Posted on Feb 26, 2020
What is the math equation for selling leave days back to the army?
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What formula do I use to see how much I will get back for selling my leave days for an ETS
Posted 6 y ago
Responses: 8
Suspended Profile
If you’re ETS’ing why would you sell leave? Just take it as terminal leave and then you get BAH/BAS if you’re eligible
SFC Ralph E Kelley
I took 90 days when I retired and still had to sell back 21 days when I had to come back to clear post.
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You take your base pay, without BAH, BAS, BAQ, Jump pay, combat pay etc and divide by 30. Then take that number and multiply by the number of legally allowable days you want to sell back.
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SSG Brian G.
SGT (Join to see) - No NOT wrong. A SM in their career can sell back a certain amount, but when they are getting out... ETSing.... they cannot be forced to take any remaining leave. They can sell it back and get a lump sum. YOU are wrong. The Army is not going to just say nope, you sold back the most you can and screw them. Not how it works.
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in simple terms, you would lose $ if/when you sell your leave. Better off take all your days and get your $$$$
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MSG Gary Eckert
The terms aren't so simple. With your method, the Soldier ends up with less money since if you work instead of taking terminal leave you will receive pay pay and benefits during that period plus the base pay for the leave that is being sold. The down side is you have to work during that period.
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SSG Brian G.
MSG Gary Eckert - Incorrect. It is terminal leave. He is not "working" he is on leave, his time. He gets paid for that time to include any extras for BAH, BAS, BAQ etc as he or she is eligible.
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MSG Gary Eckert
Let me see if I can make this easy. If you ETS is on 31 December and you have 30 days of leave. You can take the leave depart on 1 Dec and be paid base pay plus allowance s while you are on leave. You can work during December, leave on 31 December and be paid the same base pay plus allowances as if you took transition leave. Then you receive base pay for an additional thirty days when you cash in your leave.
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There are very narrow cases where it is to your advantage to sell leave vs taking it. For example, taxes payable in your current location vs where you are moving to. Perhaps end of tax year considerations, or where most of the year was spent in a tax exclusion zone. But outside of that, you will make far more money, especially if you get BAH now, if you take the leave vs selling it.
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SPC (Join to see)
So I have a Dod Civilian job set up back in the states, I don’t want it to effect when I can start. I just don’t know if I’m able to still be getting paid by the army and whatever the dod civilian pay silystem is I want to make sure I’m doing the right thing
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1SG (Join to see)
SPC (Join to see) - Should be irrelevant. In fact if you play your cards right you can take military leave from your civilian job - you are allotted three weeks of it - and get paid twice while you make the transition, moving, etc. It would take some communication, but worth a try.
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LTC (Join to see)
SPC (Join to see) - I did that after a deployment. I am a DoD employee. due to dwell time and some weird OIF/OEF rules, I wound up with 112 days of leave when I got back from Iraq the last time. Took terminal leave of 112 days, stayed home for 22 days and then went back to work and double dipped for 3 months.
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Is there a reason you are wanting to sell your leave back rather than just take it? By selling it back you actually lose money. Sure you get a lump sum up front once you sign the dotted line and finish out processing but consider this instead.
Let's say you have 45 days accrued at the point where you decide you want to get out of the ARMY. You could sell it all and get a lump sum but it would be devoid of BAH, BAQ, BAS and any other extras.
Or, you take those 45 days. This means that all during that time, YOUR time, not the Army's you get paid just like you are now. You get your paychecks coming in and it allows that you can relax or go start another job as a civilian and get two streams of income. Additionally, you are earning extra days that apply at the end of your ETS leave time.
It's all in what you want to do here. You are getting out, make the Army work for you, not the other way around.
Let's say you have 45 days accrued at the point where you decide you want to get out of the ARMY. You could sell it all and get a lump sum but it would be devoid of BAH, BAQ, BAS and any other extras.
Or, you take those 45 days. This means that all during that time, YOUR time, not the Army's you get paid just like you are now. You get your paychecks coming in and it allows that you can relax or go start another job as a civilian and get two streams of income. Additionally, you are earning extra days that apply at the end of your ETS leave time.
It's all in what you want to do here. You are getting out, make the Army work for you, not the other way around.
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Exactly if you can get them place you on terminal leave that is best option... I had to cash in 49 days of earned leave when I was attached to a AC unit in support of OIF/OEF and I was supposed to get another set of orders that were right at the end of these orders for my next overseas deployment with my Guard unit. I literally was promised this would occur right up to 4 days prior when I was told nope you have to out process and they could not place me on terminal leave based on type of orders I was on. This sucked as approx 20 days later my next official deployment orders came. Not only did I lose out on the BAH and other perks that could have enjoyed with the terminal leave. It was during the period with deployments to Iraq so this break in service costed me some additional leave that I could had at the end of that tour along with I lost out on getting my pension another 6 months earlier when I am able to draw the benefits. Now that I am looking at my projected monthly retirement amount , that 6 months really tossed more salt in a wound that was somewhat healed. Remember to take your earned leave never unless you are in a situation like I was in should you be faced to cash out leave.
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