PCS Move
MALT + Per Diem Calculator
FY2026Mileage reimbursement and per-person travel allowances when you drive your POV to a new duty station.
Trip type
Total travel payment
$554.00
800 miles · 3 travel days · 1 traveler
Mileage (MALT)
$164.00
800 mi × $0.205/mi × 1 POV
Lodging
$220.00
2 night × member-rate equivalents (JTR Table 5-6)
M&IE
$170.00
$68/day adult · 75% first/last
Tax treatment
Non-taxable
Distance
Use DTOD for your official claim. The base lookup gives a quick estimate.
Use DTOD (Defense Table of Official Distances) for your travel voucher. dtod.sddc.army.mil
Number of POVs
Up to 2 POVs authorized for PCS.
Travelers
JTR Table 5-6: dep 12+ = 75% of member's per diem · dep <12 = 50%.
Total travelers: 1 (member at 100%)
Per JTR Table 5-6: dependent per diem is a percentage of the member's full daily rate (lodging + M&IE combined), not flat $110/night per person.
Travel days
3
days authorized
Over 400 miles: distance ÷ 350, add 1 if remainder ≥ 51 mi. You're at 800 mi.
Lodging · 2 nights
Each dependent's lodging is a percentage of the member's $110/night (75% for 12+, 50% for <12). No lodging on arrival day.
Per diem by traveler
Member (100%)
Grand total
How it breaks down
MALT (mileage)
$0.205 per mile per authorized POV (CY2026). Up to 2 POVs for PCS. Based on DTOD distance, not your odometer. Number of passengers has no effect on the MALT rate.
Travel days (JTR par. 050205)
400 miles or less = 1 travel day. Over 400: divide by 350, add 1 day if the remainder is 51+ miles. Based on ~6 hours driving at 60 mph.
Lodging
Member: $110/night Standard CONUS. Each dependent's lodging is a percentage of the member's $110 (75% for 12+, 50% for <12) per JTR Table 5-6 — not flat $110/night per head. No lodging on the arrival day. 3 travel days = 2 nights.
M&IE
Standard CONUS: $68/day. Member at 100%; dependents 12+ at 75%; under 12 at 50%. First and last travel day reduced to 75% of M&IE. Breakdown: $16 breakfast · $19 lunch · $28 dinner · $5 incidentals.
JTR Table 5-6 percentages
Per JTR par. 050303: when dependents travel WITH the member, each dependent's full per diem (lodging + M&IE combined) is a percentage of what the member receives — 75% for 12+, 50% for under 12. Common misconception: "$110/night per head" is wrong.
Tax treatment
MALT and per diem are tax-exempt — no federal, state, or FICA withholding. Won't appear as taxable income on your W-2. Unlike PPM incentive pay, travel allowances aren't taxed.
Field notes
MALT, travel days, DTOD distance, and the per diem math finance offices verify by hand
Monetary Allowance in Lieu of Transportation (MALT) is the per-mile reimbursement paid to a service member who drives a Privately Owned Vehicle (POV) on a Permanent Change of Station. The CY2026 rate is $0.205 per mile per authorized POV, set by PDTATAC Memorandum MAP 73-25(I) using the IRS optional standard mileage rate for moving published in Notice 2025 series. The authority chain is 37 U.S.C. § 474 → JTR paragraph 050302 → PDTATAC rate memorandum. The rate has been historically below the IRS optional standard rate for business mileage because the moving rate uses fuel-cost-only methodology rather than full-cost-of-ownership.
DTOD distance — the only acceptable distance source. The mileage paid is the official Defense Table of Official Distances (DTOD) distance between the old and new duty stations, not the actual odometer reading from the move. DTOD distances are point-to-point installation-to-installation distances maintained by USTRANSCOM. A member who drives a longer scenic route receives MALT on the DTOD distance; a member who drives a shorter route through back roads still receives MALT on the DTOD distance. The DTOD lookup is canonical, and finance offices verify the claimed distance against DTOD before authorizing payment.
Travel days — the 350-mile rule. Under JTR 050205, a PCS trip of 400 or fewer miles earns 1 travel day. A trip over 400 miles is divided by 350 (the assumed daily driving distance), with 1 additional day added if the remainder is 51 miles or more. A 1,200-mile move earns 1,200 ÷ 350 = 3 days with a 150-mile remainder, so 1 additional day = 4 travel days total. Per diem (lodging + M&IE) is paid for each travel day. First and last travel days are paid at 75% of the standard M&IE rate ($51 of $68 in CY2026 standard CONUS) per JTR 020310; intermediate days are paid at the full 100%.
