How much TLA will I get at Ramstein Air Base?

Your ceiling is a percentage of the Ramstein locality rate, and that rate is currently $229.00 lodging plus $133.00 M&IE per day (DTMO OCONUS per diem, Change 727). The percentage is not the same for both. A service member arriving alone draws 100 percent of the lodging rate but only 65 percent of M&IE. With one dependent it is 100 percent of lodging and 100 percent of M&IE, and each further dependent adds 35 percent aged 12 and over or 25 percent under 12. Those figures are DoD FMR Volume 7A, Chapter 68, Table 68-11. Lodging is reimbursed against your receipts up to that ceiling and unused ceiling is forfeited; M&IE is paid without a receipt, so what you do not spend is yours. Put your own family into the calculator above for your figure.

Do two service members married to each other get a different rate?

Yes, and it is the single most common misunderstanding about TLA. Table 68-11 pays a percentage to each service member, not one percentage to the couple, so a mil-to-mil couple files two separate TLA claims - 65 percent of the lodging rate and 65 percent of M&IE each when you lodge together. Under FMR 2.2.1 neither of you is the other's civilian spouse, so nobody fills the 100 percent dependent slot. If you share one apartment you still need itemised receipts that support both claims - a single invoice in one name leaves the other claim unpaid (FMR 6.2.3.2.1). We issue split invoices for mil-to-mil couples as a matter of course.

What happens if KMCC Lodging will not give me a Non-Availability letter?

Your TLA does not stop. Under FMR 4.4.2 your lodging reimbursement is capped at what government quarters on base would have cost, instead of at the percentage of the locality rate - so the ceiling drops, but the entitlement continues and M&IE is untouched. The calculator above shows both figures: switch the Non-Availability letter off and you see exactly what the cap costs you. Ask the lodging desk for the denial in writing either way; Finance will want it in the file.

Does a kitchen reduce my meals allowance?

It can, on paper. FMR 6.3.4.1 permits the approving official to reduce the M&IE portion when kitchen facilities are available. In fifteen years of KMC practice we have not seen it applied to a TLA claim here - every one of our apartments has a full kitchen and our guests have been paid the full M&IE rate. But the decision belongs to your Finance office, not to us, and we will not promise you an outcome they control. If yours raises it, ask for the reduction in writing and bring it to us.

How many VAT forms does my stay need?

One NF-1 form covers up to 2,499.99 EUR net per transaction, so a normal TLA stay needs several of them, issued in blocks. The first form has to be with us within 7 days of check-in, and every further invoice needs its own form before the invoice is written - a VAT form handed over afterwards cannot be applied to an invoice that already exists. The form fee itself is a reimbursable TLA expense. The calculator works out how many forms your stay needs.

How long do I have to find a house?

DoD allows TLA for up to 60 days at a permanent duty station. In the KMC, Housing works with an initial 30-day period and then extends in 10-day increments, each one applied for and approved separately. Apply before the current period runs out - a lapsed period is a gap you will not be paid for, even if the extension is later approved. Bring your house-hunting log to every extension appointment.

Can I turn down a house I do not like?

No - turning down suitable housing ends your TLA. Pets, furniture that will not fit, the school district and the size of the home are explicitly not grounds for an extension, and Housing records the refusal. That is why we keep our own permanent rentals in Bruchmuehlbach-Miesau and Lambsborn, with a Housing-approved lease ready to sign: it puts you in a position to accept a home rather than refuse one, and your TLA runs to its natural end instead of being cut short.

Mil-to-Mil TLA at Ramstein: 65 % Each, Not 65 % Together

Mil-to-Mil TLA: Why Two Service Members Get 65 % Each – and Why One Invoice Can Cost You a Claim

If you and your spouse are both active duty and PCSing to Ramstein together, your TLA is computed differently from every other household — and the difference is worth knowing before either of you files.

