Your Leave and Earnings Statement, or LES, is the official record of your military pay each month. It shows what you earned, what came out, how much leave you have and how your taxes are set. Learning to read it is the best way to catch pay errors early.
You can view your LES each month in myPay, the DFAS website. The layout below applies to most active-duty members. The Marine Corps and the Coast Guard use slightly different formats with the same information.
The top line
The first row shows your name, the last four digits of your Social Security number, your pay grade, your pay date (the date your service counts from for pay), your years of service, and your branch. It also shows the period the statement covers.
Check your grade and years of service first. If either is wrong, every number below it is wrong too.
Entitlements
This column lists everything you are paid. For a typical E-5 with over 6 years at Fort Bragg with dependents, it would show:
- Base pay: $4,110.00
- BAH: $1,806.00
- BAS: $476.95
Other items appear when they apply, such as Family Separation Allowance, special duty pay, flight pay or hazardous duty pay.
Deductions
These are amounts the government takes out:
- Federal tax. Withheld from base pay according to your W-4.
- FICA, Social Security. 6.2% of base pay.
- FICA, Medicare. 1.45% of base pay.
- SGLI. Your life insurance premium, plus a small amount for traumatic injury coverage.
- State tax. If your state of legal residence taxes military pay.
- TSP. Your retirement contribution, shown as a percentage of base pay.
- Meal deduction. If you are on a meal card.
For the E-5 above, the federal tax and FICA deductions would be about $457 a month if married filing jointly, before SGLI and TSP. BAH and BAS are never taxed.
Allotments
Allotments are payments you choose to send from your pay, such as to a savings account, a family member or a loan. They come out before the rest of your pay is deposited.
Summary
This box shows the amount carried forward from last month, total entitlements, total deductions, total allotments and the net amount due. It also shows how the net amount will be split between the two paydays. “EOM” is the amount you will receive at the end of the month, which is the 1st of the following month.
Leave
The leave section shows your balance brought forward, leave earned (2.5 days per month), leave used and your current balance. It also shows “use or lose” days. You can normally carry up to 60 days into the next fiscal year, and anything above that on October 1 may be lost.
Tax boxes
These rows show your year-to-date wages for federal and state tax, your W-4 status and any extra withholding you chose. If you were in a combat zone, your tax-exempt pay appears here.
TSP section
This shows your TSP contribution percentage, whether it is traditional or Roth, and year-to-date totals. Under the Blended Retirement System, government matching contributions are deposited directly into your TSP account and do not appear as pay.
Remarks
The remarks section explains changes. A new allowance starting, a back payment, a debt being collected or a change in tax withholding will usually be noted here. Read it every month.
Common pay errors to look for
- BAH at the wrong rate, for example without dependents after a marriage
- BAH for the wrong location after a move
- A missing special pay you are owed
- A debt deduction you don’t recognize
- Leave not matching your records
If something looks wrong, contact your unit’s finance or admin office with a copy of the LES.
Common questions
When does the LES come out? Usually a few days before the end of the month, covering that month.
Does the LES show my annual pay? Not directly. Multiply your monthly entitlements by 12, or use our total pay calculator to see your full figure and its civilian equivalent.