Multiple POVs — the second car math. JTR 050302 authorizes MALT for up to two POVs when the member has dependents and both cars are driven to the new station. The second POV is paid at the same $0.205 per mile but is treated as a separate authorization on the orders. Each POV receives its own MALT and the per diem for the days the second driver travels. A solo-driver move of one car is the most common case; a dual-driver move with both spouses driving (one parent in each car with kids and a pet) is fully authorized when the orders reflect both POVs.
CONUS vs OCONUS per diem. CONUS per diem uses the standard $110 lodging / $68 M&IE rate in CY2026 unless the locality is on the GSA non-standard list. OCONUS per diem uses DTMO OCONUS rates that vary by host country and are updated monthly. The OCONUS lookup on the calculator above pulls from the DTMO OCONUS table that covers 1,600+ host-country localities. For travel that crosses into a non-standard CONUS locality (such as a high-cost metropolitan area en route), the locality-specific rate applies for the overnight stop at that locality.
Authorities: 37 U.S.C. § 474 (Travel and transportation allowances; reimbursement of POV use); JTR paragraphs 050205, 050302, 020310; PDTATAC Memorandum MAP 73-25(I) (CY2026 MALT rate); DTOD (Defense Table of Official Distances) maintained by USTRANSCOM; GSA Standard CONUS per diem rates effective 1 October 2025; DTMO OCONUS Per Diem Rates (updated monthly). Verify the DTOD distance and locality-specific per diem at the installation Transportation Office before submitting the travel voucher.
About this entitlement
What you need to know — straight from the regulation
What MALT and PCS per diem cover
Monetary Allowance in Lieu of Transportation (MALT) is a per-mile reimbursement paid when a service member drives a privately owned vehicle (POV) instead of flying during an authorized PCS. In addition to MALT, the member and authorized dependents receive per diem for lodging and Meals & Incidental Expenses (M&IE) for each authorized travel day.
Rates are set annually by the Per Diem, Travel and Transportation Allowance Committee (PDTATAC); the CY2026 MALT rate is published in MAP-CAP 73-25(I) and applies to travel performed on or after January 1, 2026.
JTR Chapter 5, par. 050205 (travel days), par. 050302 (second POV) · PDTATAC MAP-CAP 73-25(I)
How travel days are determined
Per the PCS travel-day rule applied by this calculator (stored in server/data/malt-rates.json): if the official PCS travel distance is 400 miles or less, the member is authorized one travel day. For distances greater than 400 miles, divide the total distance by 350; add one additional day if the remainder is 51 miles or more.
Official PCS distance is taken from the Defense Table of Official Distances (DTOD), not from commercial mapping apps.
JTR Chapter 5, par. 050205 · DTOD (dtod.sddc.army.mil)
Per diem for travel days
For CONUS travel in the FY2026 cycle (October 1, 2025 – September 30, 2026), the GSA/DTMO Standard CONUS per diem rate is $110 for lodging and $68 for M&IE per day. The service member receives 100% of that rate; first and last travel days are reduced to 75% of the M&IE component.
Dependents traveling with the service member are paid a percentage of the member's combined per diem per JTR par. 050303 + Table 5-6 row 1: dependents age 12 and older receive 75%, dependents under 12 receive 50%. The percentage applies to lodging and M&IE — not just M&IE. High-cost localities have different per-diem rates; verify on the DTMO per-diem lookup. MALT-Plus en-route per diem uses Standard CONUS regardless of route per JTR par. 050301.
JTR par. 050301, par. 050303 + Table 5-6 · GSA/DTMO FY2026 Standard CONUS Per Diem
Tax treatment
MALT and PCS per diem are non-taxable allowances paid to reimburse members for authorized travel costs during a PCS. They are not included as wages on the W-2 and no federal, FICA, or state income tax is withheld from these payments.
