Reading your LES SSgt Sabrina Spriggs 305 th Comptroller Squadron McGuire AFB

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT? It is your money. Not understanding your statement could cost you money. Become familiar with all entries on your LES. If you see something you are not sure of, ask your supervisor. Knowing how to read and understand your LES benefits you! Remember, no one but you reads your LES.

DEFENSE FINANCE AND ACCOUNTING SERVICE MILITARY LEAVE AND EARNINGS STATEMENT NAME 1 DOE, JOHN SSN GRADE 3 E4 PAY DATE YRS SVC 5 4 ETS BR. SVC 7 AF ADSN PERIOD COVERED April 2004 Block 1 YOUR NAME Block 2 YOUR SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER Block 3YOUR PAY GRADE Block 4PAY DATE Block 5YEARS OF SERVICE Block 6EXPIRED TERM OF SERVICE Block 7BRANCH OF SERVICE Block 8STATION OF ASSIGNMENT IDENTIFICATION CODE Block 9PERIOD COVERED BY STATEMENT Items 1 – 6 are updated by the personnel system.

ENTITLEMENTSDEDUCTIONSALLOTMENTSSUMMARY TYPEAMOUNTTYPEAMOUNTTYPEAMOUNT+ AMT FWD.00 ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOABCDEFGHIJKLMNO BASE PAY BAS BAH FEDERAL TAXES FICA-SOC SECURITY FICA-MEDICARE SGLI FOR 200,000 AFRH DENTAL MEAL DEDUCTIONS MID-MONTH-PAY COMB FED CAMPAIGN DISCRETIONARY ALT AFAF ALLOT TOT ENT3, TOT DED1, TOT ALT = NET AMT1, CR FWD.00 = EOM PAY 1, TOTAL This is the most important part of the LES. It give you a breakdown of your monthly entitlements and deductions.

ENTITLEMENTS $$$ Do you know yours? $$$ ENTITLEMENTS (+) Block 10 BASE PAY BAS BAH TOTAL Block 11 Entitlements increase your pay. Types: (Basic Pay and BAS apply to everyone) Base Pay: Based on your rank/time in service BAS: Entitlement that covers meals that the government does not provide. Clothing Allowance (enlisted only): Covers cost of replacing uniforms (paid annually at the end of the month in which you entered active duty). The following entitlements are conditional (certain conditions must be met). This list is not inclusive. BAH: Based on rank and dependency status. No BAH if in family gov’t quarters. Partial BAH if in the dorms. Other entitlements such as Family Separation Allowance, Flight Pay, Hostile Fire Pay, Hardship Duty Pay, COLA, along with authorized bonuses (before taxes) will also appear in this column. Block 10MEMBERS’ TOTAL ENTITLEMENTS IDENTIFIED BY TYPE Block 11TOTAL ENTITLEMENTS BEFORE DEDUCTIONS

DEDUCTIONS What’s coming out of your pay? DEDUCTIONS ( -- ) Block 12 FEDERAL TAXES FICA-SOC SECURITY FICA-MEDICARE SGLI FOR 200,000 AFRH DENTAL MEAL DEDUCTIONS MID-MONTH-PAY Total Block 13 Block 12DEDUCTIONS IDENTIFIED BY TYPE AND AMOUNT Block 13TOTAL DEDUCTIONS The deductions column is considered the negative portion of your pay. Any amount in this column represents the amount of money deducted from you. Any indebtedness you owe to the government will be shown here along with the type of indebtedness. When debts are posted to your pay record, there will annotations in the ‘REMARKS’ section of the LES

Meal Deductions BAS is the unit commander’s program. Commanders determine whether personnel should receive full BAS or be Subsisted-in-Kind (SIK). SIK (formerly meal card) personnel are normally those who reside in the dormitory and are required to utilize the dining facility for all meals. These personnel will see a MEAL DEDUCTION entry under the deduction column of their LES. The current rate for meal deductions is $7.10 per day and is based on the actual number of days in the month.  February 1-29 $7.10 x 29 days = $  March 1-31 $7.10 x 31 days = $ If you are on SIK, you will receive the full rate of BAS when you are on leave, TDY, or PCS (these are called status changes). The rationale for this is because you will not be able to utilize the dining facility at McGuire. The net effect is an increase to your pay as no meal deduction occurs when you are in one of the statuses above.

ALLOTMENTS ALLOTMENTS Block 14 COMB FED CAMPAIGN DISCRETIONARY ALT AFAF ALLOT Block 15 Block 14ALLOTMENTS IDENTIFIED BY TYPE AND AMOUNT Blocks 15TOTAL ALLOTMENTS Allotments are a method by which you direct the payroll office (DFAS) to send money from your account to a financial institution, person, or company of your choice.

QUICK SUMMARY SUMMARY + AMT FWD TOT ENT 17 - TOT DED 18 - TOT ALT 19 = NET AMT 20 - CR FWD 21 = EOM PAY 22 Block 16AMOUNT DUE YOU FROM PREVIOUS PAY Block 17TOTAL AMOUNT OF ENTITLEMENTS Block 18TOTAL AMOUNT OF DEDUCTIONS Block 19TOTAL AMOUNT OF ALLOTMENTS Block 20TOTAL DUE YOU THIS PAY PERIOD Block 21AMOUNT CARRIED FORWARD Block 22AMOUNT TO BE DEPOSITED IN YOUR ACCOUNT Carried forward: Will appear when there is a payment is pending release such as bonuses or leave sell back.

