DepEd Teacher Salary Grade 2026: Complete Pay Guide for Teachers
How much does a public school teacher in the Philippines actually earn in 2026? If you searched for the deped teacher salary grade 2026, here is the short answer: a Teacher I (Salary Grade 11, Step 1) earns ₱31,705 per month in basic pay as of January 2026. That is the third tranche of the Salary Standardization Law VI, and one more increase is already scheduled for January 2027.
But basic pay is only part of the story. A DepEd teacher’s real compensation includes step increments, a mid-year and year-end bonus, a cash gift, a teaching allowance, and — since 2025 — a brand-new career ladder that lets classroom teachers climb to Teacher VII without becoming a principal. This guide lays out the complete 2026 pay table, the bonus and allowance schedule, the new Expanded Career Progression system, and a salary calculator. There is also a free PDF of the full table at the end.
Salary Calculator (Tool)
Pick your position and see your 2026 monthly basic pay, your scheduled 2027 pay, and your annual basic pay. Remember: these are Step 1 rates. If you have step increments, your actual pay is higher — check with your HR office for your exact step.
What Is the DepEd Teacher Salary Grade System?
Table of Contents
- What Is the DepEd Teacher Salary Grade System?
- DepEd Teacher Salary Grade 2026: Complete Pay Table
- Salary Calculator (Tool)
- Step Increments: How Pay Grows Without Promotion
- Bonuses and Allowances: What You Get on Top of Basic Pay
- Expanded Career Progression: Teacher IV to VII
- Basic Pay vs Take-Home Pay
- Tips: Make Sure You Are Paid Correctly
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Conclusion
Every government position in the Philippines sits on a Salary Grade (SG) scale from SG-1 to SG-33. Your salary grade, not your school or your subject, decides your basic monthly pay. A Teacher I is SG-11. A Teacher II is SG-12. A Master Teacher I is SG-18. A Principal IV is SG-22. The grade is attached to the position, and the pay for each grade is set nationally by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM).
The current schedule comes from the Salary Standardization Law VI (SSL VI), implemented through Executive Order No. 64, s. 2024. SSL VI raises pay in four annual tranches: January 2024, January 2025, January 2026, and January 2027. The 2026 figures in this guide are the third tranche, released through DBM National Budget Circular No. 601 on January 22, 2026. If your payslip still shows 2025 rates, your division may be applying the increase retroactively — the raise is effective January 1 even when it lands late.
One more thing to understand before the table: the figures below are Step 1 rates, the hiring rate for each position. Within every salary grade there are 8 steps, and teachers move up a step every three years of satisfactory service. A Teacher I who has served for years earns more than ₱31,705 — the table is the floor, not the ceiling.
DepEd Teacher Salary Grade 2026: Complete Pay Table
Here is the full teaching and school-head table, with all four SSL VI tranches so you can see where you came from and where you are headed. All figures are monthly basic pay at Step 1.
| Position | Salary Grade | 2024 (1st) | 2025 (2nd) | 2026 (3rd) | 2027 (4th) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Teacher I | 11 | ₱28,512 | ₱30,024 | ₱31,705 | ₱33,387 |
| Teacher II | 12 | ₱30,705 | ₱32,245 | ₱33,947 | ₱35,650 |
| Teacher III | 13 | ₱32,870 | ₱34,421 | ₱36,125 | ₱37,828 |
| Master Teacher I | 18 | ₱49,015 | ₱51,304 | ₱53,818 | ₱56,332 |
| Master Teacher II | 19 | ₱53,873 | ₱56,390 | ₱59,153 | ₱61,916 |
| Master Teacher III | 20 | ₱60,157 | ₱62,967 | ₱66,052 | ₱69,138 |
| Master Teacher IV | 21 | ₱67,005 | ₱70,103 | ₱73,303 | ₱76,594 |
| Head Teacher I | 14 | ₱35,434 | ₱37,024 | ₱38,764 | ₱40,505 |
| Head Teacher II | 15 | ₱38,413 | ₱40,208 | ₱42,178 | ₱44,148 |
| Head Teacher III | 16 | ₱41,616 | ₱43,560 | ₱45,694 | ₱47,829 |
| Head Teacher IV | 17 | ₱45,138 | ₱47,247 | ₱49,562 | ₱51,877 |
| Principal I | 19 | ₱53,873 | ₱56,390 | ₱59,153 | ₱61,916 |
| Principal II | 20 | ₱60,157 | ₱62,967 | ₱66,052 | ₱69,138 |
| Principal III | 21 | ₱67,005 | ₱70,103 | ₱73,303 | ₱76,594 |
| Principal IV | 22 | ₱74,836 | ₱78,162 | ₱81,796 | ₱85,431 |
Read the table in two directions. Across a row, you see your own raise path: a Teacher I goes from ₱28,512 in 2024 to ₱33,387 in 2027, a gain of nearly ₱4,900 a month over the four tranches. Down a column, you see the promotion ladder: the jump from Teacher III (₱36,125) to Master Teacher I (₱53,818) is the single biggest leap in a classroom teacher’s career — which is exactly why the new career progression system below matters so much.
