Public School Teacher Salary 2026 — Teacher I to Master Teacher V

Teacher salary by position (2026, Step 1)

Since EO 174 (s. 2022) and DepEd-DBM Joint Circular No. 1 (s. 2025), the classroom-teaching ladder runs from Teacher I to Teacher VII and then Master Teacher I to V. The table shows the entry (Step 1) monthly basic pay for each rank in 2026.

Allowances and bonuses on top of basic pay

The Salary Grade figure is only the basic pay. A DepEd teacher's yearly compensation is higher once these are added:

• PERA — ₱2,000/month personnel economic relief allowance
• Teaching allowance — ₱10,000 per school year for classroom supplies, tax-free, from SY 2025–2026 (RA 11997, the Kabalikat sa Pagtuturo Act)
• Mid-year bonus — one month's basic pay
• Year-end bonus — one month's basic pay (this is the government's 13th-month pay), plus a ₱5,000 cash gift
• Medical allowance — up to ₱7,000 a year for HMO-type coverage (EO 64, from 2025)
• Performance-Based Bonus (PBB) — variable, tied to the school's and agency's rating

How to move up the teacher salary ladder

There are two ways your pay grows. Step increments raise your basic pay within your current grade every three years without a change in position. Promotion — from Teacher I up through Teacher VII — moves you to a higher Salary Grade, subject to DepEd's qualification and performance requirements.

At Master Teacher I, a teacher chooses between the classroom-teaching line (Master Teacher II to V, SG 19–22) and the school-administration line (School Principal I to IV, also SG 19–22). A Master Teacher V earns more than 2.5 times an entry Teacher I without leaving the classroom.