FedHR ToolsMaximum payable rate
Coverage, sources & calculation rules
This tool calculates the ceiling under 5 CFR 531.221(b), (c) or (d). It does not choose the final authorized step, establish the HPR from an employee’s entire career, or replace a mandatory promotion, lateral-move or retention entitlement. If the normal-rule entitlement is higher, it remains payable and MPR cannot lower it. Use the two-step promotion calculator when that is the underlying action.
The ordinary GS method compares underlying GS rates on the historical table, identifies the lowest step meeting the HPR (step 10 if the HPR exceeds the range), then carries that step to the new position’s current rates. Locality and selected special rates are applied afterward. Historical GS base tables start in 2014; published historical locality tables start in 2016. Older or special historical comparisons can be entered from a verified table.
The FWS option looks up the ordinary WG / WL / WS hourly rate effective on the date earned and multiplies it by 2,087, preserving cents. Verify the historical schedule’s coverage; current county routing does not establish historical entitlement. FWS-to-GS moves use this MPR method rather than the GS two-step increase. Separately published special or retained FWS rates require verified hourly entry.
The non-GS method compares the HPR against the highest applicable range for the new position at the time and place the HPR was earned, then carries the resulting step forward. Published historical locality tables do not establish historical special-rate coverage. Select that option only after verifying no higher special rate applied; otherwise enter the complete historical highest applicable range.
The special-rate reassignment exception checks the former VA plan’s published geographic coverage. Outside that coverage, the former job is converted at the same step to the new worksite. A converted locality / GS rate requires the underlying GS method instead. Only currently published VA schedules are available; this mode does not reconstruct a past reassignment. County candidates never establish an individual special-rate entitlement.
Pay tables, historical OPM schedules and source-check times are covered by the nightly salary check. Calculation rules and VA policy were reviewed October 22, 2026; the nightly salary check does not automatically review policy changes.
About this tool & source checks
Turn eligible prior Federal pay into a step ceiling for the new position.
OPM’s MPR rule ↗Moving between GS and FWS? Determine promotion, reassignment or change to lower grade →
About the maximum payable rate
What is the maximum payable rate?
The maximum payable rate rule in 5 CFR 531.221 lets an agency set GS pay up to the step supported by an employee’s highest previous rate. The result here is a ceiling, not an automatic pay award, and the agency may authorize a lower step.
Which prior rates can I use?
A prior GS grade and step on a historical base table, a verified underlying GS rate, non-GS Federal basic pay, or a Federal Wage System rate from a DCPAS schedule. Hourly rates are annualized at 2,087 hours.
Is the result final?
It stays conditional until the prior rate is confirmed as eligible. VA Handbook 5007 Appendix O adds service, qualification and performance conditions for VA positions.