DoD Financial Management Regulation Vol. 7A · IRS Publication 3 (Armed Forces' Tax Guide)
Source & references
- Primary source
- PDTATAC MAP-CAP 73-25(I), CY2026 POV Mileage Rates; GSA/DTMO FY2026 Standard CONUS Per Diem — view official publication
- Regulatory reference
- JTR Chapter 5, par. 050205 (travel time rules), par. 050301 + Table 5-4 (PCS per diem by POV / MALT Plus), par. 050303 + Table 5-6 (dependent per diem)
- Effective date
- January 1, 2026
- DTMO per diem rate lookup
- https://www.travel.dod.mil/Allowances/Per-Diem/Per-Diem-Rate-Lookup/
Military Toolkit is not affiliated with the Department of Defense, DFAS, DTMO, the Department of Veterans Affairs, or any government agency. Rates and rules on this page are pulled directly from the publications cited above. Always verify with your finance office, TMO, or the official rate page before making financial or planning decisions.
FAQ
MALT and per diem — frequently asked questions
- What is the 2026 MALT rate?
- The CY2026 MALT (Monetary Allowance in Lieu of Transportation) rate is $0.205 per mile for the first POV and $0.205 per mile for each additional authorized POV. The rate is set annually by GSA and adopted by the JTR; it is the same as the standard federal mileage reimbursement.
- How are PCS travel days calculated?
- For trips ≤400 miles: 1 travel day. For trips >400 miles: divide total miles by 350 and add 1 day if the remainder is ≥51 miles. Example: 1,800 miles ÷ 350 = 5 with remainder 50 → 5 days. 1,801 miles → 6 days. JTR par. 050205-A (PCS Travel Time Rules).
- How much per diem do I get during PCS travel?
- 2026 standard CONUS per diem is $110/night lodging + $68/day M&IE for full travel days. The first and last travel day are paid at 75% of M&IE ($51). For dependents 12 and older, per diem is paid at 75% of the member rate. Dependents under 12 receive 50%.
- Do I file MALT claims as a tax deduction?
- No. MALT is a reimbursement, not a deduction. It is non-taxable when paid for an authorized PCS move and does not appear on your W-2. Receipts are not required for MALT itself; the official DTOD distance is used.
- What is DTOD and why do I need it?
- DTOD (Defense Table of Official Distances) is the DoD-mandated mileage source for PCS reimbursement — not Google Maps. Finance offices use DTOD distances; if you claim Google miles you may be reimbursed less. The Military Toolkit MALT calculator uses DTOD-equivalent ZIP-to-ZIP distances.
- How many travel days do I get when I PCS overseas?
- It depends on how you fly. If you take a regular commercial airline — whether the government's travel office (CTO/SATO) booked it or you booked it yourself — you get 1 travel day, no matter how long the flight is. If you fly on a military or chartered flight (AMC, Patriot Express, contract carrier), you get the actual time the trip takes, including the day you reported to the AMC terminal to start the trip. Per diem on each travel day pays the local lodging rate plus a daily food/incidentals amount, with the first and last day paid at 75% of the food rate. Crossing the International Date Line adds or subtracts a day depending on direction. Authority: JTR Table 5-2 (commercial air = 1 day); JTR par. 050205-C (military/chartered air); JTR par. 050302 + Table 5-5; JTR par. 0503 (IDL).
- Does the government pay me mileage for the flight portion of an overseas PCS?
- No — mileage reimbursement only covers driving in your own vehicle. On an overseas move, you only get mileage for the driving segments: from your old base to the airport, and from the arrival airport to your new base. The flight itself isn't reimbursed by the mile. The plane ticket is paid a different way: if the government's travel office booked it, the gov't pays the airline directly. If you booked it yourself on a regular airline, you can submit for reimbursement, but you're only paid up to what the government would have paid on its contract "City Pair" fare — anything above that you eat. Authority: JTR par. 050201–050203 (mileage scope); JTR par. 020206 (City Pair cap).
- How is my family paid when we fly overseas together?
- When your family flies with you on the PCS, each family member gets a percentage of your per diem (lodging + meals combined): your spouse and any kids age 12 or older each get 75% of your rate; kids under 12 each get 50%. Example: if your daily per diem is $300, your spouse gets $225, your 14-year-old gets $225, and your 8-year-old gets $150. Note: this only applies when they travel with you on the same trip. If a family member travels on a different date, a different rule applies. Authority: JTR par. 050303 + Table 5-6 row 1.
Keep going
Next steps after the drive
REF: JTR 050205-A (travel time) · JTR 050301 + Table 5-4 (POV per diem) · JTR 050303 + Table 5-6 (dependent per diem), effective 01 JAN 2026
PDTATAC MAP-CAP 73-25(I) · GSA/DTMO FY2026 Standard CONUS rates
Results are estimates. Always verify with your finance office.
View Official Rate Table