Military PCS - Reimbursement & Allowances

As the restrictions for personnel transfers ease across the military, I wanted to write about Permanent Change of Station (PCS) moves for service members and their families. Recently, I read an article about excessive out-of-pocket expenses that service members and their families are paying for during PCS moves. The headline says families lose about $5,000 during PCS moves. Based on reading the article, service members are either unknowingly getting the paid the extra money for moves and not spending it wisely or service members are not claiming what they are entitled to for their PCS reimbursements after their move. I have never experienced that extent of out of pocket costs in a combined 10 military moves over a combined 23 years of service between my wife and I, so I wanted to lay out the what the military provides and allows service members and their families to claim during the PCS process. Don’t get me wrong, there are extra expenses incurred with every military move, but $5,000 seems overly excessive.

However, you need to know what you are entitled to make sure you are being properly reimbursed and compensated during your PCS moves. You can also find PCS FAQs on the Defense Travel Management Office (DTMO) website. Here are the four major financial reimbursements and allowances you can get during a PCS move within the Continental United States (CONUS):

Dislocation Allowance (DLA)

For nearly all PCS moves, a service member will be eligible for DLA. DLA “partially reimburses a service member for expenses incurred in moving a household.” I look at this allowance to offset expenses when moving into a new home. It would go towards our first month’s rent and security deposit and restocking the house with everything you can’t move with your household goods (HHG) like cooking supplies (oils & condiments) and cleaning supplies.

Similar to your Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH), DLA will vary every year and will depend on the service member’s paygrade and dependent status. Here are the rates for 2020:

Temporary Lodging Expense (TLE)

During a PCS, service members are eligible for a maximum of 10 days reimbursement for “lodging and meal expenses” when conducting a PCS within the Continental United States (CONUS). If you are transferring from CONUS to OCONUS or OCONUS to CONUS, you only get a maximum of five days. This is called Temporary Lodging Expense or TLE. The biggest thing for getting TLE reimbursement is that you need to stay in government quarters if it is available. Most bases have a military hotel or lodge on the base, so it is necessary to stay there if there is availability. If there isn’t availability, the service member must “obtain a non-availability confirmation number provided by the Service’s lodging reservation process to justify reimbursement for commercial lodging.” So you need to stay on the base if it is available, and if not, you need a confirmation number from the military hotel that essentially means they are fully booked. Additionally, you will need a zeroed out receipt for wherever you are staying showing you paid for your room, whether it is on or off base. You will also be limited on the amount you will be reimbursed, so don’t go stay at the Four Seasons or Ritz Carlton.

The governing document for TLE is the Joint Travel Regulations manual. TLE is covered in section 0506. You can also look here for TLE Frequently Asked Questions on the Defense Travel Management Office website. Here are also a few example scenarios for TLE.

Standard CONUS Per Diem

During the PCS, you will have to drive from the original duty station to the final duty station. This will be reimbursed at the “standard CONUS per diem” rate. Also, spouses and dependents will not all be reimbursed at 100% of the “standard CONUS per diem” rate. This be part of your travel claim on DD FORM 1351-2. You may need to fill out more than one DD FORM 1351-2 for your move if you and your family drive more than one vehicle. Below are the values for the 2020 “standard CONUS per diem” rate.

Also, here is a screenshot from the Joint Travel Regulations Manual (JTR) section 50303 explaining how dependents will receive different proportions of the “standard CONUS per diem” rate depending on age.

Mileage In Lieu of Transportation (MALT)

When you transfer, service members and their families are entitled to a mileage reimbursement for two cars, called mileage in lieu of transportation or MALT. You can file extra paperwork to request a third vehicle be reimbursed through your service. The reimbursement would be from duty station to duty station, and the 2020 mileage reimbursement is $0.17 per mile. However, the service member will need to file a travel claim on DD FORM 1351-2 for each vehicle.

Claim What is Yours

Next time you PCS, make sure you are getting reimbursed for eligible expenses. Make sure you don’t spend your DLA on ‘stuff’ not associated with your move.

In the next post, I’ll go over how I prepare our family for PCS moves and minimize extra out of pocket expenses. Each of our last two moves were over 2,000 miles of travel and at least nine straight weeks out of a primary residence, so a lot of planning ahead was involved.

Also, if you liked this post, check out my military page and my post “Ever Wonder How Much Your Military Retirement will be?”.

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