PPM (DITY) Moves Explained: How to Keep More of Your PCS Reimbursement

If you've got PCS orders and you've been reading the JPPSO handouts, you've come across three acronyms that all describe ways to move your stuff: TSP, PPM, and the old name for PPM — DITY. They're the choices every service member has to make, and the choice you make is worth several thousand dollars one way or the other.

This guide walks through what a PPM move actually is, how the reimbursement math works, the paperwork that protects (or kills) your payout, and how to decide whether PPM is the right call for your move. We're writing this from a moving company's perspective — we crew the loading end of dozens of PPM moves every year out of San Antonio and Corpus Christi — so we're going to be honest about when PPM makes sense and when it doesn't.

What's a PPM move?

PPM stands for Personally Procured Move. The Department of Defense renamed it from DITY (Do-It-Yourself) several years ago. The program is identical — only the acronym changed.

In a PPM, the government pays you what it estimates the move would have cost them if they'd done it themselves through their contracted carriers. You then arrange your own move — rent a truck, hire labor, drive it, unload it — and you keep whatever's left over after your actual expenses. That leftover is taxable as income, but it's yours.

That's it. That's the whole program. Everything else — the paperwork, the weight tickets, the receipts — exists to determine how much you get paid and how much of it you get to keep.

The three PCS move options, compared

You have three legal ways to move your household goods when you PCS:

Option 1: HHG / TSP move (the government move). A government-contracted Transportation Service Provider (TSP) shows up, packs your stuff, loads it, drives it, and unloads it at your next duty station. You don't touch a box. The government pays the carrier directly. You get zero out-of-pocket reimbursement because there's nothing to reimburse — they paid for the whole thing.

Option 2: PPM (formerly DITY). You arrange and execute the entire move yourself. The government pays you a percentage of what they would have spent moving you through a TSP. You spend what you actually spend. The difference is yours.

Option 3: Partial PPM. A hybrid — the government moves part of your household goods through a TSP, and you PPM the rest. Common when you want to handle high-value or heirloom items yourself but let the government handle the bulk.

In current DoD policy, the PPM reimbursement is the full estimated TSP cost (100% incentive), not the older 95% rate some old guides reference. Always confirm the current rate with your JPPSO at counseling — DoD adjusts the percentage occasionally.

How PPM reimbursement actually works

The reimbursement formula is more straightforward than the paperwork makes it look. You get paid based on three variables:

• Your authorized weight allowance. Set by your pay grade and dependency status — a senior NCO with dependents has a different allowance than a single junior enlisted service member.
• The shipped weight of your actual move. What your scale tickets show. The government pays based on this weight or your authorized allowance, whichever is lower.
• The distance between origin and destination. Calculated through standard distance tables — you don't need to track mileage.

Multiply weight × distance × the published rate, and you get your gross reimbursement. From that, you subtract your actual expenses (truck rental, fuel, labor, lodging on the road, supplies). What's left is your taxable PPM profit.

A worked example for illustration only (the actual numbers vary by rank, distance, and year): an E-6 with dependents PCSing from JBSA to Fort Carson, Colorado, with an authorized weight allowance of 11,000 lbs. Shipped weight: 9,000 lbs (under the allowance). Distance: ~900 miles. Gross reimbursement at the GBL rate: hypothetically several thousand dollars. Actual expenses: $1,200 truck rental + $400 fuel + $800 labor + $200 lodging = $2,600. Reimbursement minus expenses = taxable profit, paid to the service member.

The exact dollar figures change yearly. The structure doesn't.

Why labor-only movers fit PPM moves so well

The biggest expense category in a typical PPM is labor. A full-service civilian moving company will quote several thousand dollars to pack, load, drive, and unload — and if you hire one, you've effectively reproduced the TSP option at your own expense.

The alternative: you rent the truck yourself (the government reimburses the rental as an expense, but you're driving), and you hire a labor-only crew to do the load-out — the part of the move that actually needs trained professionals with proper equipment.

This compresses the labor expense by 40–60% compared to full-service, and you keep that difference as PPM profit. You're not skipping the parts of a move that require professionals (loading furniture safely, securing the load for transit). You're skipping the parts that don't (driving the truck, riding shotgun while a stranger drives your stuff).

This is exactly the model we run for PCS moves out of JBSA in San Antonio and NAS Corpus Christi.

When PPM is the right call (and when it isn't)

PPM makes sense when:

• You have time to do it right. PPM takes more of your time than a TSP move. If you're being PCS'd on 30 days' notice during a deployment workup, the TSP option may be a better use of your bandwidth.
• You're driving to your next duty station anyway. If you're already driving the family car or POV to the new base, adding a rental truck to the convoy is incremental work, not new work.
• Your shipped weight is well under your allowance. Reimbursement is capped at your authorized weight. If you've got a packed-out house with three motorcycles and a piano, you might hit the cap, and the PPM math gets less favorable.
• You're willing to handle the paperwork. Scale tickets, receipts, DD Form 2278, claim submission. Not hard, just non-trivial.

PPM isn't the right call when:

• You're PCSing OCONUS (overseas). PPM is for CONUS moves only. Overseas, you're getting a government move.
• You don't want to drive a 26' truck. Some people genuinely don't, and that's fine. Take the TSP.
• You're moving without a vehicle of your own at the destination. The truck has to go back to a U-Haul or Penske near your new duty station, which means you need a way to get back.
• You'd lose the time to family obligations. A PPM weekend is a weekend of moving. If your spouse and kids are already burning out from the PCS, the TSP option buys you peace.

