How to Make a PPM Pay: Legal DITY Move Profit

• Obtain DD Form 2278 and Transportation Office counseling before moving any household goods.
• Every trip requires 2 certified tickets: one tare ticket and one gross ticket.
• DD Form 2278 requires acceptable weight tickets within 45 days from the start of the move.
• DFAS states that PPM incentive pay is subject to 22% federal withholding treatment.
• Report PPM advances in Block 9 of DD Form 1351-2 and submit operating expenses on the separate OPE worksheet.

Your incentive check is not your profit

A Personally Procured Move pays an incentive based on the Government’s calculated cost to move your authorized household goods. It does not reimburse whatever you choose to spend. Your legal profit is the amount left after moving expenses and taxes:

Gross PPM incentive − actual moving costs − taxes attributable to the incentive = net economic gain

A large settlement can produce little profit. Rent an oversized truck, buy reusable equipment that does not qualify as an operating expense, lose receipts, or submit bad weight tickets, and the gap between your incentive and your costs can disappear.

The older term “DITY move” still appears on forms and in local instructions. The current term is Personally Procured Move, or PPM. The process is the same under either name: obtain authorization first, document legitimate household-goods weight, control costs, and submit every allowable operating expense.

Weight manipulation is fraud, not a profit strategy. Carrying another person’s property, adding unauthorized material, leaving passengers in the vehicle during weighing, or changing the vehicle configuration between tickets can invalidate your claim and expose you to collection or disciplinary action.

How the Transportation Office computes your payment

Your rental bill does not determine your incentive. Neither does a commercial moving quote you found online. The Transportation Office calculates a constructive cost—the amount the Government calculates for moving the verified weight over the authorized route under the applicable rates.

Your calculation follows this sequence:

1. You receive PPM counseling and an authorized DD Form 2278 before executing the move.
2. You obtain an empty, or tare, weight and a loaded, or gross, weight.
3. Gross weight minus tare weight produces the actual PPM shipment weight.
4. The Transportation Office applies the lower controlling amount: verified actual weight or the authorized weight allowance available to the shipment.
5. The office calculates and certifies the constructive cost and final incentive on DD Form 2278.
6. Any advance operating allowance is reconciled against the final entitlement.

DD Form 2278 expresses transportation rates by hundredweight. One CWT equals 100 pounds. You do not need to calculate the official rate yourself, but you should understand why your estimate changes when the certified weight changes.

Get the exact incentive percentage in effect from your Transportation Office and current DD Form 2278 counseling. Do not build your moving budget around an unsupported claim that every PPM automatically pays a particular percentage of the Government’s cost. Your final amount depends on certified weight, your entitlement ceiling, the authorized route and rates, accepted documentation, and the Transportation Office calculation.

Weight above your allowance produces no additional incentive. If your estimated shipment is near the limit, ask the Transportation Office to show the controlling allowance on DD Form 2278 before you sign a rental contract.

Get DD Form 2278 before loading the first box

Starting the move before counseling is one of the most expensive preventable mistakes. A rental reservation is not PPM authorization. PCS orders alone are not PPM authorization either.

Complete these steps before moving property:

1. Take your PCS orders and amendments to the servicing Transportation Office.
2. State whether you want a full PPM or a partial PPM combined with a Government-arranged shipment.
3. Confirm the household-goods weight allowance available for the PPM portion.
4. Receive counseling and DD Form 2278.
5. Ask where your completed settlement package must be submitted. The correct finance channel differs by service.
6. Confirm how any requested advance will be reported and later reconciled.

The Transportation Office must calculate and certify DD Form 2278. A rental company, scale operator, or member-created spreadsheet cannot substitute for that certification. If you are unsure which office handles your service’s claim, use the DFAS travel-pay customer-service routing guidance instead of sending the package directly to an assumed DFAS address.

Get two certified weight tickets for every trip

You need one certified empty ticket and one certified loaded ticket for every trip. Three trips require three empty tickets and three loaded tickets. One ticket pair cannot substantiate several loads.

Use a Government, public, or commercial certified scale. Under the currently posted DD Form 2278, each ticket must show:

• Your name.
• Your rank or grade.
• Your Social Security number.
• The weighmaster’s signature.
• The certified vehicle weight.

