Your Leave and Earnings Statement

Your monthly LES is one of the most important financial documents you have for mastering your money and achieving your financial goals. Use the LES to budget your monthly expenses and plan for a purchase. Here’s how to decipher the code.

What is the LES exactly?

It’s your monthly report of earnings, deductions and leave balance. Your statement covers:

• Monthly base pay
• Additional entitlements, such as special pays or allowances
• Deductions
• Allotments
• Tax withholdings
• Thrift Savings Plan contributions
• Insurance deductions
• Available leave or vacation days earned

Where to access your statement

Access your LES online through the myPay system or the U.S. Coast Guard Pay & Personnel Center. You’ll need a login and password or a computer with a Common Access Card reader.

What to check regularly

Stay on top of your information — especially income and deductions. Mistakes can happen. Review these items every month and make sure they’re correct:

• Entitlements: The entitlements section shows your base pay, special or incentive pay, and allowances, like Basic Allowance for Housing or Basic Allowance for Subsistence.
• Deductions: The deductions section shows things that are deducted from your pay, including Medicare and Social Security taxes, state and federal taxes, and Thrift Savings Plan contributions.
• Allotments: The allotments section lists your allotments. An allotment is a designated amount that is automatically distributed for you — to a bank account, insurance company or other — from your pay. Be sure you know what your allotments are, who is receiving them and if/when they will be paid in full.
• Pay: The amount of money you receive is shown in two places. Your mid-month pay is listed as a deduction, and your end-of-month pay is also listed. Ensure the amount is accurate for your situation.
• TSP and life insurance: Check to be sure your TSP contributions and life insurance premiums are being properly deducted.
• Leave: Service members earn leave time throughout the year. Keep an eye on:
  • How much leave you have available
  • Leave you need to use before the end of the fiscal year
  • Any impending changes to your pay or notices from your command

Additional items to track on your LES

• Track your Social Security. Sign up for a my Social Security account to verify and track your earnings or to use the retirement estimator tool.
• Stay current on your pay. Understand when special pay — like deployment pay, hazardous duty pay and other special duty pay — is supposed to begin and when it should end.
• Mistakes happen. Regardless of who made the error, a “no pay due” could be the result. Watch for overpayments too.
• Find an error? Contact your command administration or installation finance office.