The paperwork that determines your payout

The single most common mistake first-time PPM movers make is sloppy paperwork. Here's what you actually need:

• Empty weight ticket. Weigh your rental truck empty, before loading, with you in the cab. Use a certified scale — CAT scales at truck stops are the standard. Get the paper ticket, take a phone photo of it immediately.
• Full weight ticket. Weigh the loaded truck after loading is complete, at the same type of scale. The difference between full and empty is your "net shipped weight."
• Labor invoice from your mover. Itemized, showing crew size, hours, and equipment provided. Half Price Movers (and any reputable labor-only mover) provides this without being asked.
• Rental truck contract. The original agreement showing the truck rental cost.
• Fuel receipts. Every fill-up, from origin to destination.
• Lodging receipts if you stayed in a hotel during transit.
• Supplies receipts if you bought boxes, tape, or moving blankets out of pocket.
• DD Form 2278. The official PPM paperwork. You'll get this from your JPPSO at counseling and file it after the move.
• The claim packet itself, filed through your destination installation's PPPSO.

Lose any of these and you lose the corresponding reimbursement. Phone-photo every receipt the moment you get it.

PCS season timing

PCS season runs roughly May through August. Three things happen during peak:

• Rental trucks book out. U-Haul and Penske run short on 20' and 26' trucks. Reserve as soon as you have firm orders.
• Labor-only crews book out. We push to two- to four-week advance booking during peak. June and July are the tightest.
• Costs rise. Fuel, lodging, and rental truck rates all run higher in summer. Your reimbursement covers this, but plan for the cash-flow timing — the rental and fuel come out of your pocket weeks before the reimbursement lands.

The earlier you book, the better positioned you are.

Common PPM mistakes that cost service members money

• Forgetting the empty-weight ticket. Without it, you have no documented shipped weight, and the government will default to the lowest reasonable estimate. This is the single most expensive mistake.
• Booking a truck that's too small and making two trips. Two truck rentals, two days of fuel, two loads of labor. Size up.
• Hiring full-service movers and treating it as a PPM. You can do this and the government will still reimburse based on the formula, but the expense side gets so high that there's no profit left. If you're going to hire full-service, just take the TSP.
• Counting on the reimbursement to land before the move-out. It won't. You're paying for everything out of pocket and waiting 30–60 days for reimbursement after you submit the claim.
• Not getting the labor invoice. Pay any mover in cash without a written invoice and you've torpedoed the labor reimbursement.
• Loading the truck badly and breaking your own stuff. Replacement of broken items isn't reimbursed by PPM — that's a separate household goods damage claim, which is harder to win on a PPM than a TSP. This is why the labor-only crew matters.

Step-by-step: how to actually run a PPM out of San Antonio

For someone PCSing out of JBSA, here's the playbook end-to-end. If you want the San Antonio-specific service page for booking and installation-specific notes, start there. Otherwise:

1. Receive orders. Note the report-no-later-than date.
2. Schedule JPPSO counseling. Bring your orders. Elect PPM (full or partial).
3. Get your authorized weight allowance in writing during counseling.
4. Estimate your shipped weight. A standard guide is ~1,000 lbs per furnished room. Most three-bedroom households ship between 7,000 and 11,000 lbs.
5. Reserve a rental truck. U-Haul, Penske, or Budget. Size based on your room count.
6. Book your labor-only crew. Two to four weeks ahead during PCS season.
7. Pack your own boxes in the days leading up to the move.
8. Move day part 1: weigh the empty truck. Save the ticket.
9. Move day part 2: crew arrives and loads.
10. Move day part 3: weigh the loaded truck. Save the ticket.
11. Drive to your new duty station. Save every fuel and lodging receipt.
12. Unload at the destination (or hire a destination-end labor crew).
13. Submit your PPM claim with all documentation to the destination PPPSO.
14. Wait 30–60 days for reimbursement.

That's it. It's not complicated, just deliberate.

Frequently asked questions

Is PPM still called DITY?

The official term is PPM. People still say DITY informally — including some JPPSO counselors. They mean the same thing.

Can I do a PPM without a rental truck?

You can PPM with a POD or container service instead of a rental truck, but the math gets less favorable because container costs are higher. Most successful PPMs use rental trucks.

Is the PPM reimbursement taxable?

Yes, the profit (reimbursement minus actual expenses) is taxable income. You'll get a W-2 reflecting it.

Can my spouse handle the PPM if I'm deployed?

Yes, with a power of attorney covering the PPM paperwork. Coordinate with your JPPSO.

What happens if I exceed my weight allowance?

The government reimburses up to your allowance. Anything over is your expense, and you don't get reimbursed for it.

Can I use a moving broker for the PPM?

You can, but you shouldn't. Brokers add a margin without adding value. Hire the labor crew directly.

Do I have to use my own credit card, or does the government pay vendors directly?

For PPM, you pay everything out of pocket and submit for reimbursement. The government does not pay vendors directly under PPM.

What if my rental truck breaks down mid-trip?

Document everything, keep the receipts for any related expenses (alternate transportation, lodging), and submit those with your claim. Truck rental companies handle the mechanical side; the government handles the reimbursement side.

The bottom line

A well-executed PPM out of San Antonio or Corpus Christi puts real money in a service member's pocket — not life-changing money, but enough to fund a deposit on the next house, a family vacation, or a chunk of an emergency fund. The trade is paperwork and a long day of moving.

For most CONUS PCS moves where the service member has time and isn't moving more than they're allowed to ship, PPM is the right call.

When you're ready to crew the loading end, get in touch — we run PPM loads out of JBSA and NAS Corpus Christi every week. Call (210) 650-4911 (San Antonio) or (361) 937-7615 (Corpus Christi), or get your free quote.