Step Increments: How Pay Grows Without Promotion
You do not need a promotion to earn more. Within each salary grade there are 8 steps, and you move up one step every three years of satisfactory service. Step 1 is the hiring rate. Step 8 is the top of that grade. The increase per step is smaller than a promotion jump, but it is automatic, it compounds over a career, and it is the reason two teachers with the same title can have noticeably different payslips.
The practical lesson: keep your service record clean and continuous. A break in service or an unsatisfactory rating can delay a step increment, and a delayed step is money you never get back. If you are unsure which step you are on, your HR office or your division’s personnel section can confirm it from your service record — it is worth checking, because step errors on payslips do happen.
Bonuses and Allowances: What You Get on Top of Basic Pay
Basic pay is the base. On top of it, DepEd teachers receive a package of bonuses and allowances that adds up to a large sum over a year. Here is the schedule as it stands for 2026:
| Benefit | Amount / Schedule | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Mid-year bonus | 1 month basic pay | Granted not earlier than May 15 each year (DBM Budget Circular No. 2017-2) |
| Year-end bonus | 1 month basic pay | Paid with the November/December payroll |
| Cash gift | ₱5,000 | Paid alongside the year-end bonus |
| Productivity Enhancement Incentive (PEI) | ₱5,000 | Paid with the year-end package, subject to DBM issuance |
| Personnel Economic Relief Allowance (PERA) | ₱2,000 per month | Added to basic pay every month |
| Teaching / chalk allowance | ₱10,000 per year | Under RA No. 11997 (Kabalikat sa Pagtuturo Act); DepEd Order No. 005, s. 2025 sets the guidelines |
| Service Recognition Incentive (SRI) | Varies by year | Subject to an annual administrative order and DBM circular; FY 2025 SRI ran under AO No. 40, s. 2025 |
| Performance-Based Bonus (PBB) | Varies | Depends on your school’s and division’s performance ratings |
Add it up for a Teacher I at Step 1: ₱31,705 × 12 months is ₱380,460 in annual basic pay, plus two months of bonuses (₱63,410), plus ₱5,000 cash gift, ₱5,000 PEI, ₱24,000 in PERA, and ₱10,000 teaching allowance. That is roughly ₱487,870 in a year before step increments, SRI, and PBB — a much fairer picture than the monthly figure alone. The chalk allowance deserves a special note: it used to be ₱5,000, and RA 11997 raised it to ₱10,000. If your school still releases the old amount, ask — the law changed.
Expanded Career Progression: Teacher IV to VII
The biggest career news for teachers is not the SSL tranches. It is the Expanded Career Progression (ECP) system. For decades, the classroom ladder stopped at Teacher III. The only way up was Master Teacher — and Master Teacher items were scarce, so teachers waited 20 years or more, or gave up and moved into administration just to earn more.
ECP, established by Executive Order No. 174, s. 2022 and rolled out through DepEd Order No. 024, s. 2025 and a DBM-DepEd Joint Circular signed in February 2025, fixes that. It adds brand-new positions — Teacher IV, Teacher V, Teacher VI, Teacher VII, and Master Teacher V — and it changes how promotion works. Instead of waiting for a vacant item, a teacher can be reclassified once they meet the qualifications and demonstrate competence under the Philippine Professional Standards for Teachers (PPST). There are two tracks: Classroom Teaching, for teachers who want to stay with learners, and School Administration, for those moving toward leadership.
The money is already moving. In September 2025, DBM released ₱8.68 billion to DepEd for the salary differentials of 93,344 positions reclassified under ECP. The proposed 2027 national budget provides ₱12.09 billion for ECP — nearly double the ₱6.15 billion allocation in 2026 — to support 135,063 teaching positions. In plain terms: promotion is no longer a rumor. If you are a Teacher III with strong PPST evidence and the required credentials, the path to Teacher IV and beyond is open, and the budget to pay for it exists. Good classroom work is now a promotion strategy in itself — which is one more reason to keep your lesson plans sharp. Our MATATAG lesson plan guide walks through the kind of structured, standards-aligned planning that PPST evidence is built on.
