TLE vs TLA: The Difference, and Which One You Get

TLE: Temporary Lodging Expense (CONUS)

The TLE calculator works out your nightly ceiling and daily total from the Table 5-17 percentage; the TLA calculator does the same for the overseas allowance. TLE is a per-day reimbursement for temporary lodging expenses incurred at your old or new permanent duty station during a CONUS PCS move. TLE covers the gap between when you vacate your permanent quarters and when you move into new permanent quarters. It's not a travel per diem and it's not BAH; it's specifically for the transition period.

How Many Days of TLE Are Authorized?

Effective November 27, 2024 (JTR MAP 66-24(R)), CONUS TLE increased from 14 days to 21 days total. Those 21 days can be split any way between your old and new duty station at your discretion — for example, 5 days at origin while waiting for movers to arrive and 16 days at the gaining duty station while waiting for housing. There is no requirement to split them evenly.

TLE can be extended to as much as 60 days total for a CONUS move, which is nearly triple the standard entitlement. The JTR allows this for three distinct situations, and a housing shortage is only one of them. The gaining installation qualifies if it:

• is in a Presidentially declared disaster area;
• is absorbing a sudden increase in the number of service members assigned there; or
• is experiencing a housing shortage that prevents members from finding adequate government, privatized or private-sector housing.

Each counts as an unusual, extraordinary, hardship or emergency circumstance under 37 U.S.C. §452(b)(11), and the extension has to be jointly approved by the Secretaries concerned, who also set the dates it runs. These designations are installation-specific, periodically reviewed, and authorized in increments rather than granted automatically — so the question to ask is not whether extensions exist but whether one is currently in effect at your gaining installation. The housing office there can tell you, and DoD publishes a list of locations with approved TLE extensions.

The disaster and troop-influx triggers are worth knowing because they are easy to miss: a member arriving at an installation that just absorbed a large unit move may qualify for the same extension as one arriving in a housing crunch, and nothing about the situation announces itself as a TLE matter.

An extension is not simply more of the same allowance, and this is the part that catches people out. Since October 1, 2023, the lodging portion of every extended day is reduced by the daily non-locality BAH Transit rate, and drops to zero where the lodging portion works out to less than that rate. You are drawing a housing allowance for the same nights and the reduction exists to stop the government paying twice for one of them, but the effect is that days 22 through 60 are a materially thinner allowance than the first 21 — a hotel that was covered on day 20 can start costing you money on day 22. Extended TLE: getting more than 21 days of lodging on a PCS works through the approved-location criteria, the 10-day recertification, and how to budget around that offset.

TLE is not paid during travel days between duty stations — you receive per diem for travel, not TLE. The two entitlements don't overlap.

How TLE Is Actually Calculated

TLE is a percentage of the locality per diem rate for wherever you are staying — not a flat amount — and the percentage depends on how many people are in the temporary lodging. This is JTR Table 5-17, and it is the part almost every explanation of TLE leaves out:

Who is in the lodging	Percentage
The service member alone, or one dependent alone	65%
Member and one dependent, or two dependents	100%
Each additional dependent aged 12 or older	+35%
Each additional dependent under 12	+25%

Add dependents starting with the oldest. The JTR's own example: a member with two dependents, one over 12 and one under, is 125%.

That percentage applies to both halves of the locality rate — the lodging ceiling and the meals-and-incidentals amount. Then:

• Lodging pays your actual cost up to that ceiling. It is a reimbursement, not an allowance: book below the ceiling and the difference is not paid to you, book above it and you cover the rest.
• Meals and incidentals pay in full at the percentage, whatever you actually spend on food.
• The day is then capped at $290 — exactly $290, for the member and all dependents combined, not per person.

A worked example. A member with a spouse and two children aged 14 and 8 is at 160%. On the standard CONUS rate ($110 lodging, $68 M&IE) that is a $176 nightly lodging ceiling and $108.80 of M&IE. A $135 hotel therefore pays $135 + $108.80 = $243.80 a day, or $2,925.60 across twelve nights. Book a $200 room instead and you still receive $284.80 — the extra $24 a night is yours.

Our TLE calculator does this arithmetic, including the cap and the day limits.

Keep all lodging receipts. TLE is a reimbursement, not an advance. You pay, then you file a claim with your finance office with receipts attached.

Staying with friends or family? You still have a claim. No lodging is reimbursed — there is no lodging cost to reimburse — but the meals and incidentals portion is payable in full (JTR §050601-B-4-c-(3)). This is money service members routinely leave unclaimed because they assume free accommodation means no TLE at all.

If You and Your Spouse Are Both Service Members

Dual-military couples are handled differently, and the difference is worth money. Under the same Table 5-17, each spouse begins at 65% rather than the couple being treated as a single 100% household. Each dependent then increases the percentage for whichever member is claiming that dependent — a dependent counts once, for one parent, not for both.

So a dual-military couple with no children in the same lodging is 65% + 65% = 130%, against the 100% a member-plus-civilian-spouse household would receive. With one child aged 10 claimed by one member, that member is at 65% + 25% = 90% and their spouse remains at 65%, for 155% between them. Both members file their own TLE claim; neither one claims the whole family.

