DITY Move Calculator: What a PPM Pays After Taxes (2026)

PPM estimate worksheet

The move

Government constructed cost (GCC)$

Advance already received$

Expenses you paid

Truck or trailer rental$

Fuel, oil and tolls$

Packing materials$

Hired labor$

Other authorized expenses$

Can I claim it?

Type an expense, like dolly or tolls. The answer comes from DFAS's own list.

Withholding

State withholding rate%

State tax is withheld only when your state of legal residence has a withholding agreement with the Treasury (FMR 3.2.3.4). If yours doesn't, leave the state rate at 0.

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The short answer

On a $5,000 GCC with $1,800 of authorized expenses, the $3,200 incentive has $704.00 federal and $160.00 state (5%) withheld. DFAS pays $4,136.00 and you keep $2,336.00 after expenses. The 22% rate and the 60% advance limit come from DFAS and the JTR.

A personally procured move (PPM), still widely called a DITY move, pays you to move your own household goods. The payment is based on the Government's Constructed Cost (GCC), the government's own figure for moving your goods. Whatever is left after your moving expenses is taxable income, and DFAS withholds tax from it.

Start with the GCC from your PPM estimate or from your transportation office counseling. This calculator can't estimate the GCC for you, because the rates DoD uses to build it aren't published. Then add the authorized expenses you paid and your state's withholding rate.

Worked example: a $5,000 GCC with $1,800 of expenses

Say the transportation office puts your GCC at $5,000. You rent a truck for $950, spend $420 on fuel and tolls, $180 on packing materials, $200 on hired labor and $50 on other authorized items, for $1,800 in all. Your state withholds at 5%, so you set State withholding rate to 5.

• The incentive, the taxable part, is $5,000 less $1,800: $3,200.00.
• Federal withholding at 22% of the incentive is $704.00.
• State withholding at 5% of the incentive is $160.00.
• The final payment from DFAS is $4,136.00, the GCC less both withholdings.
• Take away the $1,800 you already spent, and you keep $2,336.00.
• The most you could have drawn as an advance is $3,000.00.

When the page first loads, it shows $2,496.00 kept, because the state rate starts at 0%. Enter your own state's rate to see your figure.

How DFAS works out the payment

The payment comes from the JTR. Under paragraph 051502.C.2 the Service member “receives payment of a monetary allowance equal to 100% of the Government's constructed "Best Value" cost”, so DFAS starts from the whole GCC, not from what you spent. DoD's Financial Management Regulation (FMR), Volume 9, Chapter 6, section 3.2.3.1 sets the same ceiling: "The maximum amount of the allowance is equal to 100 percent of the GCC or local contract cost". Your expenses matter because they shrink the incentive, the taxable part: the GCC minus your authorized expenses (3.2.3.2). Federal and state withholding (FITW and SITW) are figured on the incentive, so DFAS pays the GCC minus the withholding, minus any advance you already drew.

The 130% rate has ended

For a time the JTR paid PPMs at 130% of the Global Household Goods Contract rates. Paragraph 051502.C.1 limited that boost to a fixed window: "This rate will apply from May 15, 2025, until September 30, 2025." That window has closed. A PPM today is paid under 051502.C.2, at 100% of the government's "Best Value" constructed cost, and this calculator uses that rate.

Taxes on the incentive

DFAS is short and direct about the rate: "Incentive pay is taxed at 22%." The calculator applies that flat percentage. DFAS also says "You will be mailed a W-2 on the incentive pay amount for the tax year you received the payment." It won't be on myPay, so watch the mail for it.

Withholding is a prepayment, not the final tax you owe. The incentive goes on your tax return with the rest of your income, and depending on your bracket you may get some of the 22% back or owe more. State tax is withheld only when your state of legal residence has a withholding agreement with the Treasury (FMR 3.2.3.4). If yours doesn't, leave the state rate at 0.

Social Security and Medicare

The calculator withholds nothing for Social Security or Medicare, and that choice rests on an inference, not a stated rule. FMR Volume 7A, Chapter 45, section 2.2 gives a closed list that begins "The following wages are subject to FICA withholding:". The six items are basic pay and a few narrow cases tied to it, such as inactive duty compensation. A PPM incentive isn't one of them, so we read it as outside FICA. No source we found says in so many words that the PPM incentive is exempt, so treat this as our reading of the list and check your W-2.

Which expenses count

DFAS explains the idea in two sentences: "Operating expenses (OPE) are goods that Service Members pay for that lower their taxable income when they claim the PPM/ DITY move. Items that can be reused are not normally authorized." That second sentence is why buying a dolly doesn't count, although renting one does. DFAS also rules out meals and lodging, storage, oil changes and routine maintenance, locks and tire chains. Sales tax, on the other hand, is on the authorized side. The full DFAS list of authorized and unauthorized expenses is in the table below the calculator. Keep a receipt for every expense you claim.

The advance and the 60% limit

You can ask for part of the money before you move. JTR 051502.G.3 allows "An amount equal to 60% of the PPM monetary allowance when the Service member chooses the PPM monetary allowance." On a $5,000 GCC that is $3,000.00, and the calculator shows a warning if the advance you enter is higher. With a $3,000 advance in the worked example, the final payment drops to $1,136.00. Because the advance comes off the final payment, a large advance leaves little to settle. If the final GCC comes in below your estimate, the advance can be more than the payment, and you repay the difference at settlement.

Weight drives the GCC

The GCC isn't a flat amount. Under JTR 051502.E it's built from the weight you actually move, counted only up to the maximum you're authorized. So the GCC follows your real load, and weight beyond the allowance adds nothing. Look up the weight allowance by rank before you plan the move.

Paperwork for the claim

DFAS lists what a PPM claim needs. You'll submit a DD 1351-2 signed by the reviewing official, your PCS orders, and the DD 2278 that the transportation office calculates. Add certified weight tickets for the loaded (gross) and empty (tare) weights, and your paid rental agreement. If you want your expenses to reduce the taxable amount, include the operating expense worksheet. A move with a privately owned vehicle, boat or trailer also needs a copy of the vehicle registration. See the claim packet, in DFAS's own filing order for the full checklist and what to do when no scale is within 10 miles of the shipment.