Military Leave CalculatorLeave Balance Projection, Use-or-Lose Date & Sell-Back Value
Service members earn 2.5 days of leave a month, may carry 60 days into a new fiscal year (90 with Special Leave Accrual), and can sell back up to 60 days in a career at one-thirtieth of monthly basic pay per day. Enter your LES balance to project leave to any date, see what you will lose on September 30 and what your leave is worth in cash.
Rules from 10 U.S.C. 701 and DoDI 1327.06; values from the DFAS 2026 basic pay tables.
Sell it or take it?
How military leave works
Every active-duty member earns 2.5 days of leave a month, 30 days a year. You can carry no more than 60 days into a new fiscal year (plus up to 30 days of Special Leave Accrual if you qualify); anything above that is lost on September 30. Leave sold back pays one-thirtieth of monthly basic pay per day, up to 60 days over a career.
Leave is charged for every calendar day you are away, weekends and holidays included, which is why a Friday-to-Monday trip costs four days, not two.
The formulas
Leave sold is taxed like basic pay and pays basic pay only, without BAH, BAS or special pays. Taking the same days as terminal leave keeps your full pay and allowances coming, which is usually worth more.
What military leave is worth in 2026
| Grade | Monthly basic pay | 1 day of leave | 30 days | 60 days (career max) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| E-4 (Over 4 yrs) | $3,658.50 | $121.95 | $3,658.50 | $7,317.00 |
| E-5 (Over 8 yrs) | $4,299.90 | $143.33 | $4,299.90 | $8,599.80 |
| E-6 (Over 14 yrs) | $5,130.30 | $171.01 | $5,130.30 | $10,260.60 |
| E-7 (Over 20 yrs) | $6,245.70 | $208.19 | $6,245.70 | $12,491.40 |
| O-3 (Over 8 yrs) | $8,125.50 | $270.85 | $8,125.50 | $16,251.00 |
| O-4 (Over 14 yrs) | $10,214.40 | $340.48 | $10,214.40 | $20,428.80 |
From the DFAS 2026 basic pay tables. The calculator uses your exact grade and years of service.
Leave rules worth knowing
If duty kept you from taking leave, SLA lets you carry up to 30 extra days (90 total), to be used within the time your service allows. The old 120-day limit was phased out.
Enlisted members facing the loss of SLA days can sell up to 30 of them once in a career. Those days count toward the 60-day lifetime cap.
Use your balance at the end of service and you stay on active duty, paid in full, until your separation date.
You can be advanced leave, but a negative balance at separation is collected from your final pay.
How to use this military leave calculator
- Enter your LES balanceUse the “current balance” from your latest LES and the date it is as of.
- Pick your target dateA planned leave start, your ETS or your retirement date.
- Add planned leaveDays you will take before then, so the projection stays honest.
- Check the cash valueGrade and years give the value of selling leave versus taking it.
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Military leave FAQ
30 days a year, earned at 2.5 days per month of active service, for every branch and grade.
60 days into a new fiscal year. With approved Special Leave Accrual you can carry up to 30 more, 90 in total. Extra days are lost on September 30.
One-thirtieth of your monthly basic pay. For an E-5 with over 6 years in 2026 that is $137.00 a day.
Up to 60 days over your whole career, when you reenlist, extend or separate honorably. One-time SLA sell-backs count toward the 60.
Terminal leave usually pays more: you keep basic pay, BAH, BAS and special pays. Selling pays basic pay only, and it is taxed.
Yes. Leave is charged for every calendar day away from duty, including weekends and holidays.
At the end of the fiscal year, September 30. Any balance above your carryover cap is forfeited then.
Yes, at the same rates as basic pay, unless it was earned in a combat zone tax exclusion area.
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Manzoor Ahmad
Calculator developer & web designer · 13+ years in web development and SEO
Last reviewed: October 30, 2026I am a pharmacist turned tech geek, and I design, code and test every calculator on DexoCalc myself. I have not served in the military, so this tool does not run on opinion: the accrual, fiscal-year cap and sell-back rules come from 10 U.S.C. 701 and DoDI 1327.06 as summarized by Military OneSource, and every leave value uses the DFAS 2026 basic pay tables.
Spot a result that does not match an official source? Tell me and I will re-check it.
Sources
- Military OneSource: Military leave and how it works
- 10 U.S.C. 701: Entitlement and accumulation of leave
- DFAS: Military pay tables 2026
Disclaimer: DexoCalc is independent and not affiliated with the Department of Defense (Department of War), the Department of Veterans Affairs or any military branch. Results are educational estimates; official records and your chain of command decide.
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