PCS money in 2026: DLA, mileage (MALT), travel days and PPM

Dislocation allowance: a flat amount by grade

The dislocation allowance (DLA) partially reimburses the expenses of moving a household. The Defense Travel Management Office (DTMO) describes it as a flat amount, paid as a primary, secondary or partial DLA depending on the move, and set by your grade and dependency status on the effective date of your PCS order. Selected 2026 primary rates, effective January 1, 2026:

Every grade from E-1 through E-6 draws the same $3,548.02 with dependents in 2026; the without-dependents column is where junior grades differ.

Three more DLA rules matter when you plan:

• Partial DLA is a one-time flat payment for certain qualifying moves (JTR par. 050508): $1,002.71 in 2026, up from $966.00 in 2025.
• Secondary DLA applies when a PCS order is amended, modified, canceled or revoked (JTR 050507). The secondary table in DTMO’s 2026 file carries an “Effective January 1, 2025” heading, so we don’t estimate it until DTMO confirms the year.
• One DLA per fiscal year. The JTR allows only one DLA payment in a fiscal year (October 1 to September 30), with exceptions listed in par. 050501 — among them a partial DLA, a service secretary’s determination that more than one PCS is needed, moves to or from a service-run course, evacuations, and amended or canceled orders.

DLA isn’t taxable income: IRS Publication 3 says not to include a dislocation allowance in income.

Mileage: MALT changed on July 1, 2026

The monetary allowance in lieu of transportation (MALT) pays a rate per mile when you are authorized to drive a privately owned vehicle (POV) on a PCS. DTMO is explicit that it isn’t meant to cover every cost of running the car; it is paid instead of a commercial ticket, and it covers all the authorized travelers riding in that vehicle. PCS MALT rates from DTMO’s table:

Two JTR rules decide which number you get. First, the rate in effect on the date your PCS travel begins applies even if the rate changes while you’re on the road. Second, when a member and a dependent drive two POVs, each vehicle is reimbursed; passengers riding in a vehicle don’t receive their own MALT. The distance is the official one from the Defense Table of Official Distances, not your odometer.

Don’t confuse MALT with the temporary duty mileage rate on the same DTMO page ($0.76 a mile for a car from July 1, 2026). That rate is for TDY travel and is a different allowance.

Authorized travel days

The JTR gives one day of travel for an official distance of 400 miles or less when you drive. Over 400 miles, it says to divide the distance by 350, and to add one more day if the remainder is 51 miles or more (par. 050205-A). We apply that text as written — the whole distance divided by 350:

A common shortcut — one day for the first 400 miles, then one day per 350 miles after that — gives one day fewer at some distances, such as 401, 751 or 1,101 miles. The JTR’s text divides the distance itself, not just the miles beyond 400, so our calculator shows that literal count. Your orders and finance office set the days you’re actually allowed; per diem for those days isn’t in our estimate.

Personally procured moves: 100% of the government’s cost

In a personally procured move (PPM), you move your own household goods instead of using the government’s movers. Under JTR par. 051502-C.2, you receive a monetary allowance equal to 100% of the government’s constructed “Best Value” cost for the actual weight you move, up to your maximum authorized weight allowance. A temporary rate of 130% of the Global Household Goods Contract rates applied only from May 15, 2025, through September 30, 2025, and has ended.

The constructed cost comes from the transportation office’s system for your move, so no outside calculator can produce it. The JTR also requires proof of weight — normally certified weight tickets — and limits storage and small-package shipments to the government’s constructed cost.

Taxes on a PPM work differently from DLA. IRS Publication 3 says that if the reimbursements and allowances you receive for the move are more than your actual moving expenses, the excess is generally included in your wages on your Form W-2; DLA, temporary lodging expense and temporary lodging allowance are left out of that test. Table 44-4 of the DoD Financial Management Regulation (FMR Vol. 7A, ch. 44) lists a PPM incentive payment as taxable when it is paid. Keep your receipts, and ask your finance office or a tax professional how your own PPM is reported.

Worked example: an E-5 driving 2,800 miles

An E-5 with dependents, primary DLA, an official distance of 2,800 miles, one POV, computed with our PCS calculator:

Starting on or after July 1 adds $84.00 of MALT for the same trip. With a second authorized POV, MALT for the August trip doubles to $1,316.00 and the total becomes $4,864.02. The same E-5 without dependents would receive $2,389.42 in DLA, for $3,047.42 with one POV.

What isn’t in these numbers

A full PCS settlement can include more than DLA and MALT: per diem for travel days, temporary lodging expense or allowance, household goods weight allowances, dependents’ travel by other modes, pet expenses under JTR par. 050107, and the PPM payment itself. Our calculator marks per diem, temporary lodging, household goods weights, dependents’ other travel, secondary DLA and the PPM as “Not modeled” rather than guessing, and it doesn’t estimate pet expenses either.

Next step

Enter your grade, dependents, official distance and travel start date in the PCS calculator to see DLA, MALT and travel days for your move. To compare housing allowances at the old and new duty stations, use the BAH calculator.

This is general information, not financial or tax advice. Your PCS orders, your transportation office and your finance office decide what you are paid for the move.