You earn 30 days of paid leave a year, and you can carry up to 60 days into the next fiscal year. New parents get 12 weeks of parental leave that does not count against regular leave. Knowing the rules keeps you from losing days.
What it is
Military leave is paid vacation. You earn 2.5 days a month, which is 30 days a year. Weekends and holidays count as leave days if they fall inside your leave period.
Other types of time off:
- Parental leave: Up to 12 weeks of non-chargeable leave after the birth or adoption of a child, or a long-term foster placement. It does not come out of your regular leave.
- Convalescent leave: Non-chargeable time to recover from illness, injury or surgery, approved by a doctor and your commander.
- Emergency leave: Regular leave approved quickly for family emergencies. The Red Cross can verify an emergency for your command.
- Permissive TDY (PTDY): Time off that does not count as leave for things like house hunting before a PCS or job hunting before retirement.
- Passes: Short periods off, like a three- or four-day weekend, that do not count as leave.
Who gets it
All active duty members earn leave. Guard and Reserve members earn 2.5 days a month while on active duty orders. Drilling reservists can get up to 12 inactive duty parental leave periods and up to 6 maternity leave periods.
How to use it
- Track your balance on your LES. It shows days earned, used and what you will lose if you do not use them.
- Use leave before September 30. Anything over 60 days is lost at the start of the new fiscal year unless you have Special Leave Accrual.
- Plan parental leave with your command. You can usually take it in more than one block. Today, it must be used within one year of the birth or adoption.
2025-2026 changes
- Parental leave window. The FY2026 NDAA allows up to two years to use parental leave if you could not use it in the first year because of a deployment, school, a PCS with TDY, routine TDY or a hospital stay lasting 90 days or more. The services are putting this into effect now, so check with your personnel office.
- Special Leave Accrual (SLA). If you could not take leave because of a deployment or mission, SLA lets you carry more than 60 days. Members who were above 90 days at the end of 2022 have until September 30, 2026 to use the extra. Check the remarks on your LES.
What people miss
- Selling leave. You can sell back up to 60 days over your whole career, when you reenlist, extend or separate. It is paid at basic pay only, without allowances. Using leave is often worth more.
- Terminal leave. Saved leave can be used at the end of service, so you start a civilian job while still getting military pay.
- Lost days are gone. Every year, many troops lose days over 60. Plan ahead.
Related
See Space-A Travel for cheap trips, Child Care and Youth Programs for new parents, and Guard and Reserve Benefits.
Related benefits
- Basic Pay and the 2026 Pay RaiseBasic pay is the core of your paycheck and the number most other benefits are based on. Troops got a 3.8% raise in January 2026. Knowing how basic pay works helps you read your LES and plan for retirement.
- BAH and BAS: Your Housing and Food AllowancesBAH helps pay for housing and BAS helps pay for food, and neither one is taxed. For 2026, BAH rose an average of 4.2% and BAS rose 2.4%. These tax-free dollars are a big part of what you really earn.
- Special Pays, Bonuses and Military Tax BreaksBeyond basic pay, many troops earn extra pay for where they serve or what they do. Combined with tax-free allowances, the combat zone tax exclusion and state residency rules, the military gives you more ways to cut your tax bill than most people realize.
- TRICARE Health Plans and 2026 CostsTRICARE is the military health program. Active duty families pay no enrollment fees for Prime or Select, while retirees pay yearly fees that rose for 2026. Pharmacy copays also went up on January 1, 2026.
Last reviewed 2026-11. Not affiliated with the Department of Defense. Confirm current rates with your finance office or the official source.