LEAVE Blocks BF BAL ERND USED CR BAL ETS BAL LV LOST.0 28 LV PAID USE/LOSE Block 23DAYS BROUGHT FORWARD FROM PREVIOUS FISCAL YEAR (FY). FY IS FROM 1 OCT THRU 30 SEP Block 24DAYS EARNED IN CURRENT FY. YOU EARN 2.5 DAYS/MONTH Block 25DAYS USED IN CURRENT FY Block 26CURRENT LEAVE BALANCE Block 27LEAVE THROUGH EXPIRED TERM OF SERVICE (NOT ALL OF IT HAS BEEN EARNED) Block 28LEAVE LOST FROM PRIOR FY Block 29NUMBER OF LEAVE DAYS SOLD (CAN SELL ONLY 60 DAYS IN A CAREER) Block 30NUMBER OF DAYS THAT MUST BE USED BEFORE THE END OF THE FY

FEDERAL TAX FED TAXES Blocks WAGE PERIOD WAGE YTD M/S M 33 EX 0 34 ADD’L TAX TAX YTD ONLY ITEMS OF PAY ARE SUBJECT TO TAX. ALLOWANCES ARE NOT TAXED. Block 31AMOUNT OF TAXABLE WAGES FOR THE CURRENT MONTH Block 32TOTAL TAXABLE WAGES YEAR TO DATE Block 33MARITAL STATUS FOR FEDERAL TAX PURPOSES Block 34NUMBER OF EXEMPTIONS FOR FEDERAL TAX PURPOSES Block 35ADDITIONAL FEDERAL TAX WITHHOLDINGS Block 36TOTAL AMOUNT OF TAXES DEDUCTED YEAR TO DATE

STATE TAX STATE TAXES Blocks ST TX 37 WAGE PERIOD WAGE YTD M/S M 40 EX TAX YTD Block 37STATE OF LEGAL RESIDENCY IDENTIFICATION CODE Block 38TAXABLE WAGES SUBJECT TO STATE TAX IN CURRENT MONTH Block 39TAXABLE WAGES SUBJECT TO STATE TAXES YEAR TO DATE Block 40MARITAL STATUS FOR STATE TAX WITHOLDINGS Block 41NUMBER OF EXEMPTIONS USED IN COMPUTING STATE TAX Block 42AMOUNT OF STATE TAX PAID YEAR TO DATE

AMOUNTS ARE FOR ILLUSTRATION ONLY FEDERAL INSURANCE CONTRIBUTION FICA TAXES Blocks WAGE PERIOD SOC WAGE YTD SOC TAX YTD MED WAGE YTD MED TAX YTD FICA (ALSO KNOWN AS SOCIAL SECURTY TAX) IS DIVIDED INTO TWO AREAS OF CONTRIBUTION. FIRST IS SOCIAL SECURITY (BLOCK 45) WHERE THE CONTRIBUTION IS 6.2 PERCENT OF YOUR BASE PAY. THE SECOND IS MEDICARE (BLOCK 47), WHICH IS SET AT 1.45 PERCENT OF YOUR BASE PAY. Block 43AMOUNT OF TAXABLE WAGES FOR THE CURRENT MONTH Block 44TOTAL TAXABLE SOCIAL SECURITY WAGES YEAR TO DATE Block 45AMOUNT OF SOCIAL SECURITY TAXES PAID Block 46TOTAL TAXABLE WAGES FOR MEDICARE YEAR TO DATE Block 47AMOUNT OF MEDICARE TAXES PAID YEAR TO DATE

BAH/BAS/CHARITY BAH TYPE W/DEP 48 BAH DEPN SPOUSE 49 BAH ZIP RENT AMT SHARE 1 52 STAT H 53 BAS TYPE REGULAR 54 CHARITY YTD Block 48BAH RATE (WITH OR WITHOUT DEPENDENTS) Block 49DEPENDENT ID – FOR WHOM YOU ARE ENTITLED TO RECEIVE BAH Block 50ZIP CODE OF PERMANENT DUTY STATION (PDS). BAH BASED ON PDS NOT RESIDENCE Block 51AMOUNT OF RENT PAID EACH MONTH (NO LONGER APPLICABLE) Block 52NOT APPLICABLE – ALWAYS 1 Block 53HOMEOWNER – H; RENTING - R Block 54RATION TYPE - NORMALLY REGULAR UNLESS NO DINING FACILITY AVAILABLE, THEN RIKNA (RATIONS-IN-KIND NOT AVAILABLE) Block 55CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTIONS YEAR TO DATE

Remarks…Gotta Read Them!!! REMARKS: YTD ENTITLE YTD DEDUCT BANK SECURITY SERV FCU ACCT # BAH BASED ON W/DEP, ZIP Block 61YEAR TO DATE GROSS ENTITLEMENTS (IF ALL TAXABLE) Block 62YEAR TO DATE TAXABLE DEDUCTIONS (IF ALL TAXABLE) Block 63ANY COMMENTS FROM DFAS-DE ON ENTITLEMENT CHANGES ALSO USED FOR AIR FORCE COMMENTS (RECRUITING, AAFES, ETC) Block 64IDENTIFICATION OF BANK FOR DIRECT DEPOSIT AND ACCOUNT NUMBER Block 65BAH INFO AND BASIS FOR THE ENTITLEMENT (DEPENDENT RATE/SINGLE RATE)

Conclusion This is just some quick information to assist you in understanding your LES. Ask questions when you don’t understand. It’s your money, so know what’s going on with it.