How to read your military LES (block by block)

Your Leave and Earnings Statement (LES) shows your pay, deductions, allotments, leave, taxes and TSP for the month. You get it in myPay. This guide explains every block, using DFAS's own guide for the active duty Army LES. DFAS publishes matching guides for the Navy and Air Force LES and a separate one for Reserve and Guard (linked below).

The 5 blocks to check every month

Block 19, EOM PAY: is it what you expected to see deposited?
Block 76, REMARKS: explains any start, stop or change.
Block 52, VHA ZIP: the ZIP your housing allowance is paid on. Wrong ZIP = wrong BAH.
Block 32, USE/LOSE: leave you'll lose at the end of the fiscal year.
Block 63, TSP rate: the percent you're actually contributing.

DFAS's advice: verify and keep your LES every month. If your pay changes a lot and you don't know why, see your finance office.

Blocks 1–9: who you are

Block	What it means (per DFAS)
1 NAME	Your name, last, first, middle initial.
2 SOC. SEC. NO.	Your SSN. (Never email or post a screenshot of your LES without covering this.)
3 GRADE	Your current pay grade.
4 PAY DATE	Date you entered active duty for pay purposes (YYMMDD). Same as your Pay Entry Base Date (PEBD).
5 YRS SVC	Years of creditable service, in two digits.
6 ETS	Expiration Term of Service (YYMMDD).
7 BRANCH	Your branch of service.
8 ADSN/DSSN	The code for your disbursing/finance office.
9 PERIOD COVERED	The period this LES covers, normally one calendar month. On a separation LES, your separation date shows here.

Blocks 10–24: the money (and what you actually get paid)

Block	What it means (per DFAS)
10 ENTITLEMENTS	What you're paid: base pay, allowances and so on. Room for 15; overflow prints in Remarks. Retro amounts are added to the matching line.
11 DEDUCTIONS	What comes out: taxes, SGLI, mid-month pay, dependent dental and so on. Room for 15; overflow goes to Remarks.
12 ALLOTMENTS	Money you (or a requirement) send elsewhere: savings/checking, insurance, bonds and so on.
13 +AMT FWD	Unpaid pay and allowances carried over from your last LES.
14 +TOT ENT	Total entitlements (from block 20).
15 -TOT DED	Total deductions (from block 21).
16 -TOT ALMT	Total allotments (from block 22).
17 =NET AMT	Amount forward + entitlements − deductions − allotments.
18 -CR FWD	Money that will carry to your next LES as "AMT FWD."
19 =EOM PAY	What actually hits your account on end-of-month payday.
20–22 TOTAL	Totals for entitlements, deductions and allotments.
23 DIEMS	Date you initially entered military service. DFAS says it's used only to show which retirement plan you're under, and the data comes from personnel, not DFAS. If it's wrong, your personnel office fixes it.
24 RET PLAN	Your retirement plan type.

Blocks 25–32: leave

Block	What it means (per DFAS)
25 BF BAL	Leave balance brought forward (start of fiscal year, start of active duty, or the day after you sold leave).
26 ERND	Leave earned this fiscal year. Normally goes up 2.5 days a month.
27 USED	Leave used this fiscal year.
28 CR BAL	Current leave balance as of the end of this LES period.
29 ETS BAL	Projected leave balance at your ETS.
30 LV LOST	Days of leave lost.
31 LV PAID	Days of leave paid (sold) to date.
32 USE/LOSE	Days you'll lose if you don't take them this fiscal year. It goes down as you use leave.

Blocks 33–49: taxes

Block	What it means (per DFAS)
33 WAGE PERIOD	Pay this period subject to federal income tax withholding (FITW).
34 WAGE YTD	Year-to-date pay subject to FITW.
35 M/S	Marital status used to figure FITW.
36 EX	Exemptions used to figure FITW.
37 ADD'L TAX	Extra federal tax you asked to have withheld.
38 TAX YTD	Federal income tax withheld so far this year.
39–43 FICA	Social Security and Medicare: wages this period, year-to-date wages, and year-to-date tax for each.
44 ST	The state you elected for state tax.
45–49 STATE TAX	State wages this period and YTD, marital status, exemptions, and state tax withheld YTD.

Blocks 50–62: pay data (housing, COLA, BAS)

Block	What it means (per DFAS)
50 BAQ TYPE	Type of housing allowance being paid. (BAQ is the old name the form still uses; today's housing allowance is BAH.)
51 BAQ DEPN	Code for the type of dependent, e.g. A = spouse, C = child, R = own right, I = member married to member.
52 VHA ZIP	The ZIP code used for your housing allowance. This is the ZIP that drives your BAH. Check it with the BAH calculator.
53 RENT AMT	Rent paid, if applicable.
54 SHARE	Number of people you share housing costs with.
55 STAT	Accompanied or unaccompanied status.
56 JFTR	Location code used for Cost of Living Allowance (COLA).
57 DEPNS	Number of dependents for housing purposes.
58 2D JFTR	COLA location code for where your dependents are.
59 BAS TYPE	Type of Basic Allowance for Subsistence (blank for officers): B = separate rations, C = TDY/PCS/proceed time, H = rations-in-kind not available, K = rations under emergency conditions.
60 CHARITY YTD	Charitable contributions this year.
61 TPC	Not used by the active component.
62 PACIDN	Unit Identification Code (UIC). Used by Army only.

Blocks 63–78: TSP, remarks and year-to-date

Block	What it means (per DFAS)
63 BASE PAY RATE	Percent of base pay you elected to put in TSP.
65 / 67 / 69 RATES	Percent of special, incentive and bonus pay you elected for TSP.
72 TSP YTD DEDUCTION	TSP contributions taken out this year.
73 DEFERRED	TSP contributions that are tax-deferred (traditional).
74 EXEMPT	TSP contributions reported to the IRS as tax-exempt.
76 REMARKS	Notices, plus the plain-English reason for any start, stop or change in your entitlements, deductions or allotments. Read this first when your pay changes.
77 YTD ENTITLE	Total entitlements this calendar year.
78 YTD DEDUCT	Total deductions this calendar year.

DFAS lists blocks 64, 66, 68, 70, 71 and 75 as "reserved for future use."

Heads-up: DFAS's guide is old

DFAS's block-by-block guide dates from 2010. It still uses older terms (BAQ and VHA for housing), and its retirement-plan section predates the Blended Retirement System, so it doesn't mention BRS. If a block on your LES doesn't match this guide, your finance office (for pay) or personnel office (for things like DIEMS) has the final word.

Where's my LES?

In myPay. Can't get in? Try myPay not working, CAC reader setup or DoD certificate fixes.

Official sources

Last checked Oct 15, 2026. Rules change; the official source wins. Not legal or financial advice. Never share your LES without covering your SSN.