How we compute and check dates

Rules first, then the agency’s own dates

Each schedule is computed from the rule the agency states (for example, SSA’s handbook § 121 or DFAS’s retired-pay rule). Then an automated test compares every computed date with the agency’s published calendar: SSA’s yearly payment schedule, DFAS’s payday tables, OPM’s holiday list, NFC’s and GSA’s payroll calendars, and GOV.UK’s bank holidays. A single mismatch stops the site from being published. Where an agency departs from its own rule, its calendar wins and we list the exception.

Which holidays move a payment?

It depends on the agency. Banks settle payments on Federal Reserve business days, and the Federal Reserve stays open on the Friday before a Saturday holiday. DFAS pays retirees on that Friday; SSA treats it as a holiday and pays the day before. We follow each agency’s published practice, which is why two pages can treat the same day differently.

How do you get BAH rates?

From DTMO’s annual data file for all locations and pay grades, imported as-is (338 housing areas, 40,959 ZIP codes). We spot-check rates against DTMO’s own calculator; all 22 checked matched.

What about next year?

When an agency hasn’t published next year’s schedule yet, we say so on the page and show the dates its rule gives. We re-check each week and update the day the agency publishes.

What we don’t do

We don’t predict early deposits, which depend on your bank. We don’t give financial advice. We don’t publish a page for every military housing area: there’s a calculator for that, and hand-made pages only for major duty stations.