Terminal Leave Calculator
Estimate how many days of terminal leave you can take, when it starts and what selling leave back pays. Enter your separation date and your latest LES leave balance; the calculator adds the leave you will accrue, applies the 60-day career limit on sold leave and shows the formula. See also the 2026 military pay chart and the military separation pay calculator.
Maintained by Archie Chang · Rules checked against 10 U.S.C., 37 U.S.C., the June 2026 DoD FMR and DoDI 1327.06 October 25, 2026 · Methodology & sources
Terminal leave calculator
Use the last day of active duty, which is the last day of leave, as your orders show it. If your retirement orders give an effective date of the 1st, check with your personnel office; you may need to enter the day before. This is a check-your-orders note, not a sourced rule.
Permissive TDY (PTDY), which DoDI 1327.06 calls administrative absence. Members separating at the end of a normal term of service (ETS) are not eligible for the voluntary program.
Enter your separation date, the date and amount of your latest LES leave balance and the days you want to sell to see your estimate.
Estimate only. Formula: projected balance = LES balance + accrual (2.5 days a month, prorated) - planned leave; terminal leave days = projected balance - days sold, rounded down; sell-back = monthly basic pay ÷ 30 × days. Dates count calendar days, and the separation date is the last day of leave. If your LES date or separation date is mid-month, your finance office's leave computation may differ by ½ day. Your command, your Service and your LES decide the real numbers.
What is terminal leave?
Terminal leave is annual leave taken just before you separate or retire. You stay on active duty, and basic pay and allowances such as BAH and BAS continue (37 U.S.C. 502(a)); special pays follow their own rules. Your separation date falls on the last day of the leave, which DoD policy says should be granted if you want it.
How terminal leave works
- Leave accrues at 2.5 days a month. A member of an armed force is entitled to leave at the rate of 2½ calendar days for each month of active service (10 U.S.C. 701(a)). For a partial month DoD credits ½ day for any period of 6 days or less (FMR Vol. 7A, ch. 35, para 2.2.2). The calculator extends that to ½ day for each further 6 days, capped at 2.5 for the month, which is our reading of the same rate. If your LES date or separation date is mid-month, your finance office's leave computation may differ by ½ day.
- Your balance is capped at each fiscal year end. A member may not accumulate more than 60 days, and leave above that is lost on September 30 unless special leave accrual applies, which allows up to 30 more days (10 U.S.C. 701(b), (e)). Special leave accrual was 60 days for service before the change in Pub. L. 117-263 section 632; DoDI 1327.06 now gives a 90-day total with a transition period that ended September 30, 2026.
- Terminal leave is the days left after you sell. Projected balance at separation = LES balance + accrual through the separation date - leave you plan to take first. Terminal leave days = that balance - days sold, rounded down to whole days.
- The separation date is the last day of leave. The instruction says the retirement or separation date must occur upon completion of the authorized terminal leave. The start date is the separation date minus the terminal leave days plus one; the last duty day is the day before.
- Leave keeps accruing. Leave taken before discharge is considered active service (10 U.S.C. 701(d)), so the days you earn during the leave are counted. The calculator shows how many of your terminal leave days come from leave not yet earned on the day the leave starts; commands treat that as advance leave, normally limited to 30 days (DoDI 1327.06, para 3.10.b).
- Pay and allowances continue. A member on authorized leave is entitled to the same pay and allowances as if not on leave (37 U.S.C. 502(a)).
- Paperwork comes first. To leave without returning to the separation site you must have your orders and have completed all administrative processing (DoDI 1327.06, para 3.10.g).
Example: separation on June 30, 2027, a 30-day balance on the LES ending October 31, 2026, 10 days sold and $5,000 monthly basic pay. Accrual to separation is 20 days, so the balance is 50 days. Selling 10 leaves 40 days of terminal leave, starting May 22, 2027 (last duty day May 21, 2027). The sale pays $5,000 ÷ 30 × 10 = $1,666.67before tax.
Selling leave vs taking terminal leave
| Item | Terminal leave | Sell-back |
|---|---|---|
| What you receive | Time off while pay and allowances continue (37 U.S.C. 502(a)). | One lump sum paid at discharge, on basic pay only (37 U.S.C. 501(b)(1); FMR para 2.2.1.1). |
| BAH and BAS | Continue as allowances on leave. | Not included in the lump sum. |
| Career limit | None on days taken; your balance and command approval set the limit. | 60 days paid over a career, less days paid before (37 U.S.C. 501(b)(3), (f)). |
| Tax | Paid as part of your regular pay. | Normally taxable with income tax withholding (FMR para 2.3.1); 22% is the IRS flat supplemental rate. |
| Leave accrual | Leave keeps accruing until separation (10 U.S.C. 701(d)). | Leave also keeps accruing, at 2.5 days a month of active service, until you separate. |
| When it fits | You want to stop working earlier or move while still on active duty. | You need to work until the separation date or have more leave than you can take. |
Fixed or movable separation date. This is planning reasoning, not a sourced rule. If your separation date is fixed, every day you work still pays basic pay plus allowances. Selling a leave day adds one thirtieth of monthly basic pay in cash on top of that, while taking the same day as leave adds no cash, only the day off. Taking leave only pays more when it lets you move a separation date that you control later: the extra days then carry basic pay plus BAH and BAS, which a sold day does not. Whether your date can move is set by your orders and your command, so ask before you plan around it. In both cases leave you do not use or sell is lost, and selling counts against the 60-day career limit.
