PCS planning
Estimate authorized travel days and major en-route costs.
This worksheet applies the published distance rule to estimate maximum PCS travel days by POV. It treats the daily party allowance and lodging amount as user-supplied planning inputs because PCS per diem varies by traveler category, dependent age, travel arrangement, location, and current orders.
How the travel-day estimate works
For authorized PCS travel by POV, the first 400 miles allow one travel day. When the official distance exceeds 400 miles, divide the distance by 350; a remainder of 51 miles or more adds another day. The calculator implements that rule directly. Official distance—not an odometer reading or a personally preferred route—controls the planning calculation.
Effective July 1, 2026, the PCS monetary allowance in lieu of transportation, or MALT, rate is $0.235 per mile. MALT covers all authorized travelers in the vehicle, so the calculator does not multiply that mileage payment by the number of occupants. Separate vehicles, dependent travel, commercial transportation, circuitous travel, and last-day lodging require order-specific review. For travel before July 1, use the rate effective on the travel date instead of this current-rate worksheet.
A PCS allowance is not ordinary TDY per diem. Do not multiply a generic daily rate by every passenger unless the applicable PCS rules and orders support that party-level amount.