Work out what the drive itself pays on a PCS. Traveling by privately owned vehicle pays MALT Plus: the flat standard CONUS per diem rate of $178 for every authorized travel day, plus mileage for each vehicle driven. Authorized travel days are 1 day for 400 miles or fewer, then the official distance divided by 350 with one more day when the remainder is 51 miles or more — so 800 miles is 3 days, not 2. Dependents traveling with you draw 75% of your rate at 12 or older and 50% under 12. Mileage is paid per vehicle actually driven, not per traveler.
Rates last verified August 2026 against the published source tables.
Using government quarters or a dining facility on the drive does not reduce any of it. JTR Table 5-4 states that government quarters and dining facilities have no impact on the MALT Plus calculation, so the flat rate is paid whether you stay in billeting or a hotel. Members routinely avoid billeting on a PCS drive believing it will cost them per diem; it does not.
Mileage is paid per vehicle, not per person. Under §050203, when more than one traveler on official orders uses the same vehicle only one may be reimbursed and the rest are passengers with no transportation reimbursement — a family of four in one car is a single MALT payment. Two vehicles are reimbursable when the member and a dependent each drive one, and more than two requires the Secretarial Process, with Table 5-1 explicit that a third licensed driver is not on its own a reason.
Dependents who travel separately are paid more, not less, and this is the row most published summaries omit. Table 5-6 pays a single separately traveling dependent 100% of what the member would have received, and where two or more travel separately it pays the first 100% and the remainder at their own age-based percentages. A member who reports ahead of the family — the ordinary house-hunting case — puts every dependent into those rows.
A PCS driven in a privately owned vehicle pays two things. MALT is mileage — $0.235 a mile since 1 July 2026, per vehicle, for up to 2 vehicles actually driven. Travel per diem is a flat $178 a day for the member over the authorized travel days, with dependents paid at a percentage of it: 75% for a dependent 12 or older and 50% for one under 12.
Travel days are a formula, not a claim. One day for a move of 400 miles or less, then one further day for each 350 miles or major fraction. Taking longer does not add days, and arriving early does not remove them.
A 1,000-mile move authorizes 3 travel days. A member with a spouse and one child under 12 traveling together is paid $534 for the member and $667.50 for the dependents — $1,201.50 in travel per diem.
One vehicle over the same distance pays $235 in MALT, at $0.235 a mile. Together the drive pays $1,436.50 — before DLA, and before anything the household goods shipment pays.
A second vehicle doubles the mileage, not the per diem. MALT is paid per vehicle driven by an authorized traveler; per diem is paid per person regardless of which car they are in. Two drivers over 1,000 miles is $470 in MALT and the same $1,201.50 in per diem.
JTR par. 050203 sets MALT and states that only one traveler per vehicle is reimbursed; Table 5-4 sets the member's flat per diem rate; Table 5-6 sets the dependent percentages, including the row for dependents traveling separately. The mileage rate is republished by the Department whenever it moves — this site keeps the schedule rather than overwriting it, because a member whose travel began before a change is still owed the older rate.
The flat $178 is the standard CONUS rate for the federal fiscal year. It is not the locality rate for where you stop overnight: PCS travel per diem is deliberately flat, which is what makes it computable before the drive rather than after it.
Assuming government quarters reduce it. They do not. JTR Table 5-4 states that using government quarters or a dining facility has no effect on the MALT Plus per diem. Staying on post every night of the drive pays exactly what staying in hotels pays.
Counting people instead of cars for mileage. Four people in one car is one MALT payment, not four. The other three are passengers with no separate mileage entitlement — though every one of them is still paid their own travel per diem.
Assuming separate travel pays less. It pays more. A single dependent traveling separately from the member is paid 100% of the member's rate rather than the 75% a dependent traveling with the member draws — the row most published summaries omit, and worth checking against your voucher.
Days past the authorized count. The JTR authorizes travel days from the official distance, not from how long the drive took you. Stopping for a week en route is allowed and pays nothing for the extra days; the calculator prices the days the regulation authorizes, and the orders can name a different number.
Flying pays no mileage. MALT is paid for driving a privately owned vehicle. A member who flies to the new station claims travel differently, and a vehicle shipped rather than driven earns no mileage at all — the entitlement follows the vehicle that actually made the trip.