The rule most summaries skip

DoD FMR Volume 7A, Chapter 68, Table 68-11 has a row most summaries skip: „Service member couples (total two persons — percentage each when lodging together): 65 / 65.“ The word that matters is each. The row below it — member and one dependent, 100 % together — does not apply to you, because under paragraph 2.2.1 an active-duty spouse is not a dependent. And paragraph 6.2.3.1.7 spells out that the 100 % rate belongs to the member and a non-service-member spouse.

The arithmetic at Ramstein rates

At $229 lodging and $133 M&IE, effective 1 September 2026:

	Lodging ceiling	M&IE
Each of you	$229 × 65 % = $148.85	$133 × 65 % = $86.45
Together	$297.70	$172.90

That is $470.60 a day between you. Note that $297.70 of lodging is more than the $229.00 a single-claim household gets. Two entitlements beat one — but only if both get paid.

The invoice mistake that voids the second claim

Each of you files a separate claim, and paragraph 6.2.3.2.1 requires itemized lodging receipts to verify the expense. An invoice in one name gives one of you a receipt and the other nothing — and a claim without a receipt is not paid.

What that costs, over a 30-night stay:

Against what the two of you are entitled to together, the unpaid half is $148.85 a night — $4,465.50.
Even measured against what an ordinary single-claim household would have drawn, you are $80.15 a night short — $2,404.50.

In our experience the family usually never notices, because TLA arithmetic is opaque enough that a short payment looks normal.

We issue mil-to-mil invoices so both of you can substantiate your share — either two invoices at 50 % each, or one carrying both names with the split shown per day.

Separate households are different again

If you maintain two households at or near the PDS, paragraph 5.1 applies instead: each of you is computed individually against the standard table — 100 % lodging, 65 % M&IE each. Two apartments, two full claims, no 65 %-couple row. The calculator below has a switch for it.

Children make it genuinely unclear

Chapter 68 does not say which of you claims the children for the added percentages. We compute it with all children on one claim and tell you so; your finance office makes the final call. Ask them before you file, not after.

Work out your own numbers

What brings you here? I am in no-cost Government quartersDSSR 122.3 caps your ceiling at 50% of the maximums then. Arriving or finally departing?On final departure, days 31 and beyond need agency approval. Where are you reporting? My spouse is also active duty (mil-to-mil)Table 68-11 pays couples a percentage each, not per couple. We keep separate households Spouse travelling with me Children 12 and over Children under 12

They draw no per diem of their own, so these two do not change your figures - they stay free with us, and we need the number for the size of the apartment.

My dependents are command-sponsoredOnly command-sponsored dependents count toward your percentage. KMCC Lodging issued a Non-Availability letterWithout it, your lodging reimbursement is capped at what quarters on base would have cost. I have a certificate of non-availability (CNA) numberWithout one, JTR Table 2-14 limits your lodging to what Government quarters would have cost. Nights Your nightly rate, if you already have a quoteLeave this empty and we will show the ceiling instead. Travel days at 75%Your arrival day counts at 75% of the M&IE rate. Full days count in full. Report date (optional) Used for your deadline calendar on the worksheet.

Lodging is reimbursed against receipts, up to a ceiling, and any unused ceiling is forfeited. What you actually keep is below.

Meals & incidental expenses per day

$86.45

65% of the locality M&IE rate, paid without a receipt. Whatever you do not spend on food and incidentals is yours to keep.

Your TLA lodging ceiling 100% of the locality lodging rate: $229.00
What we charge: set at your ceiling - you pay nothing on top
Out of pocket: $0.00

Rental car included, handed over at your apartment – a €50–€100/day cost you skip (our own estimate)
Weekly cleaning included
Pets free – the pet-friendly TLF on base charges $10.00 a day
Final cleaning free
Housing assistance & landlord worksheet – the paper trail your extension request needs

VAT forms for this stay: 3. One NF-1 covers up to 2.499,99 € net, which at this rate is about 12 nights (exchange rate 1 EUR = 1.08 USD, 2026-09-27). The first VAT form has to be with us within 7 days of check-in. Every further invoice needs its own form before that invoice is issued - VAT cannot be taken off afterwards. The cost of the form itself is a reimbursable lodging expense.

