11.2 Official Travel Expenses and Allowances (AFH-1 Section 12B)
Key Takeaways
Official travel for PCS or TDY, including professional military education and training, is often reimbursable only when members follow travel regulations accurately and on time; AFH 1 points detailed rules to the Joint Travel Regulation.
Individually billed account GTCC use is authorized and highly encouraged for all PCS-related expenses. PCS tools include advance pay (up to three months of basic pay less mandatory deductions and debts), household goods, dislocation allowance, unaccompanied baggage, and CONUS temporary lodging expense versus OCONUS temporary lodging allowance.
Travelers must file a Defense Travel System voucher or DD Form 1351-2 within five business days of return to the permanent duty station; electronic funds transfer is mandatory and split disbursement will be used. Temporary duty of 45 days or more requires interim vouchers or scheduled partial payments every 30 days; extended TDY does not excuse on-time GTCC payment.
Per diem helps defray quarters, meals, and certain incidentals: a prescribed meals-and-incidentals amount plus actual lodging not to exceed the location maximum, with rates depending on government quarters and dining availability. Use the commercial travel office to arrange official travel.
Unless exempted, the GTCC is required for official-travel expenses. Automated teller machine advances may not be taken earlier than three working days before travel. Accounts 31 days past due are suspended; 96 days past due go to DFAS for salary offset; 181 days past due are charged off with no reinstatement.
11.2 Official Travel Expenses and Allowances (AFH-1 Section 12B)
Quick Answer: Official PCS or TDY, including professional military education and training, is often reimbursable if you follow the rules accurately and on time. File DTS or DD Form 1351-2 within five business days of return, settle by electronic funds transfer, and use split disbursement to pay the GTCC. Per diem is prescribed meals and incidentals plus actual lodging not to exceed the location cap. TLE is CONUS PCS lodging on a travel voucher; TLA is OCONUS PCS lodging in military pay on the LES. Per diem dollars are in the JTR, not in AFH 1.
Section 12B is ADTC B for SSgt and TSgt. 12A required the card; 12B tests how you travel, how you file, and what happens if the card goes past due.
Authorized expenses and the JTR pointer
Members travel for PCS or TDY, including PME and training. Costs are often reimbursable only when regulations are followed accurately and timely. Mixed modes, transoceanic limits, and locality rates live in the Joint Travel Regulation.
Permanent change of station allowances
Individually billed account (IBA) government travel charge card use is authorized and highly encouraged for all PCS-related expenses.
PCS advance payments cover extraordinary relocation expenses not covered by other entitlements: up to three months of basic pay, less mandatory deductions and current debts. E-3 and below need immediate commander approval. Anyone requesting repayment beyond 12 months or more than one month's basic pay also needs that approval; periods beyond 12 months are only for financial hardship.
A member may ship household goods within weight limits that normally depend on grade and number of dependents. Dislocation allowance is a Secretary of Defense rate, paid to members with dependents when dependents relocate household goods with the PCS, and to members without dependents not assigned permanent government quarters at the new station. Unaccompanied baggage by commercial air is capped at 1,000 pounds net. When authorized, one privately owned vehicle may ship on overseas PCS. U.S.-certificated air carriers are required for government-funded commercial air unless unavailable. Personally procured transoceanic travel is not reimbursed. Dependent travel by privately owned vehicle earns monetary allowance in lieu of transportation plus flat-rate per diem.
Temporary lodging expense (TLE) helps defray added living expenses on CONUS PCS arrival or departure and is paid on a travel voucher. Temporary lodging allowance (TLA) does the same outside the CONUS and is paid in military pay and reflected on the LES. Mixing those two payment paths is a standard PFE trap.
Filing the claim: DTS, five days, and long TDY
File a Defense Travel System (DTS) voucher or DD Form 1351-2 within five business days of return to the permanent duty station. Signature means the claim is accurate, true, and complete, with liability for a false claim. Electronic funds transfer is mandatory. Split disbursement will be used to pay the GTCC vendor. TDY of 45 days or more requires an interim voucher or scheduled partial payments every 30 days. Extended TDY does not excuse on-time GTCC payment.
Temporary duty entitlements
Per diem defrays quarters, meals, and certain incidentals. Travelers receive a prescribed meals-and-incidentals amount plus actual lodging not to exceed the location maximum. Rates depend on the TDY location and on government quarters and dining. Look up the current cap in the JTR; AFH 1 does not print 2026 hotel-dollar tables. Use the commercial travel office to arrange official travel. If authorized to travel at personal expense, reimbursement is limited to what the government would have incurred.
