Per diem is an allowance for lodging, meals, and incidental expenses that is paid to employees for expenses incurred while traveling on official business. The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) establishes the per diem reimbursement rates that federal agencies use to reimburse their employees for subsistence expenses incurred while on official travel within the continental U.S. (CONUS), which includes the 48 contiguous states and the District of Columbia.
The standard per diem rate for most of CONUS (approximately 2,600 counties) is $166, which includes $107 for lodging and $59 for meals and incidental expenses (M&IE) . However, there are 302 non-standard areas (NSAs) that have per diem rates higher than the standard rate. The M&IE component of the per diem rate is broken down into breakfast, lunch, dinner, and incidental expenses. For M&IE rates greater than $265, 15% is allocated to breakfast, 25% to lunch, and 40% to dinner, with the remainder allocated to incidental expenses.
The Federal Travel Regulation (FTR) allows for actual expense reimbursement when per diem rates are insufficient to meet necessary expenses. Per diem payments are not part of the employee’s wages if the payment is equal to or less than the federal per diem rate and the employer receives an expense report from the employee. The IRS provides the per diem rates for all continental U.S. areas.
