Per Diem Calculator

The official source is gsa.gov/perdiem. Rates are updated annually on October 1 (start of the federal fiscal year). Enter the destination city, state, or zip code and the travel dates to get the current lodging cap and M&IE rate. High-cost cities have their own tables; the standard continental US rate applies to all other locations.

The GSA 75% rate for first and last travel days accounts for the fact that you do not incur incidental expenses (such as tips to hotel staff) and have fewer meals on those days since part of the day is spent traveling. This is a fixed rule regardless of whether your flight is at 6 AM or 10 PM.

Under GSA rules, employees generally keep unspent M&IE - it is a flat daily allowance, not a reimbursement of actual meal receipts. Lodging is different: it is typically reimbursed at actual cost up to the cap, so booking a cheaper hotel saves the government money but does not let you pocket the difference. Individual agency and employer policies may differ from this general rule.

Any free meal supplied by the government, a conference host, a contractor, or another source that you did not pay for personally. Standard deduction amounts for each meal (breakfast, lunch, dinner) are published in the GSA M&IE breakdown table. The total M&IE deduction equals the sum of the per-meal amounts for the meals provided on that day.