SAG-AFTRA Day Rates Explained: What Actors Get Paid on Set

Your agent calls with a booking: one day on a new streaming drama, a couple of lines, “at scale.” You say yes before the sentence is finished. Then, on the drive home, you realize you don’t actually know what “scale” pays, what the production pays on top of it, or why your friend on an indie feature got a smaller number for the same kind of day.

Plenty of actors learn this one paycheck at a time. You don’t have to, because the numbers aren’t secret. The union and the producers publish them, and once you know where to look and how to read the table, you can check any offer in a few minutes.

The short version: the SAG-AFTRA day rate is the minimum a producer must pay a principal performer booked for a single day. For work from July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027, that minimum is $1,283 for a day performer under the main TV and theatrical wage tables (some older series use legacy tables with different figures). Weekly, three-day, and background work each have their own rows, and low-budget films use separate agreements with lower minimums. On top of your pay, the producer also owes pension and health contributions, and some offers add 10% to cover your agent (scale plus 10). Rates rise every July, so always check the current table.

Know what “scale” actually means

“Scale” is shorthand for the union minimum. Casting director Ramani Leah, CSA, defines it on The Casting Director’s Cut as the lowest pay SAG-AFTRA will let its members accept for a given project. A guide from the payroll firm Media Services puts it the same way: every SAG-AFTRA agreement sets a minimum for each type of performer, and talent can negotiate more but never less.

That last part matters. Scale is a floor, not a price tag. Actors with credits, a name, or a role that carries a lot of the story can negotiate overscale, anything above the minimum. If your first booking comes in at scale, there’s nothing wrong with that.

The word “minimum” also hides a detail: there isn’t one scale, there are dozens. The minimum depends on the agreement the production signed, the kind of performer you are, and how you’re booked. A day performer, a weekly performer, a singer, a stunt performer, and a background actor each have their own figure. When someone quotes you “the SAG rate,” the honest answer is: which one?

Find the day rate in the official wage tables

The minimums live in the wage tables for each contract. For the current TV/Theatrical contract, the producers’ bargaining group, the AMPTP, publishes the 2026-30 SAG-AFTRA Agreement Wage Tables (printed May 27, 2026). Each page is a grid: performer categories down the side, contract years across the top.

Here is how to read the row most actors care about. Under “Day Performers,” the “Performer” line in the Codified Basic Agreement (the theatrical contract) and the Television Agreement shows the same figures:

• For work from July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2026, the day performer minimum was $1,246.
• For work from July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027, it is $1,283.
• The table already lists the later years too: $1,321 from July 1, 2027, $1,361 from July 1, 2028, and $1,402 from July 1, 2029, through June 30, 2030.

Each step is a 3% raise, which matches the deal itself. The Association of Talent Agents’ summary of the 2026 agreement says it runs four years, July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2030, with minimums rising 3% each July 1. Rates are set by contract year, so check which year’s column applies to your job. For TV, the note at the top of the Television Agreement page explains how series that started under an earlier contract are treated.

Two tips for reading the grid. First, find the column for your work dates before you look at any number. Second, check you’re on the right page: the tables cover several agreements, and some older series and streaming shows sit on their own “legacy” or “grandfathered” pages with different figures. For example, the “Legacy Exhibit A” page lists a day performer minimum of $1,329 for July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027.

Compare day, three-day, and weekly bookings

The day rate is only one way to be booked. The same wage table lists other rows that cost the production less per day if they need you for longer. If you want the on-set side of that difference, our guide to day players and weekly players covers how productions schedule each one.

For work from July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027, per the AMPTP wage tables:

• A day performer’s minimum is $1,283 for one day.
• A weekly performer’s minimum is $4,456 for the week, under both the theatrical and TV agreements.
• On TV, a three-day performer on a half-hour or one-hour show has a minimum of $3,252.

Do the rough math and you’ll see why productions choose carefully. Three separate day bookings would cost more than one three-day booking, and five days would cost more than a week. The weekly row isn’t a bonus for the actor; it’s a discount for the production in exchange for holding you longer.

The length of the day differs too. A 2019 Wrapbook payroll guide explains that the minimum day rate is based on an eight-hour day, or a ten-hour day for an actor paid on a weekly scale, with overtime owed beyond that. That guide predates the current contract, and the overtime rules vary by agreement, so look them up in your contract or ask the union rather than trusting a figure you read online.

Fittings and other paid time

Time you spend for the production off camera can count too. The ATA summary notes that for contracts made on or after July 1, 2026, a day performer paid $1,700 or more is not owed extra pay for time in a wardrobe fitting, up from $1,500. Below that break, the contract’s fitting-pay rules apply, so check them or ask the union. The same summary says that if you’re called in on a non-working day for required safety or harassment-prevention training, you’re paid for four hours at no less than half the day performer minimum.

Understand scale plus 10

Here’s a phrase that confuses many newer actors. Agents usually take a 10% commission, but on union work the minimum is meant to stay yours. SAG-AFTRA’s Los Angeles commission bulletin says that on theatrical, TV, and streaming work, a franchised agent must negotiate above scale, generally scale plus 10, before taking a commission. That bulletin is for Los Angeles members, so check the version for your market.

The Media Services guide explains that agencies typically take 10% of an actor’s taxable pay, and that the production may cover that 10% on top of wages. That arrangement is called scale plus 10. Leah’s glossary entry makes the same point from the casting side: the rates she lists don’t include the standard 10% agency or manager commission, which is added into the offer.

Here’s the math on one day in the 2026-27 contract year, as an illustration. The day minimum is $1,283. Ten percent of that is $128.30. A scale plus 10 offer would pay $1,411.30 before taxes. The extra $128.30 covers your agent’s 10%, so the minimum is still yours.

