Family Separation Allowance (FSA): Amount, Eligibility and Proration

DoD's regulation divides FSA into three types and says “The member, however, may not receive more than one payment of FSA for the same period, even though qualified for FSA-Restricted (FSA-R), FSA-Ship (FSA-S), and FSA-Temporary (FSA-T).” The statute states the same three situations in 427(a)(1)(A) to (C).

• FSA-R. The regulation says “The member’s dependents, including dependents acquired after the effective date of Permanent Change of Station (PCS) orders (see Table 27-1 (FSA Commencement Dates), rules 8 and 9), do not live in the vicinity of the member’s homeport/PDS, and their transportation to or near the PDS is not authorized at government expense (see paragraph 4.1).” It also covers this case: “Transportation of dependents is authorized at government expense, but member elects an unaccompanied tour of duty because a dependent cannot accompany the member to, or at that homeport/PDS due to certified medical reasons, regardless of the date on which the member first made the election to serve an unaccompanied tour.” Statute 427(a)(1)(A): “the movement of his dependents to his permanent station or a place near that station is not authorized at the expense of the United States under section 452 of this title and his dependents do not reside at or near that station;”
• FSA-S. DFAS says “You are on duty aboard a ship, and the ship is away from the homeport continuously for more than 30 days.” The regulation adds that the condition is met by a member “under orders to remain on board a ship while at homeport and whose duty on board the ship is for a continuous period of more than 30 days.” Days kept on board for disciplinary reasons do not count: “If the ship returns to homeport and a member is under orders to remain on board a ship while at homeport the days on the ship while at homeport will count towards the more than 30 continuous days, except when a member is required to stay on board for disciplinary reasons.” Statute 427(a)(1)(B): “he is on duty on board a ship away from the home port of the ship (or under orders to remain on board the ship while at the home port) for a continuous period of more than 30 days; or”
• FSA-T. The regulation says “The member is on Temporary Duty (TDY) or Temporary Assigned Duty (TAD) away from their PDS or homeport continuously for more than 30 days, and the member’s dependents do not reside at or near the TDY or TAD station.” Statute 427(a)(1)(C): “he is on temporary duty away from his permanent station for a continuous period of more than 30 days and his dependents do not reside at or near his temporary duty station.”

The statute's opening condition is “In addition to any allowance or per diem to which he otherwise may be entitled under this title a member of a uniformed service with dependents is entitled to a monthly allowance of not less than $300, and not more than $400, if—” and the regulation's purpose paragraph says “FSA provides compensation for added expenses incurred because of an enforced family separation under one of the conditions in subparagraphs 2.3.1.1 through 2.3.1.3.” DFAS puts it this way: “If your dependents cannot live with you at or near your permanent duty station, whether inside or outside the United States, you may be entitled to FSA.”

• More than 30 days. For temporary duty and ship duty the period must be continuous. “Do not pay FSA-T or FSA-S until the member has been on TDY or TAD or on duty aboard ship away from homeport continuously for more than 30 days (or, if applicable, for more than 30 days after the date that a dependent is acquired).” Once the period passes 30 days, the statute makes the allowance effective from the first day of the period; 427(a)(2) says “A member who becomes entitled to an allowance under this subsection by virtue of duty prescribed in subparagraph (B) or (C) of paragraph (1) for a continuous period of more than 30 days is entitled to the allowance effective as of the earlier of— (A) the first day of that period; or (B) the first day the member ceased being entitled to a previous allowance under this subsection by reason of the end of duty prescribed in such subparagraphs, if the member ceased being entitled to the previous allowance within 30 days before the first day of that period.”
• Dependents at or near the duty station. “FSA does not accrue to a member if all of the dependents reside at or near the duty station.” On distance: “A distance of 50 miles, one way, is normally considered to be within a reasonable commuting distance of a PDS (see subparagraph 2.3.1.3 Note for RC members), but the 50-mile rule is not inflexible.”
• Permissive orders. “It is not authorized when a member performs duty at any station under permissive orders (except when subparagraph 4.1.3 applies).”
• Unaccompanied tours. Statute 427(c)(1): “Except as provided in paragraph (2) or (3), a member who elects to serve a tour of duty unaccompanied by his dependents at a permanent station to which the movement of his dependents is authorized at the expense of the United States under section 452 of this title is not entitled to an allowance under subsection (a)(1)(A).” The statute adds an exception: “The prohibition in the first sentence of paragraph (1) does not apply to a member who elects to serve an unaccompanied tour of duty because a dependent cannot accompany the member to or at that permanent station for certified medical reasons.”

