PPM payout: what you get paid, and how to get all of it
You moved your own stuff. Now the government pays you what it would have paid its mover, for the weight you can prove. Two numbers decide the check, and the paperwork decides whether you see it.
Step 1: your weight (the number you control)
Weigh every vehicle, trailer, and container empty and full at a certified scale, each trip. Net weight is full minus empty. The payable weight is your net weight or your allowance, whichever is smaller.
Allowance table: Joint Travel Regulations weight allowances as published by the Naval Postgraduate School Personal Property Office. Your orders and your transportation office are the authority for your move. Overseas, some stations with government furnishings limit the shipment to 2,000 pounds or 25% of the allowance, whichever is greater.
Step 2: the paper trail, in order
| When | What | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Before you move | Counseling and approval through the transportation office, in DPS or MilMove | Approval first. The Coast Guard's guidance is blunt: skip it and the claim "could be reduced or denied," with retroactive approval only for serious circumstances beyond your control. |
| Before you move | DD 2278, computed by the transportation office | This is your estimate: the constructed cost for your weight and distance. It is also what an advance is based on. |
| Before you move | Ask about an advance | DFAS: advance travel payments may be authorized for PCS entitlements, PPM included, when you are not a Government Travel Charge Card holder and the orders do not prohibit it. Army card holders can get an advance only for DLA; the card covers the rest. Your service's rule and repayment window come from the counseling. |
| Moving day | Certified empty and full weight tickets, every vehicle, trailer, or container, every trip | No tickets, no weight. Two vehicles means two sets. A U-Box or POD gets its own empty and full tickets too. |
| Moving day | Every receipt | Authorized operating expenses lower the taxable part. The DFAS list is below. |
| After you arrive | DD 1351-2 travel voucher (use SmartVoucher), orders, DD 2278, weight tickets, the operating expense worksheet, the paid rental agreement, and the vehicle registration for any POV, boat, or trailer you used | DFAS's own required-documents list for a PPM claim. Keep a copy of everything you send. |
| Next January | A mailed W-2 for the taxable part | It is not in myPay. The 22% was already withheld. |
Source: DFAS, Personally Procured Moves (page updated May 21, 2024) and PCS Advance Information (updated October 3, 2025); U.S. Coast Guard, PPM rate commentary (June 2, 2025). Checked October 25, 2026.
Step 3: what counts as an expense (DFAS list)
Operating expenses are the things you paid for that lower the taxable part of the payment. Items you can reuse generally do not count.
| Counts | Does not count |
|---|---|
| Truck and trailer rental; Safe Move and Safe Tow insurance; hand truck and dolly rental; furniture pads; boxes, totes, tape; oil, fuel, EV charging, tolls; hired labor; rope, tarps, tie-downs; packing material; weight ticket fees; portable storage containers (PODS); environmental fees; sales tax | Buying or renting an auto transporter; buying a dolly; extra drivers; oil change or lube; meals and lodging; hitch fees and tow bars; routine maintenance; storage; locks; tire chains |
Source: DFAS, Personally Procured Moves: Operating Expenses. Checked October 25, 2026.
Step 4: your take-home, estimated
Put in the incentive from your DD 2278 (or the counseling estimate), your authorized expenses, and any advance you already received.
Estimate only. The math: taxable part = incentive minus authorized expenses; federal withholding = 22% of the taxable part (DFAS); what lands = incentive minus withholding minus any advance. State tax, if any, is separate. Your finance office computes the real figure.
The rate: 100%, and the 2025 exception
The standard PPM incentive is 100% of the government's constructed cost, not to exceed your weight allowance. For moves completed May 15 through September 30, 2025, the Department of Defense raised it to 130% because of problems with the household goods contract. Your DD 2278 shows the rate that applies to your move; if the office quotes a different one, ask which policy memo it comes from.
Source: U.S. Coast Guard, Reimbursement rate for PPMs raised to 130% (June 2, 2025), and ALCOAST 138/24. Checked October 25, 2026.
The questions that come up every move
The clerk said to claim my gas on my taxes. Fuel is on the DFAS list of authorized operating expenses, so it belongs on the PPM claim as an expense that lowers the taxable part. Keep the receipts and put them on the worksheet.
Two vehicles, or a truck plus a U-Box. Each one gets its own empty and full tickets. Add them up; the tool above does it.
Can I use the Government Travel Charge Card for hired labor? Hired labor is an authorized expense. Whether the card may pay for it is your service's card policy; DFAS notes Army card holders must use the card for PCS expenses other than DLA. Ask the transportation office before you swipe.
Storage after a PPM. Storage is on the DFAS "does not count" list for a PPM claim. Temporary storage is a separate entitlement arranged through the transportation office, so ask for it there rather than paying out of pocket and hoping.
Meals and hotels on the drive. Not PPM expenses. They are covered by your authorized travel days and per diem: see PCS travel days and TLE vs TLA.
Dual military, one move. One claim per set of orders moving the goods. If you each drove a vehicle under one member's orders, the tickets go on that claim. The transportation office tells you whose.
The voucher has been sitting for weeks. Start with the office that took it, with your submission date and the DD 1351-2 in hand. If that stalls, the Personal Property Activity's PCS call center at 833-645-6683 connects you with a uniformed associate, and Military OneSource at 800-342-9647 can help you work the problem.
