Pay and money

When your final military pay arrives

Roughly 80 percent lands in 3 to 5 days, the balance follows the final audit at 30 to 45 days, and an unresolved debt can hold the rest past 120.

Timeline for final military pay after separation. Within 3 to 5 business days of your date of separation, roughly 80 percent of your final entitlements arrive by direct deposit. The balance arrives after the final audit, generally 30 to 45 days out. If the audit finds a debt, such as an overpayment, an unsettled travel voucher, equipment owed, a bonus recoupment or a BAH adjustment, the remainder can be held 120 days or more. Your pay account stays monitored for about 20 days past your date of separation, and anything found after your bank account closes is mailed as a paper check to the address on your DD-214, so that address must be current. Pull your last few LES statements and ask finance about open debts before your date of separation.

Download PNG Download SVG Read the full guide

You can use this

Put it in a brief, a TAP class, a unit newsletter, a VSO handout or your own site. No permission needed and nothing to fill out. Credit it with a link so readers can find the source and check the numbers themselves. Do not sell it on its own, and do not edit the figures and leave our name on it.

The PNG is the one to use for slides, email and anything that will not render an SVG. Grab the SVG if you need it sharp at any size.

Credit line

Source: When your final military pay arrives — Military Transition Toolkit (https://www.militarytransitiontoolkit.com/diagrams/final-military-pay-timeline)

Embed snippet

<figure>
  <img src="https://www.militarytransitiontoolkit.com/diagrams/final-military-pay-timeline.png"
       alt="Timeline for final military pay after separation. Within 3 to 5 business days of your date of separation, roughly 80 percent of your final entitlements arrive by direct deposit. The balance arrives after the final audit, generally 30 to 45 days out. If the audit finds a debt, such as an overpayment, an unsettled travel voucher, equipment owed, a bonus recoupment or a BAH adjustment, the remainder can be held 120 days or more. Your pay account stays monitored for about 20 days past your date of separation, and anything found after your bank account closes is mailed as a paper check to the address on your DD-214, so that address must be current. Pull your last few LES statements and ask finance about open debts before your date of separation."
       width="720" height="430">
  <figcaption>
    When your final military pay arrives. Source:
    <a href="https://www.militarytransitiontoolkit.com/diagrams/final-military-pay-timeline">Military Transition Toolkit</a>
  </figcaption>
</figure>

Where this comes from

This diagram is drawn from When your final military paycheck actually arrives, which cites the regulations and rate tables behind every figure shown here. If a rate changes, the guide and the diagram are updated together.

All diagrams