Basic Pay vs Take-Home Pay
New teachers are sometimes surprised by their first payslip, so let us be honest about it: the figures in this guide are gross basic pay. Deductions come off before the money reaches your bank account — GSIS contributions, PhilHealth, Pag-IBIG, withholding tax, and any loans or voluntary deductions you carry. Those vary by person, so no guide can give you an exact take-home figure. What you can do is read your payslip line by line: check that your salary grade, step, and tranche are correct, that PERA appears, and that the mid-year and year-end bonuses land when they should. Errors are usually small and fixable — but only if you catch them.
Tips: Make Sure You Are Paid Correctly
- Confirm your step. Ask HR for your current step and service record. A missed step increment is the most common silent pay error.
- Check the tranche. Your January 2026 payslip should reflect the third tranche. If it shows 2025 rates, ask whether the differential is coming retroactively.
- Track your bonuses. Mid-year bonus from May 15, year-end bonus plus ₱5,000 cash gift and ₱5,000 PEI in the year-end package, ₱10,000 teaching allowance under RA 11997.
- Build your PPST portfolio now. ECP reclassification rewards demonstrated teaching quality. Keep your best lesson plans, observation reports, and learner results organized year by year.
- Do not rely on rumors for the next raise. The fourth and final SSL VI tranche arrives in January 2027. Anything beyond that needs a new law — treat social media salary posts with suspicion until DBM or DepEd confirms them.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much is the Teacher I salary in 2026?
₱31,705 per month at Salary Grade 11, Step 1, under the third tranche of SSL VI (NBC No. 601). Higher steps earn more, and PERA adds ₱2,000 a month on top.
When is the next salary increase for DepEd teachers?
January 2027, when the fourth and final SSL VI tranche takes effect. A Teacher I will rise to ₱33,387 at Step 1.
What is a salary grade?
A salary grade is the government’s pay level for a position, from SG-1 to SG-33. Each grade has a fixed monthly basic pay set by DBM, with 8 steps inside it. Teacher I is SG-11, Master Teacher I is SG-18, Principal IV is SG-22.
Do private school teachers follow the same salary grades?
No. The salary grade table applies to public school teachers under DepEd. Private schools set their own pay, though many use the DepEd scale as a reference.
What is the ₱10,000 chalk allowance?
It is the teaching allowance under RA No. 11997, the Kabalikat sa Pagtuturo Act, which raised the allowance from ₱5,000 to ₱10,000 per year. DepEd Order No. 005, s. 2025 provides the release guidelines.
How does promotion to Teacher IV work under ECP?
Under the Expanded Career Progression system (EO 174, DO 024 s. 2025), a teacher is reclassified once they meet the position’s qualifications and demonstrate PPST-based competence — without waiting for a vacant item. There are two tracks: Classroom Teaching and School Administration.
Conclusion
The 2026 picture is clear: a Teacher I earns ₱31,705 a month at Step 1, a Master Teacher I earns ₱53,818, and one more SSL VI tranche arrives in January 2027. On top of basic pay, the bonus and allowance package — two months of bonuses, ₱5,000 cash gift, ₱5,000 PEI, ₱2,000 monthly PERA, and the ₱10,000 teaching allowance — adds roughly ₱107,000 a year for a Teacher I. And for the first time, the career ladder does not stop at Teacher III: the Expanded Career Progression system opens Teacher IV through VII for classroom teachers who can show their quality.
Check your step, check your tranche, keep your PPST evidence organized, and use the calculator above whenever a new circular lands. For the broader DepEd picture — curriculum, schedules, and guides that shape the work behind the pay — start at the MATATAG Curriculums and follow the guides from there.
Sources & References
- DBM — Joint DBM-DepEd Circular on Career Progression for Teachers and School Heads (February 2025)
- Executive Order No. 64, s. 2024 (Salary Standardization Law VI) and DBM National Budget Circular No. 601 (third tranche, January 22, 2026)
- Republic Act No. 11997 (Kabalikat sa Pagtuturo Act) and DepEd Order No. 005, s. 2025 (teaching allowance guidelines)
- Executive Order No. 174, s. 2022 and DepEd Order No. 024, s. 2025 (Expanded Career Progression system)
- Philippine Information Agency — E-Net Philippines statement on teachers’ salaries and welfare (2026 figures)