Not every deal works this way, and agency agreements differ. If an offer just says “scale,” ask your agent whether it’s scale or scale plus 10 before you sign. Our guide to agents and managers explains what franchised agents can and can’t charge.

Count the money you don’t see: pension and health

Your day rate isn’t the whole cost of hiring you. Productions that employ union members also pay into the union’s pension and health plans. The Media Services guide calls these payments fringes, usually a percentage of the scale pay, and notes they aren’t owed on meal penalties, forced calls, travel and living, or wardrobe.

How big is it? SAGindie, the union’s office for independent filmmakers, posted a notice on the 2026 TV/Theatrical contract on June 24, 2026. It says the pension and health contribution rate rose 1% on September 6, 2026, to 22% for principal performers and 21.5% for background performers.

You never see that money in your paycheck. It goes to the pension and health plans, not to you directly. It’s also why a union day costs a production noticeably more than the day rate alone, which is worth knowing when you compare a union offer with a non-union one that sounds bigger.

Know why indie films pay less: the low-budget agreements

Not every union production pays $1,283 a day. SAG-AFTRA has separate agreements for smaller films, with lower minimums, so independent filmmakers can hire union actors. The SAGindie notice lists these daily minimums for work starting July 1, 2026:

• Ultra Low Budget: $257 a day.
• Moderate Low Budget: $449 a day, or $1,560 a week.
• Low Budget: $834 a day, or $2,896 a week.

Which tier a film uses depends mainly on its total budget, and each agreement has its own conditions. Wrapbook’s guide to SAG-AFTRA rates (updated September 1, 2026) gives the bands as $300,000 or less for Ultra Low Budget, $300,000 to $700,000 for Moderate Low Budget, and $700,000 to $2 million for Low Budget, with the basic theatrical rates above $2 million. It also notes the Ultra Low Budget agreement has no weekly scale.

So when you see “SAG-AFTRA Ultra Low Budget” on a breakdown, read it as a union job with union protections at a much smaller day rate. Whether it’s worth it depends on the role, the people, and what you want from the credit. Our guide to reading a casting breakdown covers the other lines to check.

See where background work fits

Background actors are paid on a separate, lower scale. Central Casting explains the line: a principal generally has a speaking role on camera, while background actors perform non-speaking roles, usually in the background of a scene. A background actor can sometimes be given a line and upgraded to principal during filming, but that’s the production’s call.

For work from July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027, the AMPTP wage tables list the general background actor minimum at $231 a day under Schedule X of the theatrical agreement (the legacy TV tables differ). Special ability background actors get $10 more, $241, and stand-ins get $270. Background work also has its own pension and health rate, the 21.5% in the SAGindie notice. If you’re starting there, our guide on how to be a background actor covers the day itself.

Check an offer in five minutes

You don’t need to memorize any of these numbers. You need a routine for checking them, because they change every July 1. When an offer comes in, work through it in this order:

1. Which agreement? Ask whether it’s the TV agreement, the basic theatrical agreement, or a low-budget agreement. Each has its own minimums.
2. How are you booked? Day, three-day, or weekly. Find the matching row.
3. When do you work? Find the column for your work dates. A shoot on June 30 and one on July 1 can fall in different contract years.
4. Scale or overscale, plus 10 or not? Confirm whether the 10% for your agent is added on top.
5. How long is the day? Know where overtime starts for your booking, and keep your own note of your in and out times.
6. Any extra time? Fittings, rehearsals, and training calls may be paid. Ask.

Keep copies of your contract and your pay stubs. They’re also what you’ll need at tax time; our guide to tax deductions for actors covers what to keep.

Make the day worth the rate

A day rate pays for a day, not for a rehearsal period. There may be little or no rehearsal once you’re on set, so the work you do before call time decides how the day goes. Arrive with your lines solid from the cue, not just from the top of the speech.

A practical tip for a small part: rehearse from the cues, not just your own lines. In Offbook you can upload your sides, pick your role, and realistic voices read every other character and wait for your line, so you practice coming in on the cue the way you will on set.

And remember the long game. A principal day on a union job is one of the routes to membership, as our guide to becoming SAG-AFTRA eligible explains. If the work is reused later, you may also be owed residuals, which follow their own rules. Commercials are paid differently again; see commercial buyouts explained.

Questions actors ask

What is the SAG-AFTRA day rate right now?

For work from July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027, the day performer minimum under the TV and theatrical agreements is $1,283, per the AMPTP’s 2026-30 wage tables (legacy TV tables differ). It rises 3% each July 1 through 2029; the contract runs to June 30, 2030. Low-budget agreements and background work have lower minimums, so check which agreement your job uses.

Is the day rate what I take home?

No. It’s gross pay before taxes. On union TV and theatrical work, an agent generally commissions only once the deal is above scale, as the scale plus 10 section explains, so ask your agent how commission works on your deal. Pension and health contributions are paid by the producer on top, so they don’t reduce your check, but you won’t see them in it either.

Can I ask for more than scale?

Yes. Scale is only the minimum. Whether you get more depends on your credits, the role, and your agent’s negotiation. Taking scale or scale plus 10 on an early booking is nothing to worry about.

Where do I find the current rates?

Look for the wage tables for the contract your job falls under. For the 2026-30 TV/Theatrical contract, the AMPTP’s wage table PDF lists every year through June 30, 2030, and SAGindie posts the low-budget figures. When a new contract is signed, the numbers change, so check the date on any table before you rely on it.

Do non-union jobs have to pay scale?

No. Union minimums apply to union jobs; non-union jobs set their own terms. Compare offers on the full picture: the rate, the hours it covers, and what the job does for your career.