The PCS Check You Have to Ask For (or You Never Get It)

The military owes you a check that has nothing to do with your receipts. You do not have to save a single gas station stub or furniture invoice to collect it. The amount is fixed, it is tax-free, and it hits your account based on two things only: your pay grade and whether you have dependents. That check is the Dislocation Allowance, or DLA, and it is one of the most commonly left-on-the-table payments in a military move. Not because families are told no. Because they never ask.

What DLA actually is

Dislocation Allowance is a one-time, tax-free payment meant to help cover the relocation costs the government does not reimburse anywhere else. Think security deposits, utility hookups, cleaning fees, the odds and ends that never survive a move. It sits on top of your other PCS money. It is separate from your mileage, separate from per diem, separate from the weight the movers haul.

The number is not tied to what you spent. It is a flat rate based on two things only: your pay grade and whether your authorized dependents actually relocate with you. That is the whole formula.

For 2026, that table runs from $1,870.58 at the low end to $6,385.58 at the top, effective January 1, 2026, under the current Joint Travel Regulations. The rates went up 3.8 percent from 2025.

Your 2026 DLA rate

Find your pay grade and dependency status. This is the primary DLA table effective January 1, 2026, per DTMO MAP 72-25(I). All figures are one-time and tax-free.

A note for junior enlisted: the E-1 through E-4 grades draw the same base figures as the E-5 through E-8 band on the flat table, but eligibility is the catch, not the rate. If you are E-1 to E-4 and assigned to the barracks with no dependents, you generally do not receive DLA at all, because the payment exists to offset setting up a household and the barracks is already set up. The rate only matters once you clear the eligibility bar below.

To put the most common case in plain terms: an E-5 with dependents receives $3,548.02 this year, and $2,389.42 without. Verify your exact figure against your finance office before you budget on it.

The part that costs families money: you have to ask

Here is the trap. DLA is not automatic. It must be requested, or it does not get paid. You can claim it in advance on your pre-PCS paperwork, or in arrears when you file your travel voucher (the DD 1351-2) after the move. Either way, there is a block to check, and if nobody checks it, the money simply never appears.

That is how a payment this size gets missed. In the chaos of orders, packouts, and finding a place to live, a single unchecked box on a voucher is easy to overlook, and finance is not going to chase you down to hand you money you did not claim. If you want it advanced before you move, you can request up to the full amount as early as 30 days before your departure date from your losing station. If you do not take the advance, the full amount pays out when your voucher clears.

The lesson is simple: put DLA on your PCS checklist as a line item you personally confirm, not something you assume the system handles.

Who gets it, and who does not

DLA applies to most PCS moves, but not all of them, and the exceptions are where families get surprised.

The rule of thumb: if you normally draw BAH, or you are above E-5 and choose not to live in the barracks, you are most likely eligible. A single member below E-5 assigned to government quarters at the new station generally is not, because the whole point of the payment is to offset setting up a household, and the barracks is already set up.

Dependents have to actually move. You get the higher with-dependents rate only if your authorized dependents physically relocate with you. If they stay behind and you are not assigned government quarters at the new base, you drop to the lower without-dependents rate.

Your first move often does not count. Moving from the civilian home where you lived when you enlisted to your very first duty station usually does not pay DLA, unless you are authorized to bring dependents.

Retirement and separation do not pay it. The final move when you leave active duty is not a DLA event. The entitlement is built for moves between active-duty assignments, not for the trip home at the end. You still get your mileage and per diem on that final move, but do not budget DLA into it.

Guard and Reserve coming on or off active duty generally do not qualify, with a narrow exception for activations longer than 20 weeks at one location where you are on PCS allowances and actually move your dependents.

The situations most people never hear about

Two cases are worth knowing because they quietly go unclaimed.

Partial DLA, the local move you did not choose. If the government orders you to vacate family-type government quarters for its own reasons, renovation, demolition, a base reorganization, and you move locally rather than under PCS orders, you may be owed a Partial DLA. It is a single flat payment, $1,002.71 for 2026 regardless of rank. This one slips through constantly because it does not show up on PCS-style orders. The authorization is usually a unit memo or a housing-office directive, so there is no obvious voucher prompting you to claim it. If you ever get told to move out of on-base housing for a reason that is not your choice and not a PCS, ask finance about Partial DLA by name.

Secondary DLA, when your orders change mid-move. If your PCS orders get amended, canceled, or revoked after you have already started moving, and you are forced to relocate again, a Secondary DLA helps cover the second move's costs. The rules cap it at two DLAs total per set of orders. Most families never hit this, but if your orders whipsaw on you, know the money exists.

Dual-military couples, read this twice. If both spouses are service members PCSing to the same location, the couple receives one DLA, paid at the higher of the two rates, not two payments. This catches dual-military families off guard on the LES, because both sets of orders look like they should each pay DLA and only one does. If you PCS to different locations, then each of you claims your own.

What this means for your move

DLA is not going to cover every dollar you spend relocating. It was never designed to. It is a flat contribution toward the incidental costs the rest of your PCS money ignores, and for most families it lands somewhere between two and four thousand dollars they can put straight toward deposits and setup.

The mistake is treating it as automatic. It is not. It is a box you check, a line you confirm, a question you ask finance before you sign your voucher. The families who miss it are not denied it. They just never claimed what was already theirs.

Before your next move, know your rate, know whether your dependents' travel changes it, and make claiming DLA a step you own.

Frequently asked questions

Is DLA taxable? No. DLA is a one-time, non-taxable payment. It does not appear as taxable wages on your W-2, so the full amount is yours.

How many times can I get DLA? Generally once per fiscal year, and the primary DLA is paid once per PCS move. Additional directed moves can qualify for a second payment under specific rules, capped at two DLAs per set of orders.

Do I get DLA on my first move to my first duty station? Usually not, unless you are authorized to bring dependents. The move from your civilian home to your first station typically does not pay DLA.

Do I get DLA when I retire or separate? No. The final move off active duty is not a DLA event. You still receive mileage and per diem on that move, but not DLA.

Can I get DLA before I move? Yes. You can request an advance of up to the full amount as early as 30 days before your departure date from your losing station. If you do not take the advance, the full amount pays out after you file your travel voucher.

We are both active duty and PCSing together. Do we each get DLA? If you move to the same location, no. The couple receives one DLA at the higher of your two rates. If you move to different locations, each of you claims your own.

Questions to ask HomeScoop

Planning the money side of your next PCS? Paste any of these into the HomeScoop assistant:

• "What's the BAH for my rank with dependents at my next base?"
• "How far does my BAH stretch renting off-base near my next base?"
• "Which neighborhoods near my next base fit my family and budget?"
• "What's the commute like from the off-base areas around my next base?"

The bottom line

Dislocation Allowance pays the same whether your move was smooth or a disaster, and it is one of the easiest PCS payments to leave behind, because the only thing standing between you and it is a request. Know your 2026 rate, confirm your dependency status, and make sure the box gets checked.

Run the full money picture on your next move at homescoop.app.