What YTD TSP Deferred means on your LES (and the other TSP boxes)

YTD TSP Deferred is the total traditional (pre-tax) TSP money taken from your taxable pay so far this year. "Deferred" means the income tax on it is put off until you withdraw it. Traditional contributions from tax-exempt pay, such as combat-zone pay, are counted separately in YTD TSP Exempt, Roth contributions in YTD ROTH, and your service's automatic 1% and matching contributions in YTD TSP AGCY-AUTO and YTD TSP AGCY-MATCH.

The TSP section of your Leave and Earnings Statement shows what percentage of each type of pay you've chosen to contribute (the "Rate" boxes), how many dollars went in this month (the "Current" boxes), and your totals for the year, including your service's automatic 1% and matching contributions. Traditional and Roth contributions are shown in separate blocks.

This guide follows the DFAS LES used by the Army, Navy, Air Force and Space Force. The Marine Corps LES is laid out differently, but it shows the same information.

The two contribution blocks: traditional and Roth

Your LES has one block for traditional (pre-tax) contributions, labeled PLAN (TSP), and one for Roth (after-tax) contributions, labeled ROTH PLAN. Each block has the same four pairs of boxes:

If you contribute only to Roth, the PLAN (TSP) boxes show zeros, and the reverse if you contribute only to traditional. Your contributions also appear as a line in the Deductions column, for example "TSP" for traditional or "ROTH TSP" for Roth.

The year-to-date boxes

YTD TSP Deferred is the total traditional (pre-tax) TSP you've contributed so far this calendar year from taxable pay. "Deferred" means the income tax on that money is put off until you withdraw it. Together with YTD ROTH, it counts toward the 2026 limit of $24,500 on your own contributions. YTD TSP Exempt, from tax-exempt pay such as combat-zone pay, doesn't count toward that limit. See TSP contribution limits for 2026.

The automatic and matching contributions aren't taken out of your pay, so they don't appear in the Deductions column. They're shown here so you can see them.

TSP YTD Deduction is how DFAS's guide to the Army LES labels field 72: the dollar amount of TSP contributions deducted from your pay so far this year. Fields 73 (Deferred) and 74 (Exempt) follow it: Deferred is TSP money that's deferred for tax purposes, and Exempt is TSP money reported to the IRS as tax-exempt. Your service's automatic and matching contributions aren't deducted from your pay, so they're not part of this total.

A worked example

An E-5 with over 3 years of service under BRS, contributing 5% of basic pay to Roth, would see roughly this in 2026:

That's $377.58 going into the TSP for the month: $188.79 from the member and $188.79 from the service. You can see your own numbers with the military TSP calculator.

How to check your match is arriving

1. Look at AGCY-AUTO. If you're under BRS and past 60 days of service, it should be about 1% of your basic pay.
2. Look at AGC-MATCH. From your 25th month of service, it should be up to 4% of basic pay: the same percent you contribute up to 3%, plus half of the next 2%. See how the military match works.
3. Legacy High-3 members will see zeros in both. That's expected, because legacy members don't receive government contributions.
4. Compare with tsp.gov. Your TSP account's transaction history should show the same amounts arriving shortly after each payday.

If your LES shows a match you don't expect, or no match when you expected one, talk to your finance or disbursing office.

Things that surprise people

• Special pay needs its own election. A Base Pay Rate of 5 doesn't mean 5% of special or incentive pay. Those have separate Rate boxes, and they're 0 unless you choose otherwise.
• Bonuses aren't matched. Contributions from special, incentive and bonus pay count toward your annual limit, but matching is figured on basic pay only.
• Your pay has to cover your election. Your LES remarks note that if your TSP election is more than your net pay due, the TSP deduction isn't taken that period.
• Reaching the annual limit stops your contributions, and your match, for the rest of the year. See TSP contribution limits for 2026.

Common questions

What does YTD TSP Deferred mean on my LES?

It's the total of your traditional TSP contributions so far this calendar year from taxable pay. "Deferred" means the income tax on that money is put off until you withdraw it. Roth contributions are counted separately in the YTD ROTH box.

What does TSP YTD Deduction mean on my LES?

It's the dollar amount of TSP contributions taken out of your pay so far this year (field 72 in DFAS's guide to the Army LES). Deferred and Exempt, next to it, show how much is deferred for tax purposes and how much is reported to the IRS as tax-exempt. Your service's automatic 1% and matching contributions aren't deducted from your pay, so they aren't part of it.

Does YTD TSP Deferred count toward the TSP contribution limit?

Yes. Your traditional contributions (YTD TSP Deferred) and Roth contributions (YTD ROTH) together count toward the 2026 limit of $24,500, plus catch-up contributions if you're 50 or older. Traditional contributions from tax-exempt combat-zone pay (YTD TSP Exempt) don't count toward $24,500; they count toward the $72,000 limit on everything added to your account in 2026.

Why is my YTD TSP Deferred zero?

Usually because you contribute only to Roth, so your money shows in YTD ROTH instead, or because all your traditional contributions came from tax-exempt pay and show in YTD TSP Exempt. If you expected traditional contributions, check your TSP election in myPay.

What does "Rate" mean in the TSP section of my LES?

It's the percentage of that type of pay you've chosen to contribute. A Base Pay Rate of 5 means 5% of your basic pay goes to the TSP each month.

What's the difference between Deferred and Exempt on my LES?

Both are traditional TSP contributions. Deferred comes from taxable pay, so the tax is deferred until you withdraw. Exempt comes from tax-exempt pay, such as combat-zone pay.

Where do I see my BRS match on my LES?

In the TSP section, AGC-MATCH shows this month's matching contribution and YTD TSP AGCY-MATCH shows the total for the year. AGCY-AUTO shows the automatic 1%.

Why doesn't my BRS match show up in my deductions?

Because it isn't taken from your pay. Your service pays it on top of your pay, so it appears only in the TSP section, not in the Deductions column.

Why is my Roth TSP not showing in PLAN (TSP)?

PLAN (TSP) shows only traditional contributions. Roth contributions appear in the separate ROTH PLAN block and in the YTD ROTH box.

Sources

• DFAS: How to read an active duty Army LES (fields 63–75 are the TSP section)
• FINRED: Understanding your LES
• Military OneSource: Blended Retirement System
• Field names from a current (2026) DFAS LES.

Educational information, not investment or tax advice. Your LES, myPay and tsp.gov are the official record.