Follow your Transportation Office’s instructions for protecting personally identifiable information while meeting the form requirement. Do not independently remove a required identifier from the scale ticket.

Keep the vehicle setup consistent for both weighings:

• Attach the trailer to the prime mover for both weighings.
• Weigh the entire unit at the same time.
• Remove all passengers before each weighing.
• Use matching vehicle and trailer configurations for the empty and loaded tickets.
• Keep legible copies of every original ticket.

Your verified shipment weight is calculated as follows:

Certified gross weight − certified tare weight = verified shipment weight

The difference must represent authorized household goods. The towing vehicle itself, passengers, and property you are not authorized to claim do not become payable household-goods weight merely because they appear on a scale.

DD Form 2278 requires you to furnish the two tickets within 45 days from the start of the move. The form warns that an incentive may not be payable without acceptable tickets and required documents. If you received an advance, missing documentation can also result in collection from your pay.

Cut costs without weakening your claim

You increase the spread legally in two ways: move legitimate household goods up to the allowance available to you, and spend less to move them. You usually have more control over the second part.

Get written prices for the complete move, not only the advertised daily rental rate. Compare mileage charges, fuel requirements, environmental fees, trailer charges, insurance, tolls, and required equipment. A lower truck rate can cost more after mileage and fuel are added.

Use boxes, totes, pads, and tie-downs you already own when practical. If you buy reusable equipment, DFAS may not accept it as an operating expense. Borrowing equipment can lower your real cost even when buying the same item would not have lowered your taxable income.

Hired labor can qualify as an operating expense, but you need an itemized paid receipt. An undocumented cash payment is difficult to support. Keep the same level of documentation for tolls, fuel, scale fees, and packing supplies.

Separate PPM expenses from personal PCS purchases. A receipt containing fuel for the truck, snacks, household supplies, and unrelated purchases creates avoidable review problems. Use separate transactions when possible.

Build the move into your household cash plan before reserving equipment. A written low-income budgeting method can work for a PCS because it forces you to assign cash to deposits, fuel, tolls, and the period before settlement arrives.

Operating expenses reduce taxable income, not the gross incentive

DFAS calls deductible PPM costs Operating Expenses, or OPE. Accepted OPE generally reduce the taxable amount generated by the incentive. They are not an extra dollar-for-dollar reimbursement added to your settlement.

The DFAS PPM claim guidance identifies these common categories:

Submit the OPE worksheet if you want accepted costs applied against taxable incentive income. Keep itemized, paid receipts. A bank statement proves money left your account, but it may not establish what you purchased.

DFAS states that PPM incentive pay is taxed at 22%. This is the federal withholding treatment stated on its PPM page, not a guarantee that your final income-tax liability will equal 22%. Your final liability depends on your complete tax return.

DFAS mails a W-2 for the tax year in which you receive the payment. Its current guidance says this PPM W-2 is not available through myPay. Keep your mailing address current, and retain the settlement documents with your tax records.

Use a partial PPM for the load you can move cheaply

A partial PPM lets the Government-arranged carrier handle part of your household goods while you personally transport another portion. DD Form 2278 provides for a Government-arranged shipment, identified as GBL/van, and a DITY/PPM.

This arrangement often makes sense when you can move a dense, manageable load cheaply but do not want to handle bulky furniture, difficult appliances, or the entire household. You preserve Government-arranged transportation for the hard shipment and pursue an incentive on the separately documented PPM portion.

Use this sequence:

1. Tell the Transportation Office you want a Government-arranged shipment and a partial PPM.
2. Ask the office to identify how much of your authorized allowance remains available for the PPM.
3. Obtain DD Form 2278 authorization for the personally moved portion.
4. Keep the Government carrier’s shipment process separate.
5. Obtain independent tare and gross tickets for every personally moved load.
6. Return to the Transportation Office for calculation and certification.
7. Submit the completed PPM settlement package through the directed channel.

A partial PPM does not create a second household-goods allowance. The carrier shipment and PPM cannot each use your full allowance. Have the Transportation Office establish the remaining PPM weight before you load.

