Chapter 205 - Allowances for Officers and Non-Commissioned Members
205.45 - Post Living Differential (PLD)
205.45(1) (Definitions) The definitions in this paragraph apply in this instruction.
cost of living
means the sum of money required to provide for the following categories of household expenditures for a household of three persons, with a household income as may be determined from time to time by the Minister:
shelter costs;
goods and Services – food at home, food away from home, household furnishings, clothing, domestic service (including day-care), medical care, personal care, recreation, tobacco, and alcohol;
transportation – operating and owning two automobiles; and
taxation – federal, provincial, and sales.
marginal tax rate
means the second from the lowest personal federal tax rate combined with the applicable provincial or territorial tax rate without any surcharge or reduction.
member
means an officer or non-commissioned member.
place of duty
has the same meaning as in CBI 209.80 (Application and Definitions).
post living differential area
means a location in Canada within the boundaries of a place of duty where the cost of living exceeds that of the Standard City cost of living.
principal residence
means a dwelling in Canada, other than a summer cottage, other seasonal accommodation or a single quarter that is occupied by the member or their dependants, and is situated at:
the member's place of duty, if their household goods and effects are located at that place;
the member's former place of duty, if the member is not authorized to move their household goods and effects at public expense to their place of duty;
the place where the member's household goods and effects were located on enrolment, if that place is a place of duty and the member is not authorized to move their household goods and effects at public expense to their place of duty; or
any other place of duty, selected place of residence or designated alternate location, if the member is authorized to move their household goods and effects at public expense to that place, except for the purpose of release or transfer to the Reserve Force.
service couple
means two members who are married or in a common-law partnership as defined in QR&O 1.075 (Common-law partner and common-law partnership).
standard city
means the cost of living in the National Capital Region (Ottawa/Gatineau), as determined by the Minister in consultation with independent firm(s) with the expertise in the field of cost of living determination. Standard City excludes data from isolated post locations.
205.45(2) (Abbreviations) The following abbreviations are used in this instruction:
AAA means Accommodation Assistance Allowance;
COL means Cost of Living;
PLD means Post Living Differential; and
PLDA means Post Living Differential Area.
205.45(3) (Policy) The purpose of the PLD is to reduce the adverse financial impact on military members and their families when posted to a PLDA (excluding isolated posts) with a COL above the national average. PLD rates represent the monthly differential between the COL at the Standard City and the COL at established PLDAs, grossed-up by the applicable marginal tax rate. PLD rates are taxable and are set annually based on a Treasury Board-approved methodology.
205.45(4) (Entitlement – Regular Force) Subject to paragraphs (7) to (19), a member of the Regular Force whose principal residence is located within a PLDA is entitled to the PLD rate for that location established in the Table to this instruction for that area.
205.45(5) (Entitlement – Reserve Force) Subject to paragraphs (7) to(19), a member who is authorized to move their household goods and effects at public expense to their place of duty for a period of nationally-solicited Class B or C Reserve Service is entitled, for that period of service, to the monthly PLD rate established in the Table to this instruction for the member's PLDA if:
that place of duty is within a PLDA;
the member's principal residence is located within that PLDA; and
the move was not authorized as a return move upon completion of a period of Class B or C Reserve Service.
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205.45(6) (Subsequent periods of service) Subject to paragraphs (7) to (19), a member who commences a new period of nationally-solicited Class B or C Reserve Service within 90 days of completing the entire period of service described in paragraph (5) (i.e., no early termination initiated by member), is entitled to the PLD established in the Table to this instruction for the member's PLDA if:
the new period of service is performed at the same place of duty as the previous period of service;
that place of duty is within a PLDA; and
the member's principal residence is located within that PLDA.
205.45(7) (Change in boundary of place of duty) If a geographical area that forms part of a place of duty is redefined under the authority of CBI 209.80 (Application and Definitions), a member whose principal residence was located in that PLDA remains entitled to PLD, at the rate established in the Table to this instruction for that PLDA, while they, or their dependants, occupy that residence, or in the case of a member on a period of Class B or C Reserve Service, until the end of that period of service.
205.45(8) (PLD at other than the place of duty) For the purposes of this instruction;
when a PLD rate exists at the location of the principal residence, the member is entitled to the lower of the PLD rate for that PLDA, or the PLD rate established in the Table to this instruction for the PLDA for the member's place of duty when the member;
is posted from one place of duty to another place of duty and in lieu of moving at public expense, chooses to commute between their principal residence at their former place of duty and their new place of duty,
is not posted, but chooses, and is authorized, to move at their own expense to another location where they establish a principal residence, or
is posted to a new place of duty and is authorized by the Minister of National Defence to move to a location other than the place of duty, in accordance with CBI Chapter 209 (Transportation and Travelling Expenses), Section 9 (Integrated Relocation Pilot Program) where they establish a principal residence, and
when a member is posted from one place of duty to another place of duty and the member is authorized to move dependants to a selected place of residence in Canada under paragraph (1)(h) in CBI 209.82 (Movement of Dependants), or, to a designated alternative location or selected place of residence in Canada under paragraph (5) in CBI 209.90 (Movement of Dependants, Furniture and Effects to Other Than the Place of Duty of the Officer or Non-commissioned Member), the member is entitled to the PLD established in the Table to this instruction for the PLDA for the location of the new principal residence.
