Enlistment bonus payback?

Yes you do. It’s a voluntary separation, meaning you are choosing to separate after accepting the Army’s money.

Recoupments are prorated, meaning in if you were paid $7200 for a 6 year or 72 month contract, that’s $100 per month for every month you haven’t served. You will be charged the pre-tax amount. If you received $7200 charged at 22% you would have received $5616 after taxes. If you received a $7200 bonus and separated at 2 years you would owe $4800 back to the government. The amount that was taken in taxes is your responsibility to fix by filing an amended tax return for that year.

As for the National Guard, you will still need a family care plan. Make sure that your Commander signs his memo stating that you DO still have a remaining MSO so that the NG can pay you a bonus for affiliating with them. If you don’t, that’s up to $20k you could be flushing away.

Yes. You will have to pay it back. You signed a contract to do something specific in order to get that bonus. In the eyes of the Army you did not live up to your end of the deal and so they are are reclaiming what they paid in a bonus.

I got got chaptered and discharged with a honorable and re-enlisted and still had to pay mine back.