Keep the Government carrier’s weight separate from your scale tickets. You cannot claim an incentive for goods transported by the Government-arranged carrier.

Build a settlement package finance can process

The current DFAS package list includes:

• DD Form 1351-2, completed and signed by the reviewing official.
• PCS orders and every amendment.
• DD Form 2278, calculated and certified by the Transportation Office.
• Certified gross and tare tickets.
• OPE worksheet when reducing taxable income.
• Paid rental agreement.
• Vehicle registration when required for a POV or boat-and-trailer arrangement.
• A Housing Relocation form for a local PPM when required by DFAS instructions.

Complete DD Form 1351-2 with these PPM-specific entries:

1. In Block 5, select “Other” and enter “PPM.”
2. Enter the order number in Block 8.
3. Report advances and previous payments in Block 9.
4. In Block 15, cross out the itinerary area and enter “DITY” or “PPM.”
5. Leave Block 18 blank and report expenses on the separate OPE worksheet.
6. Sign and date Block 20, then obtain the Transportation Office reviewer’s signature and date.

Use the official DD Form 1351-2 PPM instructions while preparing the voucher. EFT is mandatory. Verify the travel-payment bank account instead of assuming your regular payroll direct-deposit information controls. Keep that account open until payment clears.

Scan the complete signed package before submission. Include the backs of documents if they contain markings. Keep the originals, legible digital copies, and proof showing when and where you submitted the claim.

Mistakes that reduce payment or delay settlement

Handle smaller relocation tasks separately after assembling the claim. Update Lifeline within the required timeframe if your household uses it; the Lifeline moving-address guide explains the 30-day reporting issue. If a PCS also involves changing phone platforms, complete the move before deleting a cellular profile and use the iPhone-to-Android eSIM transfer steps.

Take your orders to the Transportation Office, request DD Form 2278 counseling, and get the office’s written estimate and weight ceiling before reserving the truck.

Questions people actually ask

How much profit can I make from a PPM or DITY move?

There is no guaranteed profit amount. Your net gain is the gross incentive calculated by the Transportation Office minus your actual moving costs and taxes attributable to the incentive. Certified weight, your authorized allowance, route and rates, accepted operating expenses, and vendor costs all affect the result. Ask for a DD Form 2278 estimate before reserving equipment, but treat that number as an estimate.

Are PPM incentive payments taxed at 22%?

DFAS states that PPM incentive pay is taxed at 22%. Accepted operating expenses can reduce the taxable incentive amount when you submit the OPE worksheet and supporting receipts. The 22% figure describes DFAS withholding treatment; it does not guarantee your final federal tax liability. DFAS mails a separate W-2 for the year you receive payment, and current guidance says it is not available through myPay.

Do I need empty and loaded weight tickets for every PPM trip?

Yes. Every trip needs its own certified tare ticket and certified gross ticket. Use a Government, public, or commercial scale, keep the trailer attached, weigh the complete unit, and remove passengers. The currently posted DD Form 2278 requires member identifiers and the weighmaster’s signature. You must furnish acceptable tickets within 45 days from the start of the move.

Can I do a partial PPM if the Government moves my furniture?

Yes. A partial PPM combines a Government-arranged shipment with a separately authorized personally procured shipment. Obtain DD Form 2278 before moving your portion and use separate weight tickets. A partial PPM does not create a second household-goods allowance, so ask the Transportation Office to identify the remaining weight available after accounting for the Government shipment.

Do PPM expenses get reimbursed in addition to the incentive?

Generally, no. DFAS treats documented allowable costs as Operating Expenses that reduce taxable incentive income rather than as an extra dollar-for-dollar reimbursement. Examples include truck rental, fuel, tolls, packing materials, hired labor, and scale fees. Meals, lodging, storage, routine maintenance, extra drivers, and most reusable purchased equipment are not allowable PPM operating expenses.

What forms do I need for a DITY move settlement?

The standard package includes DD Form 1351-2, PCS orders and amendments, Transportation Office-certified DD Form 2278, certified tare and gross tickets, a paid rental agreement, and the OPE worksheet when claiming operating expenses. Vehicle registration may also be required for certain arrangements. Both you and the Transportation Office reviewer must sign and date the required portions of DD Form 1351-2.