DFAS says the allowance is “pro-rated to $10.00 per day for periods less than a month.” DoD's regulation gives the counting rule: “In computing the amount payable, the 31st day of any month should be excluded from the computation and February should be treated as if it actually had 30 days.” It also says the allowance starts only once the period is long enough: “Do not pay FSA-T or FSA-S until the member has been on TDY or TAD or on duty aboard ship away from homeport continuously for more than 30 days (or, if applicable, for more than 30 days after the date that a dependent is acquired).”

The table multiplies days by $10.00; your finance office counts the actual days under the regulation's rules.

• Statute, 427(d)(1). “A member married to another member of the uniformed services becomes entitled, regardless of any other dependency status, to an allowance under subsection (a) by virtue of duty prescribed in subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) of paragraph (1) of such subsection if the members were residing together immediately before being separated by reasons of execution of military orders.”
• Both members paid. “If a married couple, both of whom are members of the uniformed services, with dependents are simultaneously assigned to duties described in subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) of subsection (a)(1) and the members resided together with their dependents immediately before their assignments, the Secretary concerned shall pay each of the members the full amount of the monthly allowance specified in such subsection until one of the members is no longer assigned to duties described in such subparagraphs.” The regulation says “FSA is payable to both married members when they reside together with their dependents immediately before being separated from dependents, by competent orders to assignments prescribed in subparagraphs 2.3.1.1 through 2.3.1.3.”
• One allowance otherwise. “Section 421 of this title does not apply to bar the entitlement to an allowance under this section. Except as provided in paragraph (2), not more than one monthly allowance may be paid with respect to a married couple under this section.” The regulation: “Except as provided in subparagraph 2.3.4.2, not more than one monthly FSA may be paid with respect to a married military couple for any month.”
• No other dependents needed. “FSA is payable to a member married to another member regardless of whether the member has any non-active-duty dependents, when all other general conditions are met, and provided members were residing together immediately before being separated by reason of execution of military orders.”

DoD's regulation says “Members must complete a DoD (DD) Form 1561 (Statement to Substantiate Payment of Family Separation Allowance) to substantiate entitlement to FSA.” DFAS says “To apply for FSA, you should submit a completed DD Form 1561, Statement to Substantiate Payment of Family Separation Allowance (FSA), to your servicing personnel office.” This page states nothing else about the form.

IRS Publication 3 (2025) has a table headed “Table 2. Servicemembers’ Government Pay Items Excluded From Gross Income.” Under the heading “Family allowances” it lists the items in this order: “Family allowances • Certain educational expenses for dependents • Emergencies • Evacuation to a place of safety • Separation.” The word “Separation” is the entry this page reads as family separation allowance; the publication does not print the full name. The DoD regulation chapter and the DFAS page this page read do not state a tax rule, so confirm with your finance office or a tax professional.

The amount, the three types and the 30-day rule come from the statute and DoD, so they are the same in every branch. What varies is the paperwork and who your personnel office is. The ship condition applies to members on ships and the temporary duty condition to members of any branch. This page read DoD and DFAS documents only, not branch regulations or branch messages.

The statute text is from the Cornell Legal Information Institute copy of 37 U.S.C. 427, which includes Public Law 119-60 (December 18, 2025). The .mil sites block automated downloads, so DoD FMR Vol. 7A Chapter 27 (October 2025) was read from an Internet Archive capture of December 11, 2025 and the DFAS FSA page was read from an Internet Archive capture of September 26, 2026. IRS Publication 3 (2025) was read directly. All were checked on October 27, 2026. A source may have changed since a capture was taken.