Methodology
How we keep rates current
Federal pay, housing, travel, and retirement rates change every year — and sometimes mid-year when Congress passes an NDAA. Battle Plan Mil products are accurate the day you buy them and accurate every year you own them. You're paying for current information, not a stale spreadsheet.
Sources we monitor
- travel.dod.mil — BAH, OHA, per diem, MALT, TLE/TLA, DLA, JTR Appendix K weight allowances.
- DFAS.mil — pay tables, special pays, allowances.
- IRS.gov — TSP elective deferral limits, catch-up contributions, §415(c) annual additions.
- GSA.gov — CONUS per diem locality rates.
- Federal Register and the annual NDAA — statutory changes like the FY2026 FSA increase.
Update cadence
Full annual refresh happens every January as DoD and IRS publish their new-year values. We also push mid-year updates whenever a statutory change lands — for example, when an NDAA section changes a special pay rate, or when DTMO publishes a mid-cycle correction. Registered customers get an email with the updated download whenever any tracked rate moves.
What "verified" means on our products
Every Battle Plan Mil product carries a "verified [month year]" stamp. That stamp means a human (the one who builds the products) opened the official source above, confirmed each rate matches the value embedded in the product on that date, and signed off. It is not an automated scrape. If a rate is stamped "verified May 2026," the actual rate values used by every calculation in that product were checked against the authoritative source in May 2026.
Found something wrong?
Rate corrections are taken seriously. If a number on one of our products or on the rates reference page doesn't match the official source — send a note via the contact path on your purchase email, or open an issue on the product page. We respond to rate-accuracy reports within 48 hours and ship a free corrected download to every registered customer if a real error is confirmed.