Reading Your Leave and Earnings Statement (LES)

What the LES Is

The Leave and Earnings Statement is the monthly pay-record document DFAS produces for every U.S. service member. It is the authoritative record of what a member earned, what was withheld, and what was paid for the period — the document that wins arguments with your finance office and the only document a tax preparer should rely on for military income.

Active-duty members typically see two LES periods per month: the mid-month and end-of-month entries that align with the 1st and 15th paycheck schedule. Reservists and Guard members see entries tied to drill weekends and any active-duty orders performed during the period. The format is consistent across the services and is paginated into roughly two dozen labeled blocks.

The LES is accessed through myPay at mypay.dfas.mil. Save copies; you will need historical LESes for VA claims, mortgage applications, and tax filings, and myPay only retains a limited rolling window.

The Header Block

The top of the LES identifies the member and the period. Key fields:

• Name and SSN — identification.
• Grade — pay grade (E-5, O-3, W-2). Confirms which row of the basic pay table applies.
• Pay date — the date the member entered the current pay grade and the date used for some longevity calculations.
• Years of service (YRS SVC) — the years-of-service total used to pick the column on the basic pay table. Mismatched pay-date and YRS-SVC values are a frequent source of errors at promotion or anniversary boundaries.
• ETS — Expiration of Term of Service. Affects retention, re-enlistment, and certain bonuses.
• Branch and component — service and active/Reserve/Guard status.

Entitlements

The "Entitlements" column lists everything earned for the period. This is where basic pay, BAS, BAH, and any special and incentive pays appear. Common entries:

• BASE PAY — Monthly basic pay for the member's grade and time in service.
• BAS — Basic Allowance for Subsistence at the enlisted or officer rate.
• BAH — Basic Allowance for Housing at the locality rate; with-dependents and without-dependents rates differ.
• FSH — Family Separation Housing, when authorized.
• FSA — Family Separation Allowance, when separated from dependents on qualifying orders.
• COLA — Cost-of-Living Allowance for high-cost CONUS locations or overseas assignments. See Military COLA Allowances.
• HFP/IDP, HDP, FLY/SUB/JUMP, SEA, DIVE — Hostile Fire/Imminent Danger Pay and other special pays. See Special and Incentive Pays.
• BONUS — Installment of an enlistment, reenlistment, or specialty bonus, if applicable.

Each line shows the earned amount for the period. Add the column for the period total — that figure should match the "TOT ENT" (Total Entitlements) at the bottom of the section.

Deductions

Mandatory and elected reductions to entitlements appear in the "Deductions" column. Typical entries:

• FEDERAL TAXES — Federal income tax withholding based on the member's W-4 election.
• FICA-SOC SECURITY — Social Security tax (6.2% of taxable wages up to the annual wage base).
• FICA-MEDICARE — Medicare tax (1.45% of all taxable wages; an additional 0.9% applies above a threshold).
• STATE TAX — State income tax for the state of legal residence (SLR), unless the SLR has no income tax or grants a military exemption.
• SGLI — Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance premium for the elected coverage amount; SGLI Family Coverage adds a separate line.
• TSP — Thrift Savings Plan contributions for traditional and/or Roth, in dollars or as a percentage of basic pay.
• MGIB — The $100/month deduction during the first 12 months of service for members who elected to participate in the Montgomery GI Bill (most newer members default to the Post-9/11 GI Bill, no deduction).
• AFRH — Armed Forces Retirement Home assessment ($0.50 monthly).
• DENTAL — TRICARE Dental Program premium, if enrolled.

Total deductions appear as "TOT DED" at the bottom of the column.

Allotments

Allotments are voluntary deductions the member directs to a third party — savings accounts, family members, insurance, charities. Each allotment is shown by purpose code on its own line. Total allotments appear as "TOT ALMT". Net amount paid to the member equals total entitlements minus total deductions minus total allotments.

Summary Block

The summary section reconciles the period's totals and any carry-over from the prior period:

• +AMT FWD — Amount forwarded from the prior LES (typically zero on a regular cycle).
• +TOT ENT — Total entitlements this period.
• −TOT DED — Total deductions.
• −TOT ALMT — Total allotments.
• =NET AMT — Net pay this period.
• −CR FWD — Credit forwarded to the next period.
• =EOM PAY — End-of-month pay. The amount actually deposited.

If +AMT FWD or −CR FWD is non-zero, something rolled across periods. Most often this is harmless (a partial period at the start of a new pay event), but it is worth a short conversation with finance if it persists.

