Tanzania Government Employees Salary Scale 2026

What the 2026 government salary scale is

The scale is a ladder, not a single number. Each post is graded, each grade has numbered steps, and the step you are on is your basic salary. The figure attached to the step is gross monthly pay, before the statutory deductions. The points change when the government changes pay, not on a fixed calendar; the "2026 scale" is therefore the schedule in force this year — the grades and the July 2025 minimum wage — rather than a separate 2026 table. The authority for any individual point is the Personal Emoluments Vote your payroll uses, issued after the Annual Estimates (Standing Orders E.1).

How to read a salary scale code

A code such as TGS D3 has three parts: the family (TGS, the general scale), the grade (D) and the step (3). The letter tells you the level of the post; the number tells you how far up the grade the holder has moved. Entry points are set by the qualifications in the scheme of service for the post (Standing Orders E.9(1)), so the same degree can start on a different step where the scheme says so.

Public institutions and corporations — TRA, TANESCO, the Bank of Tanzania, universities — often use their own scales (PHTS, PUTS or an institution-specific ladder). They are outside the public-service structure described here.

Which grade you are likely to start on

The scheme of service for the post fixes the entry step, but the qualification usually fixes the grade. The table is the common pattern in PSRS adverts: a certificate starts on TGS B, a diploma on TGS C, a degree on TGS D and a master's or a specialist degree on TGS E. The last column applies the minimum-wage floor, which is why the first two rows are paid at 500,000 TZS rather than at the printed point.

What changed on 1 July 2025

The floor has moved twice in recent years. The public-service minimum rose from 300,000 to 370,000 TZS (+23.3%), and on 1 May 2025 the President announced a second rise, from 370,000 to 500,000 TZS (+35.1%), applied from July 2025. The 2025/26 budget funded it, and the Finance Minister told Parliament that workers would see it in their July pay. The President also said other salary levels would be adjusted as the budget allows, which is why the minimum is the certain figure and the points above it follow the published schedule.

The general scale: TGS entry points and steps

The general scale is the ladder most ministries, departments, agencies and local authorities use. Step 1 is the entry point; each step adds the printed increment; the grade ends at its last step. The last column is what is actually paid at step 1 once the minimum-wage floor is applied — for the lower steps of TGS A, B and C that is the floor, not the printed point.

TGS E and TGS F are the two grades whose reproduced series do not quite reconcile: the copies print E12 as 912,500 although the +15,500 increment from E11 (906,000) gives 921,500, and F3 as 1,044,800 although the series from F2 gives 1,041,800. The entry point and the increment are what the copies agree on, so those are what this page publishes; the exact point your payroll uses is in the Personal Emoluments Vote.

The operational scale: TGOS

The operational scale runs in longer ladders — TGOS A has eighteen steps — and its first two grades sit below the floor. A TGOS A1 post is printed at 240,000 TZS, which is below the statutory minimum, so the employer pays the 500,000 floor.

The specialist scales

The specialist cadres have their own codes, and some share a ladder with TGS or TGOS: SAIS and PSS follow the TGS ladder, and PSOS follows TGOS. The table gives the lowest published point for each family; the steps above it follow the same schedule. The full ladder for a cadre is in the Personal Emoluments Vote, and the job advert names the scale.

The 500,000 TZS floor

The minimum-wage order is a floor, not a target. Where a published point is below 500,000 TZS, the employer must pay at least 500,000, so the printed point is not what a serving employee receives. That covers the whole of TGS A and B, the first nine steps of TGS C, the whole of TGOS A and B, the first three steps of TGOS C, AGCS 1, SAIS A and B, PSS A and B, and PSOS A and B. A degree entrant on TGS D1 is above the floor; a certificate entrant on TGS B1 is not.

From scale point to take-home pay

A scale point is gross pay. Your PSSSF contribution comes off first — 5% of gross for a public servant — and the employer adds 15% on top, which never comes out of your pay. PAYE is then charged on the balance using the 2026 bands: 0% on the first 270,000 TZS, 8% to 520,000, 20% to 760,000, 25% to 1,000,000 and 30% above. An HESLB repayment, at 15% of gross for a beneficiary, and NHIF, at 3% for a member, do not reduce the income PAYE is charged on. The salary calculator below applies PSSSF, PAYE and HESLB; deduct NHIF separately if you are a member.

Asha is a diploma holder working as a records clerk at a district council in Singida. Her post is on TGS C1, printed at 410,000 TZS, so the floor is what she is paid: 500,000 TZS a month. On a 500,000 TZS gross monthly salary, the 5% PSSSF contribution of 25,000 TZS comes off first, leaving 475,000 TZS to be taxed. PAYE on that is 16,400 TZS (0% on the first 270,000, 8% on 205,000). After tax and pension, take-home is 458,600 TZS before any other deductions.

Mussa is an engineer with a degree at a ministry in Dodoma. His post is TGS D1, printed at 567,000 TZS, which is above the floor. On a 567,000 TZS gross monthly salary, the 5% PSSSF contribution of 28,350 TZS comes off first, leaving 538,650 TZS to be taxed. PAYE on that is 23,730 TZS (0% on the first 270,000, 8% on 250,000, 20% on 18,650). After tax and pension, take-home is 514,920 TZS before any other deductions.

Increments, promotion and regrading

An increment is the annual move up one step within the same grade, until the grade's maximum (Standing Orders E.8). It is not automatic: the appointing authority awards it on the supervisor's recommendation after the appraisal (E.9(3)). A promotion moves you to a higher grade, and a new qualification can lead to regrading once the payroll recognises it. The step is printed in the schedule, so the arithmetic is checkable: take the entry point, add the increment for each completed step, and compare the result with the basic salary on your payslip.

How to check your own scale

Start with the job advert, which states the scale for the post — for example TGS D. Your payslip shows the basic salary and, on most payrolls, the scale and step. If either is missing, ask your HR or payroll office for the Personal Emoluments Vote entry for your post. If the gross figure is below 500,000 TZS, ask payroll to show it: the minimum-wage order applies, and the printed point being lower does not make the payment lawful. The per-step schedule is the PE Vote, not a table on a website.

• The advert names the scale; the scheme of service fixes the entry step.
• The payslip shows the basic salary; ask for the scale and step if they are not printed.
• The Personal Emoluments Vote is the schedule behind the figure.
• A gross below 500,000 TZS is a floor case — raise it with HR.

Why online salary tables disagree

Many tables circulating online are undated copies of the same schedule. Two things give them away. First, their lowest points — TGOS A1 at 240,000 TZS, TGS A1 at 249,000 TZS — are below the 500,000 minimum, so they cannot be what a new employee is paid in 2026. Second, the copies contain printing errors: TGS E's final point, TGRS F's first point and SAIS F's eighth point do not follow their own increments. This page publishes the entry points and step sizes the copies agree on, labels the source, and leaves the full step table to the Personal Emoluments Vote. If a table you find has no date and a 240,000 TZS starting point, treat it as history, not current pay.

What this page does not publish

The full step-by-step table for each grade is deliberately absent. The only copies we could read disagree with themselves in several places, and a long table of unverified points would look more authoritative than it is. The entry points and step sizes here are corroborated across the copies; the exact figures, including the intermediate steps, are in the Personal Emoluments Vote and on your payslip. If you need a specific step, ask payroll for the PE Vote entry.

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