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Money
What the military pays for, and what it does not
A PCS costs more than the allowances cover. That is not a complaint, it is a planning assumption — families who budget as though the allowances are reimbursement get caught out, and families who budget as though the allowances are a partial contribution do not.
Every rate on this page resets, most of them on 1 January. I have linked the official lookup for each one rather than publishing figures that would be wrong by the time you read this. Anyone quoting you a specific dollar amount on a website should be treated with suspicion unless they show you the date.
The four you will actually encounter
DLA — Dislocation Allowance. Partially reimburses the cost of relocating a household. Set by grade and dependency status as of your orders' effective date. Normally one payment per fiscal year, with exceptions. Current rates.
TLE — Temporary Lodging Expense. Partially reimburses lodging and meals while you are in temporary quarters at a CONUS duty station. As of November 2024 this increased from 14 to 21 days. It is explicitly designed not to cover everything — there is a daily ceiling and an occupancy percentage based on family size. TLA is the overseas equivalent.
MALT and per diem. Mileage and travel costs for the drive itself. Mileage rates and per diem rates are published annually.
PPM — Personally Procured Move. Still called a DITY by almost everyone. Covered in detail below, because the number most people have in their head is out of date.
Entitlement questions
The money questions I get asked most, answered without made-up numbers.
01
No. The 130% rate was a temporary policy that applied from 15 May 2025 to 30 September 2025 and has expired. A member-elected personally procured move now pays 100% of the Government Constructed Cost. A great deal of online content still repeats the 130% figure — do not budget around it.
02
At a duty station within the continental US the allowance increased from 14 to 21 days effective November 2024. It is partial reimbursement, not full coverage — there is a daily ceiling and an occupancy percentage based on how many people are in your family.
03
No. Individual rate protection ends when you PCS. You will receive the rate for your new duty station, paygrade and dependency status. Budget on the Fort Walton Beach rate before you arrive, not the one you have now.
04
No. Extended TLE of up to 60 days is approved only at a short list of installations with documented housing shortages, and no Florida Panhandle location is on it. Plan on the standard entitlement.
05
How much is DLA?
It depends on your grade and dependency status, and rates are republished every January. I do not publish the figure here because it would be out of date within months — use the official rate page linked in the sources below.
The PPM number has changed — read this before you plan around it
You have probably seen that a personally procured move pays 130% of what the government would have spent. That rate has expired.
The 130% figure came from a temporary policy that applied from 15 May 2025 through 30 September 2025 and has since reverted. As of the current published guidance, a member-elected PPM pays 100% of the Government Constructed Cost — what the government would have paid for the same move. You keep what you do not spend, minus taxes.
There is a second method, Actual Cost Reimbursement, which reimburses documented moving expenses up to your authorized weight entitlement. It requires written pre-approval from your transportation office before you move.
Either way, the paperwork discipline is the same and it is unforgiving: orders and transportation office approval before you move, empty and full weight tickets from a certified weigh station for every segment, every receipt kept, and originals retained. A PPM without weight tickets is a PPM you do not get paid for.
BAH: the trap nobody warns you about
Basic Allowance for Housing is set by three things: the local civilian rental market at your duty station, your paygrade, and whether you have dependents. Note that last one — it is with-dependents or without, not scaled by how many children you have.
Here is the part that catches people. Members normally have individual rate protection: if rates drop, you keep the higher rate you were already receiving. That protection lapses when you PCS. You arrive on the new local rate, whatever it is. If you are moving from a high-cost area to the Emerald Coast, budget on the Fort Walton Beach rate from day one. Look it up at the official BAH lookup — never from a third-party site.
Extended temporary lodging is not available here
A small number of installations with documented permanent housing shortages are approved for up to 60 days of TLE instead of the standard allowance. Eglin, Hurlburt and every other Florida Panhandle location are not on that list. Plan on the standard entitlement. The approved locations are published here and the list does change, so check it rather than taking my word for it.
Moving with a pet
Since January 2024 there is a pet transportation allowance. The regulations define a household pet as a cat or a dog, and the allowance covers one pet per PCS order — up to $550 within the continental US. Eligibility keys to your orders' effective date, not your detach date. Hotel pet fees are reimbursable with itemized receipts. Higher caps apply to overseas moves. Details here.
Sources and further reading
Rates on this page are deliberately linked rather than quoted, because most of them reset on 1 January.
- Dislocation Allowance rates
- Temporary Lodging Expense
- BAH rate lookup
- Per diem rate lookup
- Pet transportation allowance
- Approved TLE extension locations
Last updated: September 2026. This page carries the most date-sensitive information in the guide and is reviewed quarterly. Verify every figure with your transportation office or finance office before relying on it.
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