There are several transfer allowances that you might be eligible for when you’re heading off to post, but I’m going to focus on the two (and a half) allowances that are most used and most versatile: the Advance of Pay allowance (aka interest-free loan) and the Foreign Transfer Allowance (FTA or free money). These can save you a ton of money as you spend thousands getting overseas, or can give you a little extra cash if you play your cards right. See how after the jump.

Advance of Pay

The Advance of Pay loan is one of my favorite things about transferring. Within 45 days before and 60 days after arriving to post, you can get up to 6 paychecks up front. You should take this loan in ALMOST EVERY CASE. If nothing else, drop it in a high-yield savings account and earn interest on it. Here’s what you do:

Get form JF-55 and your most recent paystub. Though you’re allowed your gross pay minus mandatory deductions (e.g. taxes or FEHB), it’s easiest to just do your net pay. Take that, multiply it by six, and that’s the maximum you can request. You’ll be repaying this over the next 18 pay periods, so make sure you’re still going to have enough on each paycheck to be happy. As an example, if you net $2000 per check, you can request up to $12,000 as an interest free loan to help you cover your moving costs (I’ll talk in a later post about deducting those from your taxes). Of course, over the next 3/4 of a year, your paycheck will have an additional $667 cut out of it. You know what, I LOVE that. Why? If you spend half of your advance and sock the rest in a savings account with a 3% APY, you get ~$300 of free interest. As a bonus, you get used to living at a reduced pay rate, so when that pay jumps after you pay it down, you’ll be able to save more. This is especially useful when you take differentials into account that could cut that $667 down to $550 or less in net reduction. Mmm…money.

You have to fill your JF-55 out in QUADRUPLE and, if in DC, take it to HST Room 1603. If you’re at post, take it to HR and they’ll sort you out. Funds get deposited in the same account as your paychecks. NOTE: In most cases, you can’t take this advance if you have other outstanding advances (including advanced TDY funds).

Foreign Transfer Allowance (FTA)

If you know John Dinkleman, this is what he always referred to as your $1000 bonus. Truth is, it can be much more or much less. The FTA is actually several different things wrapped up into one. The most common is the Miscellaneous expense portion. If you don’t feel like tallying things up, you get $500 if you’re single and $1000 if you’re with a family. That’s it. Seriously. If your costs are over that and you keep your receipts, you can get up to $3400. The regs are available on the state.gov internet site, but the three biggest charges are the cost the airlines charge you for actually carrying your pet(s) [no agent or quarantine fees], removal/installation of car parts (e.g. catalytic converter) required by your move, and utility disconnect fees. Chat among yourselves about what you think about pets getting reimbursed but not MOHs. So, you’re saving all of your receipts and you’ll use the DS-240 worksheet to calculate your allowance.

If you’re currently posted to the U.S. (i.e. not on per diem), you also get the 10-day pre-departure per diem. It’s designed to help you pack out without sleeping on a cold, cement floor. Coincidentally, it’s the best damn per diem you get in the foreign service. The employee gets 100% of lodging and M&IE for the city where you’re at. But wait, there’s more. EACH MEMBER OF YOUR FAMILY gets 75% if they’re over 12 and 50% if they’re under. So, if you’re married you could be getting $400/night for a hotel. That’s good living.

You’ll have to file the SF-1190 to get all the funds. I recommend doing the loan pre-departure and filing the miscellaneous expense portion after getting to post.

The Overseas Briefing Center has a good chapter on this in their “What do I do now?” guidebook. Fortunately, it comes up on a Google Search, and can be found here.

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