TDY, PCS, and GTCC at a glance
| Situation | How AFH 1 says you resource it |
|---|---|
| PCS | Household goods, dislocation allowance, advance pay, unaccompanied baggage, overseas POV as authorized. TLE = CONUS, travel voucher. TLA = OCONUS, military pay/LES. IBA GTCC authorized and highly encouraged. |
| TDY | Per diem = prescribed meals and incidentals + actual lodging not to exceed the location maximum. Commercial travel office arranges travel. Miscellaneous terminal, passport, visa, and rental-car costs when on orders. |
| GTCC | Required unless exempted. Split disbursement. ATM advances not earlier than three working days before travel. |
Government travel charge card rules NCOs must enforce
Unless otherwise exempted, all DoD personnel must use the government travel charge card (GTCC) for all official-travel expenses, including lodging, transportation, local ground, rental cars on orders, and local travel. An agency program coordinator (APC) is designated in writing by a commander or director. While in official travel status, the card may cover non-reimbursable incidentals (rental movies, personal calls, exercise fees, beverages not on a separate room or meal bill), but all charges are paid by split disbursement.
ATM advances will not be obtained earlier than three working days before scheduled travel and are limited to meals, incidentals, and miscellaneous expenses. ATM fees are part of the incidental portion of per diem, not separately reimbursable. Use the GTCC on PCS. Notify the losing APC before departure and the gaining APC upon reporting; the losing APC sets mission critical status and a deactivation date from the report-no-later-than date. Pay the bill in full. Use the card only in official travel status; misuse is administrative or disciplinary.
Delinquency clock: 31 days past due = suspended. 61 days = due-process letter warning of salary offset unless paid within 30 days or a reduced payment plan is accepted. First late fee at day 75 (two cycles plus fifteen days). 96 days = vendor sends the account to DFAS for salary offset (fees not reimbursable). 181 days = charged off, no reinstatement even if later paid in full.
A member is departing a Continental United States station and arriving at an overseas permanent duty station, occupying temporary lodging at both ends. How does AFH 1 distinguish temporary lodging expense from temporary lodging allowance?
Both entitlements are paid on the leave and earnings statement as military pay, and neither requires a travel voucher
Both entitlements are paid only on a travel voucher and only for overseas locations
Temporary lodging expense applies to Continental United States permanent change of station arrival or departure and is paid on a travel voucher; temporary lodging allowance applies outside the Continental United States, is paid in military pay, and is reflected on the leave and earnings statement
Temporary lodging expense is an advance of up to three months of basic pay, and temporary lodging allowance is dislocation allowance paid at a Secretary of Defense rate
After returning from official travel, what filing and payment rules does AFH 1 impose in the Defense Travel System?
File within 30 calendar days; cash settlement at the finance window is the preferred method so the government travel charge card can be paid later
File the voucher before departing the temporary duty station; split disbursement is optional if the member will write a personal check to the card vendor
File within 15 days so the commander can endorse the claim; extended temporary duty excuses late government travel charge card payments
File a Defense Travel System voucher or DD Form 1351-2 within five business days upon return to the permanent duty station; electronic funds transfer is mandatory; split disbursement will be used; temporary duty of 45 days or more requires an interim voucher or scheduled partial payments every 30 days, and extended temporary duty does not excuse on-time card payment
How does AFH 1 describe the per diem allowance for temporary duty?
Per diem helps defray quarters, meals, and certain incidentals; travelers are paid a prescribed amount for meals and incidental expenses plus the actual amount for lodging, not to exceed the maximum lodging rate for the location, and rates depend on the temporary duty location and the availability of government facilities
Per diem is a taxable bonus equal to one month of basic pay, paid automatically on the leave and earnings statement without a voucher
Per diem reimburses every lodging and meal receipt in full with no locality cap as long as the government travel charge card was used
Per diem is authorized only for permanent change of station travel days and is never paid for temporary duty, professional military education, or training
Unless exempted, Department of Defense personnel must use the government travel charge card for official travel. Which automated teller machine and delinquency rules does AFH 1 state?
Accounts are charged off at 31 days past due; automated teller machine cash may be drawn two weeks before travel and those transaction fees are separately reimbursable miscellaneous expenses
Accounts that reach 31 days past due are suspended; automated teller machine advances will not be obtained earlier than three working days before scheduled travel and are limited to meals, incidentals, and miscellaneous expenses; automated teller machine fees are part of the incidental-expense portion of per diem and are not separately reimbursable
Salary offset begins automatically at 31 days past due; the card may be used off duty for any purchase under $500 if split disbursement is selected
The first late fee posts on day 15; accounts 61 days past due are immediately ineligible for reinstatement even if paid in full
Sections you finish are checked off in the contents.