Understanding the Military's DITY Move Calculator

If you are approaching your first military move you will want to gain a solid understanding of the military DITY move calculator. The DITY move calculator is a tool for estimating both the costs of a military DITY move (also known as the Personally Procured Move, or PPM) and the anticipated reimbursement for that move.  You can think of the DITY move calculator as an app or a piece of easy to use software.

In every case, as you approach a DITY/ Personally Procured move you should begin by meeting with a counselor from your base’s personal property office.  Don’t act without approval since this might result in a failure to be reimbursed for the move.

At this meeting you’ll learn what your moving limits are.  These are based on your rank and years of service, among other factors.  You’ll learn what your maximum allowable moving weight is. You will also be shown the Government Constructed Cost (GCC), which is the amount it would cost the government to move your personal property in a full-service government procured move. This gives you an idea what you might save making a DITY move.

The DITY moving calculator comes into play as a tool to estimate the weight of your personal property and the expense to move it.  The DITY move calculator tabulates all the criteria involved, including time, distance, rank, family members and other factors. The results give a solid, accurate estimate of the cost of your individual move. This will inform you of how much to allocate for a DITY move including out-of-pocket expenses and what additional moving services you may be able to purchase.  Based on the results from the DITY move calculator, you’ll be able to decide if a full-service government procured move is better or if you can manage a DITY move to come out ahead.

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Moving is an inherent part of being in the military.  Most military families make a permanent change of station (PCS) every 2 to 3 years and that does not include temporary duty assignments (TDY) or deployments.  Members of the military and their families get very good at moving.  In fact, many of them successfully make do it yourself (DITY) moves for many of their assignments.  With proper planning and tools like a DITY move calculator, doing a move yourself can actually make you money. 

If you are in the military, the government will pay a professional moving company to pack and move you.  For most assignments, you could alternatively choose to handle the move yourself.  That means you could either hire a professional moving company of your choosing, or utilize portable storage containers, a rental truck or your personally owned vehicle (POV) to do the move yourself.  The government will reimburse you for 90 percent or more of what it would have cost them to move you.  Get out your DITY move calculator, because your wallet could benefit if you are willing to do the legwork involved. 

The first thing to do before you start plugging away with an online DITY move calculator to find out how much you could be reimbursed, is to make an appointment with your transportation management office (the name differs from service to service) on base.  During that counseling session, your moving options will be discussed.  The government will not reimburse you if you make an unauthorized DITY move.  Additionally, you will find out what your maximum allowable weight limit is.  That limit, which is based on things like rank and number of dependents, is key when you start working with figures via a DITY move calculator.  The government will not pay for anything above that weight limit.  You can either work with the counselor at that initial appointment or use an online DITY move calculator to estimate what you would be reimbursed for a DITY move.  Take those figures from your DITY move calculator and compare them with the amount of work involved with handling a move yourself.  If you and your family are up for it, start planning. 

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Your first military move can cause a little anxiety, if you do not know what to expect.  And, truth be told, even those who have been through it many times still get a little nervous before a pending military move.  But knowing how it all works can help lower your stress level and help you get organized.

The first thing to do once you receive your orders is to make an appointment for a counseling session with your transportation or relocation office on base (the name of the office differs from service to service).  During this initial counseling session, your options for your military move will be discussed, as well as your maximum allowable weight for your household goods (HHG).  Household goods are the belongings you plan to move.  That weight limit is important to know, since the government will not pay to move anything beyond that limit.  Your maximum allowable weight limit for your military move is based on things like rank, number of dependents and location.

You have three options for a military move, which will also be discussed during that counseling session.  You can have the government move you, handle the move yourself or do a combination of those.  If you choose to have the government handle everything, a professional moving company will be hired and paid for by the government.  They will pack and move you.  You do not pay for anything.  If you choose to do the move yourself, known as a DITY (do It yourself) move or PPM (personally procured move), you will initially pay the cost of the move and the government will reimburse you for 90 percent or more of what it would have cost them to move you.  If you do it right, you can end up making money with a DITY military move.  That is the reason it is a popular option for many people when they PCS.  You can either seek out and hire a professional moving company of your choosing or handle the move yourself via self service movers, a rental truck or your personally owned vehicle (POV).  The last option is a partial DITY move, which combines the first two options.  Again, it is important to meet with your transportation office first before making any decisions about how you plan to move.  There are some assignments for which a DITY military move is not recommended.  And you need to have authorization to do DITY move, or the government will not reimburse you.

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