Locality rate: unchanged since 2026-09-01. Source: DTMO Maximum Per Diem Rates Outside CONUS, Change 727 (effective 2026-10-01). Percentages: DoD Financial Management Regulation, Volume 7A, Chapter 68, Table 68-11. Last verified 2026-09-29. This is an estimate. Your housing office and your finance office decide what is actually paid.

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What you pay yourself, and what you get for it
What you compare	DODSC apartment	TLF on base	Hotel in the area
Nightly rate	$229.00set at your ceiling, so nothing lands on you	$192.00Temporary Lodging Facility (all sizes)	$76.00–$140.00houses near the base
Out of pocket on lodgingmeasured against your ceiling of $229.00	$0.00	$0.00per night	$0.00per night at the top of the range
Rental car, 30 days	Included – $0.00handed over at your apartment	€50–€100 a dayour own estimate, see below	€50–€100 a dayour own estimate, see below
Pets	Free	$10.00 a day$300.00 over 30 days	Often refused
Weekly cleaning	Included	Room cleaning to their schedule	Room cleaning to their schedule
Final cleaning	Free	Not charged as standardbut their $150.00 "In-room smoking / excessive cleaning fee" can apply	Usually charged
Kitchen	Full kitchen	Kitchenette or none	None
Washer and dryer in the unit	Yes	Coin laundry	No
Parking	Free	Free	usually chargedno sourced figure, see below
Housing assistance and landlord worksheet	Yes, both	No	No
Minimum stay	No minimum stayyou check out the day your lease starts	Their booking terms apply	Their booking terms apply
What happens to your M&IE	Full kitchen and a car, so most of it stays with you	A kitchenette at best, so part of it goes on meals out	No kitchen, so most of it goes on meals out

Rental car: €50–€100 a day is our own estimate, published in our own FAQ (retrieved 2026-09-27). It is not a market survey: on the same day, small cars in Ramstein started at €38 a day (Stress Free Car Rental, Ramstein pick-up). Hotel rates: $76.00–$140.00 a night, read on 2026-09-27 from hotels.com, Booking.com and Tripadvisor, houses in Ramstein-Miesenbach and Kaiserslautern. Those are the published nightly rates of individual houses, not an average - four rates do not make one. Hotel rates move daily and with the season, so this is a snapshot of the date above and not a quote. Hotel parking: usually charged, but we have no sourced figure for the Ramstein area, so we give none. On-base rates: 86 FSS Air Force Inns - Room Rates, Ramstein, checked 2026-09-29. Everything above is what the rate covers, not what your finance office will pay. Your housing office and your finance office decide.

Leave the day your lease starts. No minimum stay, no penalty. Your TLA ends when your permanent housing is ready – with us, so does your bill.

Your ceiling is set by regulation. Your apartment is not.

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May-September fills up early - if you have orders, write us now.

Related reading: the Non-Availability letter decides your lodging ceiling, and the 30-day extension clock decides how many days you draw it for.

Common questions about mil-to-mil TLA

We were told we get 100 % as a couple. Who is right?

The table. The 100 %-for-two-persons row covers a member with a civilian spouse, or two dependents lodging together. Two service members lodging together are their own row at 65 % each — which totals 130 %, so you are not losing by it. You lose only if one of you cannot document their share.

Do we both need a Non-Availability letter?

The certification supports the claim it is filed with. Play it safe: reference it in both claims. It costs nothing and forecloses the argument.

Sources

DoD FMR Volume 7A, Chapter 68, Table 68-11 and paragraphs 2.2.1, 5.1, 6.2.3.1.7, 6.2.3.2.1 (January 2025 edition) · DTMO Maximum Per Diem Rates Outside CONUS, Change 727, effective 1 September 2026. Rates last verified 27 September 2026. This is an estimate and general information, not a determination — your finance office decides what is actually paid.

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Mil-to-Mil TLA: Why Two Service Members Get 65 % Each – and Why One Invoice Can Cost You a Claim