Dependents who travel separately claim separately. The percentages on this page assume the household traveled together. A dependent making the trip on their own itinerary is still entitled, but on their own dates — which is a different claim rather than a larger one.
One form, no lodging receipts. Per diem and MALT are claimed on DD 1351-2 with your orders. PCS per diem is a flat daily rate rather than a reimbursement, so there is nothing to receipt: you are paid the same whether you stayed in a hotel or with family, and government quarters en route do not reduce it.
Mileage is paid on the official distance. Not your odometer, and not your fuel receipts. The official distance between duty stations is what the entitlement is computed from, which is why the number on your orders can differ from the one on your dashboard without either being wrong.
File after you arrive, and keep the dates. The claim goes in at the new duty station once travel is complete. Record the day you departed and the day you arrived — travel days are the part of this claim most often queried, and a diary entry settles it faster than a memory does.
| Traveler | Rate per day |
|---|---|
| Service member | $178 |
| Dependent aged 12 or older | $133.50 (75%) |
| Dependent under 12 | $89 (50%) |
| Official distance | Travel days |
|---|---|
| 350 miles | 1 |
| 400 miles | 1 |
| 401 miles | 2 |
| 800 miles | 3 |
| 1,682 miles | 5 |
| Effective from | Rate per mile |
|---|---|
| 1 July 2026 | $0.235 |
| 1 January 2026 | $0.205 |
Driving your own vehicle on PCS orders pays MALT Plus: the flat standard CONUS per diem rate of $178 for every authorized travel day, plus mileage. It is flat in two senses — it is not the locality rate of anywhere along your route, and it is not reduced on the first and last day the way TDY per diem is. Every authorized day pays the full rate. Dependents traveling with you are paid a percentage of your rate: 75% for each dependent aged 12 or older and 50% for each one under 12.
JTR §050205-A authorizes 1 day for 400 miles or fewer. Past that, divide the official distance by 350 — not 400 — and add one more day when the remainder is 51 miles or more. The divisor is the part that trips people up: 800 miles is 3 authorized days, not 2. Your orders state the number your approving official computed, and the orders govern the claim — this page shows what the regulation's own computation yields for the distance you enter, so a transposed digit is visible.
No. JTR Table 5-4 is explicit that using government quarters or dining facilities while traveling between authorized locations has "no impact to the MALT Plus calculation." You are paid the same flat rate whether you stay in billeting or a hotel, and whether you eat in the dining facility or not. This is the single most common thing members expect to lose and do not — some members avoid billeting on a PCS drive believing it will cost them per diem.
No — MALT is paid per vehicle driven, not per traveler. JTR §050203 states that when more than one traveler on official orders uses the same POV, only one may be reimbursed; everyone else in that vehicle is a passenger and receives no transportation reimbursement. A family of four in one car is one MALT payment at 0.235 a mile. Two vehicles are reimbursable when you and a dependent each drive one. More than 2 requires approval through the Secretarial Process, and Table 5-1 is explicit that simply having three licensed drivers in the family is not on its own a reason — the usual grounds are that the family and their luggage genuinely will not fit in two vehicles, or a dependent needs special accommodation. A car loaded onto a transport truck is not being driven and earns no MALT, though shipping it may be a separate entitlement on an overseas move.
They are paid more, not less — and this is the row most explanations of per diem leave out entirely. JTR Table 5-6 has three rows. Dependents traveling with you draw 75% or 50%. But a single dependent traveling separately is paid 100% of what you would have received, and where two or more travel separately, the first is paid 100% and the rest at their own age-based percentages. "Separately" means a different route or a different time — driving a second car in convoy with you is still traveling with you. If you report ahead of your family, which is how most house-hunting moves go, your family is in the separate-travel rows and the first dependent's rate rises from 75% to 100%.
The rate in effect on the date your PCS travel begins, even if the rate changes while you are en route — JTR §050203. The MALT rate was $0.205 a mile for the first half of 2026 and rose to $0.235 on 1 July, so members with orders on either side of that date are owed different amounts for the identical drive. This calculator picks the rate from the travel date you enter rather than always using today's.