Get paid for long-distance drill travel (IDT travel)

Step by step

1. 01

   Check if you qualify

   The JTR (para. 032304) can pay drill travel if you are in the Selected Reserve, you live at least 150 miles one way from your drill site, and you meet one more test. You must be in a critically short skill, in a unit or grade with a critical staffing shortage, or in a unit or position that was moved or closed. DTS measures the 150 miles with the Defense Table of Official Distances (DTOD). It is not an entitlement.

   Distance alone does not make you eligible. Your command decides which positions are authorized. Your unit S-1 has the battalion's current memo on this.

2. 02

   Get approval before you travel

   IDT travel is now official travel. That means your commander approves it and your DTS authorization is approved before Battle Assembly. If you drive first and ask later, you will most likely not be paid.

3. 03

   Check your DTS profile

   Log in to DTS with your CAC and pick your Reserve profile. If this is your first time, it has been more than 30 days, or your travel card is near expiration, check your address, email, travel card and bank info.

4. 04

   Build a Routine TDY authorization

   Choose Create New Document, then Routine TDY. Set the purpose to Training and the description to 'IDT Travel for [month] BTA'. Use the real drill location. Local vouchers are no longer used for IDT travel. Ask S-1 which IDT line of accounting (LOA) to use for this fiscal year.

5. 05

   Follow the meals, hotel and rental car rules

   Meals: you get what you actually spent on travel days, not a flat per diem. On the Per Diem screen, pick 'In Place' and 'Special Meal Rate' and enter your real cost. Hotel: if your unit gives you lodging-in-kind, you must use it. Otherwise lodging is paid up to the local rate. Rental car: only with your commander's approval first, the cheapest compact, and only for the travel days to and from drill. Fuel is paid. Prepaid fuel, insurance, GPS and toll tags are not.

6. 06

   Add the required comment and proof

   In Other Auths, paste: 'IAW 37USC, 452 (b) (9), IDT TRAVEL OUTSIDE NORMAL COMMUTE (150 miles). Soldier is authorized travel expenses NTE $750 for travel to and from Inactive Duty Training according to JTR, Paragraph 032304'. Attach your BA schedule or approved RST (DA 1380) and any rental car approval.

7. 07

   Sign and submit

   Sign within 24 hours of booking, or DTS cancels your reservations. Send it to your approver and wait for approval before you go.

8. 08

   File the voucher after drill

   Open the approved authorization and choose 'Create Voucher'. Change the costs to what you really spent and upload itemized receipts. Add proof you were there: the commander's certification memo, a signed DA 1380, or your own line of the sign-in sheet. Do not change the LOA. Sign within 5 working days. If you are late, ask S-1 before you file.

9. 09

   Track payment

   The JTR pays your actual costs, up to $750 per round trip. Anything over $750 is yours to pay. Watch your DTS status until it pays.

Why it gets kicked back

• ! No approved authorization before Battle Assembly is the most common reason Soldiers who qualify on distance never get paid.
• ! There are two mileage rates. Driving from home to drill pays the lower JTR 'other' rate. Driving from home to the airport pays the regular TDY rate. In the federal tables from July 1, 2026, those are about 23.5 cents and 76 cents a mile. We could not confirm DoD's own 'other' rate for 2026, so check the DTMO mileage page.
• ! Never upload the whole sign-in roster. It shows other Soldiers' information. Upload only your own line.
• ! Airfare you buy yourself needs an itemized receipt and a Constructed Travel Worksheet that compares it to the GSA City Pair fare.
• ! IDT travel pay and IDT lodging are two different programs. Do not mix them up on your voucher.
• ! Today a rental car is paid only for the travel days. A 2026 bill in Congress (H.R. 7593) would also cover the drill days, but it is not law.
• ! If your travel is not paid, ask a tax preparer. Reservists who travel more than 100 miles and stay overnight for drill may be able to deduct the cost.