Guard and Reserve pay per drill, per weekend and per year from the 2026 basic pay table, plus annual training
How Drill Pay Works
- Find monthly basic pay for your grade and years of service in the 2026 table: $3,303.00 for an E-4 over 2.
- Divide by 30 for one drill (37 U.S.C. 206): $3,303.00 ÷ 30 = $110.10.
- Multiply by the drills performed. Service rules allow no more than two drill periods in one day, so a Saturday and Sunday weekend is 4 drills: $440.40.
- A year of one weekend a month is 48 drills: $5,284.80. Annual training is active duty; the calculator estimates its basic pay at the same daily rate, 1/30 of monthly pay per day.
2026 Drill Pay Examples
What Counts as a Drill
A paid inactive-duty training period has a minimum length; the law sets at least two hours, and the Navy Reserve’s administration manual requires 4 hours for a paid drill and allows at most two in a day. Drilling members are generally limited to four periods a month, the familiar one weekend a month.
Common Mistakes
- Dividing by 31 or by working days. One drill is always 1/30 of monthly basic pay.
- Counting a weekend as 2 drills. Most weekends are 4 drills, two each day; a single day of training is usually 2.
- Using the active-duty years column for time in the unit. Years of service for pay include all creditable service.
- Forgetting taxes. Drill pay is taxable basic pay; withholding comes out of each payment.
What This Calculator Does Not Cover
It covers basic pay for drills and annual training. Incentive and special pays, bonuses, travel reimbursement, retirement points and state active duty pay are not included.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is drill pay calculated?
One drill pays 1/30 of the monthly basic pay for your grade and years of service (37 U.S.C. 206). Multiply by the number of drills: usually 4 for a two-day weekend.
How much does an E-4 make per drill weekend in 2026?
With over 2 years of service, $110.10 per drill and $440.40 for a 4-drill weekend, from 2026 basic pay of $3,303.00.
How many drills are in a weekend?
Usually 4: two each day, since no more than two drill periods may be performed in one day.
How many drills are there in a year?
Typically 48, one weekend a month, since drilling members are generally limited to four drill periods a month.
Is drill pay taxable?
Yes. It is basic pay, so federal income tax and Social Security and Medicare apply.
What counts as one drill?
A paid inactive-duty training period. The law requires at least two hours; the Navy Reserve’s rules set 4 hours for a paid drill and allow at most two drills in one day.
How to Use This Calculator
- Choose your pay grade — E-1 to O-10.
- Enter years of service — total creditable service for pay.
- Enter the drills — 4 for a normal weekend, and drills per year (48) and annual training days.
- Read the results — pay per drill, per weekend and per year.
📚 Sources & References- [1] 37 U.S.C. 206, Reserves; members of National Guard: inactive-duty training (Cornell LII, accessed October 2026). www.law.cornell.edu
- [2] Navy Reserve. RESPERSMAN 1570-010, Inactive Duty Training Administration (CH-11, November 22, 2017). www.navyreserve.navy.mil
- [3] Executive Order of December 18, 2025, Schedule 8: Pay of the Uniformed Services, effective January 1, 2026. www.whitehouse.gov
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Editorial Standards — Every calculator is built from peer-reviewed formulas and official data sources, editorially reviewed for accuracy, and updated regularly.
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