Methods, systems, and devices for indicating a modulation coding scheme (MCS) in LTE are described. A user equipment (UE) may receive downlink control information (DCI) from an evolved Node B (eNB) that includes an uplink grant of resources. The DCI may be configured and have a format that conveys an MCS table reference. The UE may identify the MCS table reference and, based on the reference, identify a legacy MCS table or a non-legacy MCS table. The legacy MCS table may be associated with quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) up to a first order, and the non-legacy MCS table may be associated with QAM up to a second order, the second order being higher than the first order. The UE may modulate and code information for uplink transmissions using the identified MCS table.