Leave Block

The leave portion tracks accrued and used leave in days:

• BF BAL — Brought-forward leave balance from the previous fiscal year.
• ERND — Leave earned this fiscal year (members earn 2.5 days per month, or 30 days per year).
• USED — Leave used this fiscal year.
• CR BAL — Current balance.
• ETS BAL — Projected balance at ETS based on current accrual.
• LV LOST — Leave lost (above 60-day cap at end of fiscal year, with limited exceptions for combat zones and special leave accrual).
• LV PAID — Leave sold back, lifetime total (60 days maximum over a career, payable only at separation, retirement, or reenlistment under specific conditions).
• USE/LOSE — Leave that will be lost on the next 30 September if not used or carried under SLA authority.

Federal and State Tax Block

This section reports year-to-date taxable wages and withholding. Key items:

• WAGE PERIOD — Taxable wages this period (basic pay plus most special pays; not BAS, BAH, or other tax-free allowances).
• WAGE YTD — Year-to-date taxable wages.
• M/S — Filing status from the W-4.
• EX — Number of exemptions or W-4 line entries.
• ADD'L TAX — Additional federal withholding the member elected.
• TAX YTD — Year-to-date federal tax withheld.

State taxes mirror the federal block but reflect the state of legal residence. Service members can change SLR via DD Form 2058; consult a finance office or tax professional before doing so.

FICA Block

FICA reports Social Security (SOC) and Medicare (MED) wages and tax. Note that the wage base for Social Security tax is reset annually by the Social Security Administration; a senior member may stop accruing Social Security wages mid-year while Medicare tax continues to accrue without cap.

Pay Data Block

This section captures BAH-related and benefit-related variables:

• BAH TYPE — With dependents, without dependents, RC/T (Reserve Component / Transit), or differential.
• BAH DEPNS — Number of dependents claimed for BAH.
• VHA ZIP — ZIP code used to compute BAH or COLA.
• RENT AMT — Reported rent (used in some BAH calculations).
• SHARE — Whether the housing is shared.
• STAT — Status code (PCS in progress, etc.).
• JFTR — Joint Federal Travel Regulations location code.
• BAS TYPE — Standard, BAS-II, or no BAS.

BAH errors at PCS and dependency-status changes are common. The BAH ZIP, dependency count, and BAH type values are the first place to check after a move or a marriage/divorce.

Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) Block

The TSP block shows current contribution percentages and YTD totals for traditional and Roth, both base pay and special/incentive pay categories. For BRS members, government matching contributions appear here as well — typically 1% automatic plus up to 4% match on member contributions, after the first two years of service. Track YTD against the IRS elective deferral limit to avoid hitting the cap before the calendar year ends and stopping matching contributions.

Remarks

The Remarks section is where DFAS writes plain-text notes about the period. Things that often appear:

• The current SGLI election and beneficiary status
• Notices of upcoming pay changes (BAH update, time-in-service column change, promotion effective date)
• Combat Zone Tax Exclusion entries showing CZTE-eligible days during the period
• Debt notices and payment plans
• SBP elections or premiums for retirees
• Year-end notices about W-2 availability and tax-form generation

Read this section every month. It is the place DFAS uses to flag changes the columns above don't directly explain.

Practical Checklist Before Filing the LES

1. Confirm grade, time in service, and the basic pay figure against the pay table on this site.
2. Confirm BAS rate (officer vs. enlisted, BAS-II if applicable).
3. Confirm BAH type, dependency count, and ZIP code.
4. Confirm any special pays against the assignments and qualifications that authorize them.
5. Cross-check leave brought-forward and earned values against the prior LES.
6. Read the Remarks section in full.
7. Confirm net pay deposited to your bank matches "EOM PAY".

When the Numbers Don't Match

If basic pay seems wrong at a year-of-service threshold, the issue is usually the YRS SVC value in the header — it advances based on the pay date, not the most recent reenlistment date. If BAH is wrong after a PCS, the issue is usually BAH ZIP or BAH type. If a deduction appears that the member did not elect, the Remarks section often explains why (a debt repayment, a Tricare adjustment, a back-charge for an overpayment).

The first stop for any LES discrepancy is the unit S-1, finance office, or installation customer service. For Reserve component issues, see Drill Pay & Reserve Component Pay Explained. For everything DFAS handles directly, the askDFAS portal is the canonical channel.