Work out what Temporary Lodging Expense pays for the hotel between your old quarters and your new ones. TLE is a percentage of the locality per diem rate where you are staying: 65% for one person, 100% for two, then 35% more for each additional dependent aged 12 or older and 25% for each one under 12, applied to both the lodging ceiling and the meals rate. Lodging pays your actual cost up to that ceiling and no more, meals pay in full, and each day is capped at $290. A CONUS destination authorizes 21 days, splittable between your old and new duty station; a move to an OCONUS duty station authorizes 7 days at the CONUS end. Staying with friends or family pays no lodging but still pays the meals portion.
Rates last verified August 2026 against the published source tables.
The figure that matters before you book is the nightly ceiling, not the total. TLE reimburses actual lodging up to that ceiling: book below it and the difference is never paid to anyone, book above it and the excess is yours. Because the ceiling is a percentage of the locality per diem rate where you are staying, it varies by destination as well as by family size — the same family draws a different ceiling in San Antonio and in San Diego.
Meals are paid at the applicable percentage whether or not you spend them, which is why staying with friends or family still produces a claim even though the lodging portion is zero. The daily cap applies per day rather than across the whole period, so an expensive night is not offset by a cheap one.
TLE is a percentage of the locality per diem rate where you are staying, not a flat amount. One person is paid 65% of that rate; two people — a member and one dependent, or two dependents — are paid 100%. Each additional dependent aged 12 or older adds 35%, and each one under 12 adds 25%. The percentage applies to both the lodging ceiling and the meals rate, and no day may exceed $290.
A PCS to a CONUS duty station authorizes 21 days, and you may split them between your old and new stations however you need — they do not have to be consecutive. A move to an OCONUS duty station authorizes 7 days at the CONUS end, because TLA takes over on arrival overseas.
Lodging pays your actual cost up to the ceiling and no more, so a room above the ceiling costs you the difference. Meals pay in full at the applicable percentage whether or not you spend it. Staying with friends or family pays no lodging at all, but the meals portion is still payable — which is worth knowing before assuming a free couch means no claim.
TLE covers temporary lodging at a CONUS location; TLA covers it at an OCONUS one. A single move can involve both — 7 days of TLE before you leave the States and TLA once you arrive. This calculator computes the TLE side. For which allowance applies in each direction of move and how to file each one, see the TLE and TLA guide.
Itemized lodging receipts for every night claimed, your PCS orders, and a statement of the dates. Meals do not need receipts — they are paid at the rate. Claims are filed with your finance office after the lodging period, and the daily cap is applied per day rather than across the whole period, so one expensive night is not offset by a cheap one.