This is the case most TLE explanations skip entirely, and getting it wrong in the direction of filing a single joint claim leaves the second 65% unclaimed.

When TLE Doesn't Apply

• TLE is not authorized if the government provides quarters at no cost to you
• TLE is not authorized at the OCONUS end of a move — TLA covers that portion
• TLE requires you to be on authorized PCS orders

TLA: Temporary Lodging Allowance (OCONUS)

TLA is the overseas equivalent of TLE, but with significantly different rules and potentially much longer authorized periods. TLA recognizes that finding permanent housing overseas takes longer, government housing waitlists at OCONUS installations can be extensive, and overseas markets don't function like CONUS rental markets.

TLA Duration

TLA is authorized for up to 60 days at the gaining OCONUS location, with possible extensions approved by the commanding officer. At locations like Germany or Japan where housing markets are tight and government housing waitlists are long, TLA extensions beyond the initial 60 days are routinely approved. Some families in high-demand OCONUS markets end up in TLA for 90–120 days or longer before permanent quarters become available.

TLA Rates

TLA rates are location-specific and set by the Department of State based on local market conditions. They are generally higher than TLE because overseas temporary lodging is more expensive. Your finance office at the gaining installation will have the current TLA rate for your location.

TLA at the Old OCONUS Duty Station

TLA is also authorized at your losing OCONUS duty station for up to 10 days when you vacate government quarters before your departure date. The losing installation's finance office handles this portion of the claim.

OCONUS ↔ CONUS Moves: How TLE and TLA Work Together

This is the most commonly misunderstood scenario. When your PCS crosses between CONUS and OCONUS, both TLE and TLA apply — one at each end of the move. They are separate entitlements and do not count against each other.

OCONUS to CONUS (e.g., Hawaii to Salt Lake City)

Per JTR par. 0506, a service member PCSing from an OCONUS location to a CONUS duty station is generally authorized:

• TLA at the losing OCONUS PDS: up to 10 days — covers the period after you vacate government quarters until you depart
• TLE at the gaining CONUS PDS: up to 21 days — covers the period after you report to your new duty station until you move into permanent quarters. JTR Table 5-13 row 3 sets the limit by where you are reporting to, not where you came from: a member reporting to a PDS in the CONUS gets the full 21 days, whether the previous duty station was overseas or not.

CONUS to OCONUS (e.g., Fort Campbell to Germany)

The same general structure applies in reverse:

• TLE at the losing CONUS PDS: up to 7 days — covers the period after you vacate quarters before departing (per DTMO's TLE guidance for the CONUS-departure leg of an OCONUS-bound PCS)
• TLA at the gaining OCONUS PDS: up to 60 days — covers the transition into permanent overseas quarters

Quick Reference by Move Type

Move Type	Losing Location	Gaining Location
CONUS → CONUS	TLE (up to 21 days combined)	TLE (up to 21 days combined)
OCONUS → CONUS	TLA (up to 10 days)	TLE (up to 21 days)
CONUS → OCONUS	TLE (up to 7 days)	TLA (up to 60 days)
OCONUS → OCONUS	TLA (up to 10 days)	TLA (up to 60 days)

Both TLE and TLA are reimbursements — you pay out of pocket and file a claim with receipts. File both claims (TLA with your losing finance office, TLE with your gaining finance office) as soon as the lodging period ends.

How to File TLE and TLA Claims

1. Notify your losing and gaining unit's administrative office that you'll be using TLE or TLA
2. Keep all lodging receipts (hotel folios, Airbnb receipts, temporary lease agreements)
3. File the claim through your finance office with your receipts attached and your PCS orders
4. For TLA, your gaining installation's housing office often tracks the TLA entitlement period and coordinates with finance — check in with both offices when you arrive

Common TLE/TLA Mistakes

• Not filing at all: Some service members simply don't know TLE exists and absorb the lodging costs out of pocket
• Exceeding the authorized rate: If your nightly lodging cost exceeds the TLE cap, you pay the difference. Choose lodging within the authorized rate whenever possible.
• Missing the filing deadline: There is a filing deadline, and it's shorter than many service members assume. Confirm the exact deadline with your finance office and file promptly — don't sit on your receipts.
• Not tracking TLA extension deadlines: For OCONUS TLA extensions, the request must come before the initial period expires. Work with your housing office proactively.

Related Articles

• TLE Calculator — the Table 5-17 percentages, your nightly lodging ceiling, and the $290 daily cap, worked out for your family
• Extended TLE: Getting More Than 21 Days — who qualifies for 60 days, the 10-day recertification, and why days 22-60 pay less
• Finding Housing Near Your New Duty Station — Extended-stay options and housing search strategy for the TLE window
• OCONUS PCS Move Guide — How TLA fits into the full OCONUS move picture
• 2026 PCS Reimbursements Guide — TLE in context with MALT, DLA, and per diem
• PCS Move Checklist — When to book lodging and file your TLE claim