205.45(9) (Not entitled) A member is not entitled to the PLD if:
their principal residence is located at an isolated post as defined in CBI 205.40 (Isolation Allowance); or
the monthly PLD rate is $50 or less.
205.45(10) (Joint occupation) A member is entitled to receive 75% of the PLD if they jointly occupy a principal residence with another member who is entitled to the PLD.
205.45(11) (Service couple) If both members of a service couple are entitled to the PLD for the same PLDA, and jointly occupy a principal residence, each member is only entitled to receive 75% of the PLD rate.
205.45(12) (Member of service couple posted) A member of a service couple referred to in paragraph (11) who is posted to a new place of duty:
authorized to move, is entitled to receive an unreduced PLD for the PLDA in respect of the principal residence at the new place of duty. Their service spouse who remains at the previous location unaccompanied ceases to be entitled to PLD; or
not authorized to move, is not entitled to receive the PLD in respect of the principal residence at the former place of duty. Their service spouse who remains at the previous location in their principal residence reverts to 100 percent of the PLD for the PLDA for the location of their principal residence.
Note
Where a military spouse, who is a member of the Reserve Force is moved in accordance with CBI 209.80 (Movement of Dependants), but not for the purpose of a period of Reserve service at the new place of duty, the spouse is moved as a dependant in accordance with paragraph (3)(a) of that instruction and is not entitled to PLD.
205.45(13) (Member of service couple on attachment) A member of a service couple referred to in paragraph (11) who is on an attachment and who maintains a principal residence at the former place of duty during the period of the attachment is deemed to serve at the former place of duty and to occupy that residence.
205.45(14) (Member without dependants) A member without dependants who maintains a principal residence at a place of duty while serving on an attached posting, remains entitled to PLD for the duration of the posting, at the rate established in this instruction's Table for that location's PLDA.
205.45(15) (Repealed)
205.45(16) (Repealed)
205.45(17) (AAA - Regular Force) A member who, on 31 March 2000, was receiving a monthly AAA under the Regulations Concerning Accommodation Assistance Allowance at a rate higher than that provided for under this instruction, is entitled to PLD at an amount equal to the higher AAA rate until the earlier of:
the date on which the PLD for the PLDA established in the Table to this instruction exceeds the amount the member was receiving;
the date on which the member departs from their principal residence; or
1 April 2008, at which time the member shall be considered for TPLD in accordance with CBI 205.452 (Transitional Post Living Differential).
205.45(18) (AAA - Reserve Force) A member on a period of Class C Reserve Service is entitled to receive AAA in accordance with paragraph (17), with the condition that the entitlement will terminate on the earlier date determined under sub-paragraphs (a) and (b), or the date that period of service ends.
205.45(19) (Administrative Process) Members whose principal residence is located in a PLDA, and who request the PLD benefit, must complete the Post Living Differential Request Form and submit it to their Unit Records Support for approval and processing. In approving each request, Unit Records Support authorities will confirm that the conditions of this instruction are satisfied, and enter approved requests into the pay system.
(TB, effective 1 April 2008)
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Table to CBI 205.45
PLDA Monthly PLD (in dollars) after March 2008
Aldergrove
418
Barrie -Borden
0
Brantford
0
Calgary
711
Cambridge
71
Chatham ON
0
Chilliwack
0
Cold Lake
319
Corner Brook
0
Dundurn-Saskatoon
0
Edmonton
684
Gander
0
Grand Falls - Windsor
0
Guelph
167
Halifax
631
Hamilton
414
Kamloops/Kelowna
525
Kenora
0
Kingston
0
Kitchener
62
Lethbridge
234
London
0
Meaford-Owen Sound
77
Medicine Hat
145
Montreal North Shore
505
Montreal South Shore
376
Moose Jaw
284
Nanaimo
75
Niagara/St. Catharines
0
North Bay
0
Ottawa/Gatineau
0
Peterborough - DND
0
Prince Albert
0
Quebec City - Valcartier
117
Red Deer
327
Regina
62
Rouyn-Noranda
0
Sarnia
0
Saskatoon
382
Sault Ste Marie
0
Sept -Îles -DND
107
Sherbrooke
0
Shilo
0
Saint-Hyacinthe
0
Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu
0
St. John's
149
Stratford - DND
82
Sudbury
0
Thunder Bay
0
Timmins
0
Toronto Area 1
1,485
Toronto Area 2
506
Toronto Area 3
522
Toronto Area 4
819
Toronto Area 5
1,167
Trail
0
Vancouver
1,083
Victoria/Esquimalt
816
Windsor
0
Winnipeg
0
(TB, effective 1 April 2008)