Branch notes
Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and Space Force members all fall under 10 U.S.C. 701, 37 U.S.C. 501 and DoDI 1327.06, so the accrual rate, the 60-day limits and the sell-back formula on this page are the same for every Service. The instruction leaves the administrative and leave accounting procedures to each Secretary of a Military Department, so ask your command or personnel office for your Service's request form and lead time. This page does not list branch-specific limits because the sources above do not set any.
What the calculator does not model
- The exact day your Service charges for departure and return, or when your command must approve the dates.
- Special leave accrual, combat zone tax exclusion leave, and the Reserve Component exceptions to the 60-day limit.
- A pay raise that takes effect before your separation date: the table lookup uses 2026 rates, so type your expected basic pay for a later date.
- State income tax, Social Security and Medicare, and what DFAS actually withholds.
- Discharges under other than honorable conditions, which forfeit accrued leave (37 U.S.C. 501(e)).
Terminal leave questions
What is terminal leave in the military?
Terminal leave is annual leave taken at the end of a career. DoD policy defines it as annual leave charged to your leave account to help separating Service members with their personal affairs, also called retirement, separation or transition leave. You stay on active duty until your separation date, which falls when the authorized terminal leave ends.
How much terminal leave can I take?
As much as your leave balance at separation covers. That is your balance, plus 2.5 days for each month of active service up to your separation date, less leave you use or sell before then. Leave accrued during the terminal leave counts, because leave taken before discharge is considered active service (10 U.S.C. 701(d)). Only 60 days carry into a new fiscal year unless you qualify for special leave accrual, so a large balance has to be used or sold before September 30. Your command approves the dates.
Do you get BAH on terminal leave?
Yes, as a rule. A member on leave for no longer than the leave the law authorizes is entitled to the same pay and allowances as if not on leave (37 U.S.C. 502(a)). BAH and BAS are allowances, so they are paid the same way as on duty. BAH depends on your duty station and dependents, so ask your finance office what applies if you move during the leave.
Does leave keep accruing during terminal leave?
Yes. Under 10 U.S.C. 701(d), leave taken before discharge is considered to be active service, and you earn 2.5 days for each month of active service. That is why the calculator counts leave that accrues during the terminal leave when it works out how many days you can take. Some of those days may be advance leave when your leave starts, which commands normally limit to 30 days.
How is the leave sell-back calculated?
Unused accrued leave is paid on the basic pay you were entitled to on the date of discharge (37 U.S.C. 501(b)(1)), valued with basic pay only: no BAH, BAS or special pays (DoD FMR Vol. 7A, ch. 35, para 2.2.1.1). The FMR example values 2.5 days at $9,034.50 monthly basic pay as $752.88, which is the monthly amount divided by 30 times the days, and that is the formula the calculator uses.
What is the 60-day limit on selling leave?
The days you are paid for may not exceed 60, less the days for which you were paid in earlier discharges after February 9, 1976 (37 U.S.C. 501(b)(3) and (f)). It is a career limit on payment, not a limit on the leave you take. The statute and DoD FMR Vol. 7A, ch. 35 list exceptions, such as leave a Reserve Component member earns on contingency-operation active duty or on active duty of more than 30 and not more than 365 days, and a one-time sale of up to 30 days of special leave accrual by an enlisted member, which counts toward the 60.
Is a leave sell-back taxed?
Payments for accrued leave are normally subject to income tax and income tax withholding (DoD FMR Vol. 7A, ch. 35, para 2.3.1). IRS Publication 15 (2026) says the withholding rate on supplemental wages remains 22% (37% on supplemental wages above $1 million in a year), so the calculator shows 22% as an estimate. Leave earned in a combat zone can be exempt, up to a monthly limit for officers; the calculator does not model that. Your actual tax is settled on your return.
What is permissive TDY (PTDY) before I separate?
Permissive TDY (PTDY) is what DoDI 1327.06 calls administrative absence for job search and house hunting; it is not charged to your leave balance. It can be up to 30 days for a retiring member (including medical retirement), or for a member who volunteers to separate through a force reduction or force shaping program. Involuntary separation allows up to 20 days in CONUS and 30 in OCONUS. Members leaving at the end of a normal term of service are not eligible for the voluntary program. Unit commanders grant it, and absences over 30 days are controlled at Service headquarters (DoDI 1327.06, para 4.4).
Does terminal leave work the same in the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps?
The leave accrual, the sell-back rules and the terminal leave policy come from the same statutes and DoD instruction for every Service. The instruction says each Secretary of a Military Department establishes the administrative and leave accounting procedures, so forms, approval steps and timing are set by your Service and command. This page does not add branch-specific limits.
Do weekends and holidays count as terminal leave days?
DoD policy charges Federal holidays as leave when they fall within the effective dates of leave, and it states accrual in calendar days. The calculator therefore counts every calendar day of the leave period, weekends included, and treats the separation date as the last day of leave. The instruction does not spell out a weekend rule in so many words, and the departure and return day rules in paragraph 5.1 apply, so your command has the final count.
Military pay tools
After you separate