ETS Balance on your LES is the number of leave days you’ll have accumulated by the time your enlistment ends. It takes your current leave balance and adds the 2.5 days per month you’ll continue to earn between now and your Expiration Term of Service (ETS) date, giving you a projected total so you can plan ahead.
How ETS Balance Differs From Current Balance
Your LES shows two important leave numbers. Your Current Balance (labeled “CR Bal”) reflects leave earned through the current pay period minus any leave you’ve already used. It’s a snapshot of what you have right now. Your ETS Balance looks forward, projecting how many days you’ll have banked by the end of your contract if you don’t take any more leave between now and then.
The math behind your current balance is straightforward: your brought-forward balance plus days earned minus days used. The ETS balance builds on that by adding future accruals. Since you earn 2.5 days of leave per month, someone with 12 months left on their contract would see an ETS balance roughly 30 days higher than their current balance, assuming they take no additional leave.
Why Your ETS Balance Matters
This number is your planning tool for the end of your enlistment. When you separate from the military, you have two options for unused leave: take terminal leave (using your remaining days as paid time off before your official separation date) or sell it back for cash. The ETS balance tells you approximately how many days you’ll have to work with.
If you’re considering terminal leave, a higher ETS balance means more time off before your separation date, which many service members use to start a job search, relocate, or decompress. If you’d rather have the money, you can sell back unused days, though the lifetime cap is 60 days across your entire military career, not per enlistment. Each sold day is paid at your base pay rate divided by 30.
Selling Back Leave at Separation
When your ETS arrives, you can choose to receive a lump sum payment for some or all of your unused leave, up to that 60-day career maximum. You can also split the difference: take some days as terminal leave and sell back the rest. If you re-enlist or extend, unused accrued leave carries forward into your new contract, and any days you previously sold back still count toward your 60-day lifetime limit.
Leave earned in a combat zone gets a tax advantage. If you sell back days accrued during combat service, that income is excluded from federal income tax. Leave earned outside a combat zone is taxed as regular income when sold back. Either way, Social Security and Medicare taxes still apply.
When the Number Looks Wrong
Your ETS balance is only as accurate as the data behind it. A few things can throw it off. If your ETS date was recently extended or changed through re-enlistment paperwork that hasn’t fully processed, the projection may still reflect your old separation date. Leave that was used but not yet posted to your record will also inflate the number. Conversely, if approved leave was entered incorrectly or duplicated, your balance could appear lower than expected.
The Department of Defense requires that accrued leave be “carefully accounted for and accurately identified as to the time and circumstances under which it was earned.” In practice, administrative delays happen. If your ETS balance doesn’t match your own calculations, compare it against your leave records in your branch’s personnel system. Your finance office or unit admin can correct discrepancies, and it’s worth resolving them well before your separation date so your terminal leave or sellback isn’t delayed.
Where to Find It on Your LES
On an active duty Army LES, the ETS balance appears in field 29, labeled “ETS BAL.” Other branches use similar formatting, though the exact field number may vary slightly. It sits in the leave section alongside your brought-forward balance, days earned, days used, and current balance. Reviewing this section each month helps you catch errors early and keeps your separation planning on track.
You can access your LES through myPay, the Defense Finance and Accounting Service portal. Statements are posted monthly, and keeping a few months of records on hand makes it easier to spot unexpected changes in your leave accounting.