GSA Per Diem Rates for Lodging, Meals, and Incidentals

What is the current Per Diem Rate? Travel Rates are set by fiscal year, effective October 1 each year. Find current rates in the continental United States (“CONUS Rates”) by searching below, by City, State or ZIP, including military installations.

FY GSA Per Diem Rate Calculator & Query

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What is Per Diem?

The Federal Government uses the term per diem to keep track of the daily travel allowances for lodging, meals, and incidentals for government and military travelers on official duty travel. Per diem rates can be queried through the search box above, which will provide rates for any location within the U.S., Overseas (OCONUS) territories, and military bases.

Per Diem Rates are a daily allowance for lodging and meals as set by the GSA (Government Services Administration). The GSA is a policy related agency of the federal government that oversees many travel related functions. Foreign travel rates are set by the U.S. Department of State, and currently all government-wide rates for military personnel being assigned on TDY orders outside of the continental United States including Hawaii, Alaska, and all official US Territories are set by the DTMO (Defense Travel Management Office) under the auspices of the Department of Defense.

Federal Per Diem Rate Increases and Decreases

The federal per diem rates reset every fiscal year on October 1st, and rates either increase, decrease, or stay the same each year. The Department of Defense sets rates for Alaska, Hawaii, U.S. Territories, and Possessions (OCONUS rates). The State Department sets Foreign Rates. Calculation of travel per diem rates within the Federal government is a shared responsibility of three organizations: The General Services Administration (GSA), The Department of State (DoS), and The Defense Travel Management Office (DTMO).

  • The General Services Administration (GSA) is an independent agency of the United States Government which helps to manage and support the functioning of all federal agencies. The GSA prescribes travel per diem rates for the Continental U.S (CONUS). When do government per diem rates change? The GSA updates travel per diem rates annually, and rates are effective October 1, at the start of each fiscal year. Normally the rates are updated at the beginning of each new fiscal year. If a uniformed military member or a Department of Defense (DoD) federal civilian has questions regarding the adequacy of per diem rates, they can contact GSA.
  • The Department of State (DoS) prescribes per diem rates for all foreign overseas locations Outside of the Continental United States (CONUS) and the State Department updates these travel rates at the beginning of every month. If any uniformed military members or DoD federal civilians have questions regarding the adequacy of foreign per diem rates, they should contact the Department of State Office of Allowances.
  • The Defense Travel Management Office (DTMO) prescribes per diem rates for Overseas Non-Foreign areas (these areas include: Alaska, Hawaii, Guam, Puerto Rico etc.). DTMO updates Overseas Non-Foreign Per Diem Travel Rates at least once a year. The Per Diem Committee adds DoD unique footnotes, DoD Installations, and proportional meal rates to rates published by DoS, GSA and DTMO.
Per Diem Lodging Allowance

The per diem rate authorized for hotels and other types of lodging is based on an annual GSA survey of lodging rates in each local area by zip code or major city.  Lodging expenses are reimbursed up to the maximum authorized rate, but a traveler is not entitled to “pocket the difference” if he or she is able to find a hotel that is less than per diem…It’s use or lose.  Because of this, in many cases it may be advantageous for the traveler to find a hotel as close to the maximum rate (“Max Lodging Rate”) as possible in order to take advantage of what often times may be a nicer hotel with better amenities.  Simply put, when it comes to lodging it’s use it or lose it.

Per Diem for Meals & Incidental Expenses

The Per Diem Meals rate for government travelers is paid at a flat reimbursement rate regardless of how much is spent on meals, so unlike lodging, a traveler can pocket the difference if spending less than the authorized meals rate.

Per Diem Rate = Max Lodging + Meals (Local Meals, Proportional, or Government) + Incidental Rate (Local or OnBase)

Meals & Incidentals (M&IE) Breakdown

Use this table to find the following information for federal employee travel:

M&IE Total – the full daily amount received for a single calendar day of travel when that day is neither the first nor last day of travel.

Breakfast, lunch, dinner, incidentals – Separate amounts for meals and incidentals. M&IE Total = Breakfast + Lunch + Dinner + Incidentals. Sometimes meal amounts must be deducted from trip voucher. See More Information

First & last day of travel – amount received on the first and last day of travel and equals 75% of total M&IE.