To verify active military employment, VA lenders will require a Leave and Earnings Statement (LES) instead of a VOE, which contains the same basic financial information. Active duty members can acquire their LES online by using the MyPay portal.
Base pay counts as stable and reliable as long as the service member isn’t within a year of release from active duty. Lenders can also include a service member’s Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) as effective income and occassionally other military allowances — clothing, flight pay, combat pay and more — provided they’re verified and expected to continue.
Service members within a year of their release from active duty or the conclusion of their contract term can present a unique challenge.