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Suggest a Feature →Your LES, decoded.
Every field on your Leave and Earnings Statement explained like a human wrote it.
Based on the standard DFAS LES format. Your specific LES may vary by branch, component, or pay system.
Identification
Your name as it appears in the personnel system. Should match your ID card.
Last four of your SSN. DFAS uses this as your primary identifier.
Your current pay grade (E-1 through E-9, W-1 through W-5, O-1 through O-10).
The date your current pay grade started counting. Determines time-in-grade pay raises.
Total years of creditable military service for pay purposes.
Expiration Term of Service. The date your current enlistment contract ends.
Your military branch of service.
Disbursing Station Symbol Number. Identifies the finance office that processes your pay.
The pay period this LES covers — typically one calendar month.
Entitlements
Your primary military salary, determined by grade and years of service. Taxable.
Basic Allowance for Housing. Tax-free money for off-post housing, based on your duty station ZIP, grade, and dependency status.
Basic Allowance for Subsistence. Tax-free money for food. Enlisted and officer rates differ.
Cost of Living Allowance. Extra tax-free pay if you're stationed somewhere expensive (usually OCONUS).
Family Separation Allowance. $250/month when you're separated from dependents for 30+ days due to orders.
Catch-all for incentive and special duty pays: hazardous duty, flight pay, dive pay, jump pay, foreign language proficiency, etc.
Enlistment/reenlistment bonuses, critical skills pay, or assignment incentive pay paid in installments.
Hardship Duty Pay, Imminent Danger Pay, and Hostile Fire Pay. Tax-free pays for deployed or hazardous locations.
Deductions
Federal Income Tax Withholding. The amount withheld for federal taxes based on your W-4 elections.
State Income Tax Withholding. Based on your state of legal residence (SLR), not where you're stationed.
Social Security (6.2%) and Medicare (1.45%) taxes. Everyone pays these — no exemptions.
Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance. Up to $500,000 coverage, deducted automatically unless you decline or reduce.
Traumatic Injury Protection. Automatic $1/month rider on SGLI. Pays lump sum for qualifying injuries.
Thrift Savings Plan contribution. Your military retirement savings — like a 401(k) but with lower fees.
Armed Forces Vacation Club / Armed Forces Retirement Home. Small mandatory deductions ($0.50/month for AFRH).
Your mid-month paycheck (around the 15th). This is an advance on your end-of-month pay, not extra money.
Allotments
Voluntary allotments you set up — savings accounts, loan payments, insurance premiums, etc.
While deployed, you can deposit up to $10,000 and earn 10% annual interest. Managed via finance office.
If you owe the government money (overpayment, advance pay, etc.), they'll take it back here.
Summary
The sum of everything in Section 2. This is your gross pay before anything is taken out.
The sum of everything in Section 3. Taxes, insurance, TSP — mandatory and voluntary.
The sum of everything in Section 4. Money you directed to go somewhere other than your bank.
Total Entitlements minus Total Deductions minus Total Allotments. This is what you actually receive.
Leave
Brought Forward Balance. Leave days carried over from the previous fiscal year (max 60 days, or 90 with special leave accrual).
Leave earned this fiscal year. You earn 2.5 days per month (30 days/year).
Leave days taken this fiscal year. Includes regular leave, PTDY, and emergency leave.
Current Balance. Your available leave right now: BF BAL + ERND − USED.
Projected leave balance at your ETS date. How many days you could sell back or take as terminal leave.
Leave days forfeited. Days above 60 that weren't used before the fiscal year end.
Days you'll lose at the end of the fiscal year if you don't use them. Starts showing around June.
Federal Tax Data
Total taxable wages earned this calendar year. Excludes tax-free allowances (BAH, BAS, combat zone pay).
Total federal income tax withheld so far this year.
Total wages subject to Social Security and Medicare taxes. Usually matches or is close to Wages YTD.
Total Social Security and Medicare taxes paid so far this year (combined 7.65% of FICA wages).
Total wages subject to state income tax. Based on your State of Legal Residence.
Total state income tax withheld so far this year.
Pay Data
Which BAH rate table applies to you. RC/TRANSIENT is a reduced rate for barracks residents or transient status.
Whether you're receiving the "with dependents" or "without dependents" BAH rate. Significant difference.
Your subsistence allowance type. Enlisted vs. officer rates. Some meal deduction status may show here.
Total Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) charitable donations this year.
Total Pay and Allowances, Current month. Everything before deductions.
Pay account identification number. Internal DFAS tracking number.
Remarks
Notes about Thrift Savings Plan contribution changes, Roth elections, or catch-up contributions.
Cryptic alphanumeric codes indicating pay actions processed that month (promotions, PCS, allowance changes).
Explanations for retroactive pay adjustments — back pay owed to you or money recouped from overpayments.
Changes to your housing or subsistence status, ZIP code updates, dependency changes.
Installment payment info for enlistment or reenlistment bonuses. Shows remaining payments and schedule.
Things that should make you visit finance immediately
If your grade doesn't reflect a recent promotion, your base pay and all allowances calculated from grade are wrong.
If you have dependents or live off-post and BAH isn't showing, you're losing hundreds per month tax-free.
Same item appearing twice in deductions. Common after PCS or system migrations. You're paying double for something.
You've taken more leave than you've earned. You now owe the government money — each day deducted from final pay at separation.
An allotment you didn't set up could mean someone accessed your myPay. Change your password and report it immediately.
If your life insurance coverage dropped and you didn't request it, your beneficiaries could be underinsured.
If your State of Legal Residence has no income tax but you're seeing SITW deductions, your SLR is wrong in the system.
Compare your grade + YRS SVC against the current DFAS pay chart. Even a $10 discrepancy means something is wrong.
What to do when your LES doesn't add up
- 1
Log into myPay and pull up your current and previous LES side by side. Find exactly what changed.
- 2
Screenshot everything. Before you talk to anyone, document the discrepancy with dates and amounts.
- 3
Visit your installation finance office with your screenshots. Be specific: "My BAH dropped $200 between September and October and I didn't PCS or change dependency status."
- 4
If finance can't resolve it, file a pay inquiry through your chain of command. Request a written response with a timeline.