Military families / PCS

How to read a TLE hotel bill: itemized receipts, what to keep, who to ask

A hotel folio and an allowance claim are two different documents. This page is about the first one: what a hotel bill can show, and how to ask for it so that you can answer your own office's questions.

Hotel facts checked: ; page text edited: ; re-check scheduled by November 16, 2026. Details come from the linked hotel pages and change by date. How we check.

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Short answer

The official page we read says itemized lodging receipts are required. Ask the hotel for a folio that lists each night's room charge, taxes and each fee on its own line, keep it with your confirmation and payment record, and ask your finance or pay office what it needs. Day counts, percentages and limits change and the official page is itself inconsistent, so none appear here: check the current DTMO page.

If this is you

You are staying in a hotel during a PCS, you have been told to keep receipts, and the hotel's bill is a single total or a wall of codes. You want to know what to ask the hotel for and what to hold on to.

This page is general information compiled from public pages. It is not legal, financial or travel-entitlement advice, and the site has no affiliation with any military service or agency. Rules change: check the current DTMO page and ask your own finance or pay office.

What the official pages say, and what we did not find

Sources: the DTMO Temporary Lodging Expenses FAQ (dated December 2, 2024) and the Military OneSource Temporary Lodging Expense page, both read October 17, 2026. The Joint Travel Regulations text was not read. Rules change: check the current DTMO page.

TopicWhat the pages we read sayNot given here
What the allowance isAn allowance that partially reimburses lodging and meal expenses while in temporary lodging in the continental United States during a PCS. The page says it “may not cover all lodging and meal expenses incurred.”Your own entitlement: ask your finance or pay office.
How long it can runDepends on the new duty station. The same page gives more than one day figure, so we give none.The current figure: check the current DTMO page.
How the amount is setA percentage of the locality per diem rate. The number and age of the dependents staying in temporary lodging decide the percentage, and a daily maximum applies; the lesser of two amounts is used.The current percentages and maximum: check the current DTMO page.
ReceiptsItemized lodging receipts are required.What exactly the receipt must show beyond “itemized”: not found in sources read (the Joint Travel Regulations text was not read).
Government quartersThe page refers to a confirmation-number requirement tied to government quarters and non-availability.How to get it at your installation: not found in sources read.
Staying with friends or relativesOnly the meal portion is reimbursed, with no lodging reimbursement.Not on the page
TLE and per diem on the same dayA member may not receive both TLE and per diem for PCS travel time on the same day.Not on the page
PetsNot mentioned on the pages we read.Whether pet fees are reimbursable: not found in sources read.
Who to askMilitary OneSource says more information is available through your local pay office.Other offices: not found in sources read.

How to read the hotel's bill

This is our suggestion for reading a folio, not an official list.

  • Room charge, night by night. One line per night is easier to match to a claim than one total.
  • Taxes. Shown separately from the room charge.
  • Fees. Resort, parking, pet and similar fees on their own lines. The pages we read do not say which fees count toward the allowance: not found in sources read.
  • Meals and incidentals. Food or other purchases charged to the room should not be mixed into the room line.
  • Guest names and dates. Arrival, departure and the names registered. The official page says the number and age of dependents staying affects the amount, so the stay record matters.
  • Payment. What was paid, when and how, including deposits and refunds.
  • Corrections. If a line looks wrong, ask the hotel for a corrected folio in writing before you leave.

What to keep

Our suggestion, not an official checklist. Ask your own office what it needs.

  • The booking confirmation, with the room name and rate.
  • The itemized folio at checkout, and any corrected version.
  • Proof of payment.
  • The hotel's written replies about the room, the bed plan and any request.
  • Any confirmation number your office gives you for government quarters or non-availability, noted with the date you received it.
  • If you stay with friends or relatives for part of the move, a note of which nights, because the official page treats that case differently.

Who to ask

  • The hotel front desk or billing office for the itemized folio and any correction.
  • Your local finance or pay office for what you are owed, the current rules and what to submit. Military OneSource points to the local pay office.
  • Anyone else (a transportation, housing or lodging office): not found in sources read for what each handles.

Message to send the hotel

Email

Subject: Itemized folio request, reservation [number]

Hi,

I stayed in [exact room name] from [arrival] to [departure] under reservation [number], for 2 adults and 3 children. Could you send an itemized folio by email that shows:

1. The room charge for each night.
2. Taxes, separate from the room charge.
3. Each fee on its own line, with its name.
4. Any food or other purchases, separate from the room charge.
5. The guest names and the arrival and departure dates.
6. Every payment, deposit and refund, with dates.

If anything is corrected, please send the corrected folio and note the correction.

Thanks,
[your name]

Getting the itemized bill right starts at booking: ask for it in writing when you reserve. See PCS first week in a hotel with a family of five for the room questions, the booking confirmation checklist for the confirmation and pet-friendly hotel suites for a PCS family of five if a pet is coming.

Where each fact came from

  • Allowance description, dependents, itemized receipts, government quarters, friends and relatives, same-day rule: the DTMO Temporary Lodging Expenses FAQ (dated December 2, 2024), read October 17, 2026. The page gives more than one day figure for the same allowance; we state none.
  • Local pay office: the Military OneSource Temporary Lodging Expense page, read October 17, 2026.
  • Not read: the Joint Travel Regulations chapter, the list of locations with longer entitlement, any service-branch page.

The folio suggestions are ours, not from an official source.

Quick answers

Does this page give TLE days, percentages or a daily limit?

No. The official page we read gives more than one day figure for the same allowance, and the figures change. Check the current DTMO page and ask your finance or pay office.

Are itemized receipts required?

The DTMO page we read (dated December 2, 2024) says itemized lodging receipts are required. What the receipt must show beyond “itemized”: not found in sources read.

Who do I ask about my own claim?

Military OneSource says more information is available through your local pay office. Ask the hotel only for the itemized folio.

Are pet fees covered?

We did not find this in the pages we read. The DTMO page we read does not mention pets.