-13 step 3 in the same area goes to GS-14 step 1, a raise of $14,009.
Try a promotion from a high step
Promotion to GS-13
Step 5
| Now: GS-12 step 9 | $129,728 |
| Plus two step increases of your grade | $136,556 |
| New rate: GS-13 step 5 | $138,024 |
| Waiting period for the next step | starts again |
Career ladders
Many professional and administrative series are classified at two-grade intervals below GS-11, so a trainee moves GS-5, GS-7, GS-9, GS-11, then GS-12 as the full-performance level. Clerical and technical series usually move one grade at a time. A career ladder lets the agency promote you without a new competitive announcement up to the full-performance grade written in the vacancy, but each promotion still depends on your performance, the work available and the agency's decision. Starting each rung at step 1 in Rest of U.S., the 2026 raises are:
| Rung | From | To | Raise |
|---|---|---|---|
| GS-5 to GS-7 | $40,736 | $50,460 (step 1) | 23.9 % |
| GS-7 to GS-9 | $50,460 | $61,722 (step 1) | 22.3 % |
| GS-9 to GS-11 | $61,722 | $74,678 (step 1) | 21 % |
| GS-11 to GS-12 | $74,678 | $89,508 (step 1) | 19.9 % |
The waiting period starts again
A promotion counts as an equivalent increase under 5 CFR 531.407, the same as a regular step. On the effective date a new waiting period begins: 52 weeks if you land below step 4 of the new grade, longer from step 4 up. Months already served toward your old step are gone. That is why an employee a few weeks from a step increase sometimes asks for the promotion to wait. If the step increase and the promotion fall on the same day, the regulation requires the agency to process the step first, which often gives a higher landing step. The step increase page explains how the waits are counted.
Time in grade until January 18, 2027
For competitive service positions at GS-6 and above, 5 CFR part 300 subpart F requires 52 weeks in a position no more than one grade lower before you can be advanced, or two grades lower for GS-6 to GS-11 positions in two-grade-interval lines of work. OPM’s final rule of October 19, 2026 eliminates that restriction for promotions effective January 19, 2027 and later. The rule creates eligibility for consideration, not an entitlement to promotion, and it leaves within-grade increase and quality step increase rules untouched.
What does not change
You must still meet the OPM qualification standard for the grade, usually one year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade, or the education the standard allows. Agencies may still set job-related promotion prerequisites in their written merit promotion plans, including a period of service at a grade, required training or certifications. Classification, competition under 5 CFR part 335 and veterans' preference rules stay as they are. In practice, an employee who needs a year of specialized experience at GS-11 will often still serve about a year before GS-12, with or without time in grade. The pay you land on, and the high-3 it builds toward retirement, follow the two-step rule in every case. The GS pay scale has every step rate.