Your Money Matters
Understanding your Leave& Earnings Statement
There seems to be a bit
of mystery around an
LES. Since it’s a financial
statement that utilizes
lots of abbreviations and
acronyms, it’s easy to see
how people may think it’s
complicated. But really,
even though it IS a lot of
pay information formatted
to fit on one page, it’s not
difficult to locate the key
information that matters
each month. And it’s
important to do so because
it’s about your money. Here
are some of the items you
will want to “pay” attention
to.
What is an LES?
An LES is quite simply a
monthly statement listing
your military pay. It also
includes the allowances
you receive, as well as the
leave, or vacation days, you
have earned. That is why
it is called a “leave” and
“earnings” statement.
Your LES may be accessed
electronically at myPay.
Military personnel will need
a login and password unless
they access the site from
their DoD computer using
a Common Access Card
(CAC).
The latter is the safest
way to view your financial
record since the DoD
network encrypts the
information.
What is important for me to
know about my LES?
Your LES will establish
how much money you
will receive over a month.
There are many changes to
your LES, some which you
initiate and others which
may occur as a result of
training or deployment,
a change in laws or even
a negligent debt. For
sound financial health,
it’s important to stay
on top of your monthly
LES statement by paying
attention to these items:
•Know what your pay
should be. Check the
pay tables for base pay.
Look for the current Basic
Allowance for Subsistence,
which is a payment to offset
the cost of the service
member’s meals. Look up
the Basic Allowance for
Housing for your area if you
are not living in government
quarters. Also include any
special or incentive pay,
such as hostile fire pay or
imminent danger pay, for
which you qualify.
•Know what changes
should occur to your pay.
These would be deductions
(includes taxes, Medicare
and Social Security) and
allotments (which include
payments to bank accounts,
insurance, savings bonds,
charity or repayments of
debt, such as delinquent
taxes, unpaid spousal or
child support, commercial
debt and the like). If an
expected change does not
occur, be sure to contact
your finance office as soon
as possible to correct it.
•Be aware of your leave
balance. Service members
earn 2.5 days per month
and may lose unused leave
over a certain balance,
which currently is 75 days.
•Know that mistakes
can happen. If you have
been erroneously credited
with pay over several
pay periods, the overage
could be deducted all at
once, which may leave you
suddenly with “no pay due.”
•Keep a copy of one year’s
LES records. This will
help you as you watch for
changes from month to
month so you will recognize
when a problem occurs. It
will help you to establish
a basic expectation of
your pay amount. If you
deploy or you begin an
allotment, you will be able
to recognize how that will
affect the amount of your
paycheck.
Deciphering the LES form
To understand each and
every box on your LES, you
can refer to the branchspecific Understanding your
LES page on the Defense
Finance and Accounting
Service (DFAS) site.
However, here are the key
boxes you will want to
review:
balance available. This
amount is based on the
leave you have earned
minus the amount you have
used. You may also want to
check Box 32 to see if you
will lose any leave by not
using it.
•Entitlements (Box 10) This will list your base pay
and any allowances you
receive.
•Remarks (Box 76) - This
is the area used to explain
any changes to your pay,
as well as to display notices
from the command.
•Deductions (Box 11) This will include taxes and
insurance plans.
•Allotments (Box 12) These deductions include
payments, either voluntary
or required, that are made
to individuals, institutions
or agencies.
•End of month pay (Box 19)
- This tells you the actual
amount of money you will
be paid at the end of the
month.
•Leave (Box 28) - This
shows the current leave
What if I see something
wrong on my LES?
The most important action
to take if something
looks amiss is to visit
your finance office or
administrative unit for help.
You may learn that it was
not a mistake at all, or your
concern may be validated.
In either case, it’s a good
idea to have an expert
review it. If you are unsure
of where to go, access the
support page of myPay for
help.