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Per Diem Calculator

Updated Sep 27, 2026 By Infinity Calculator
Rate Formulas Sources
Trip Legs

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Day-by-Day Results

Lodging vs. M&IE by Leg
Daily Per Diem Across the Whole Trip
Step-by-Step Solution
Per Diem Rates Reference Table — FY2026
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Per diem lodging and meals and incidental expense rates by state and location
County / Definition Source

Introduction

A per diem is a daily allowance that covers your hotel, meals, and small travel costs while you are away for work. Instead of saving every receipt, you get a set dollar amount for each day. The rate changes based on where you go and when you travel.

This Per Diem Calculator works out that amount. Enter your destination, your departure date, and your return date. The tool finds the right lodging and M&IE (meals and incidental expenses) rates and shows what each day of your trip is worth.

The calculator also applies the rules people often miss. Your first and last travel days pay only 75% of the meal rate.1 Free meals from a conference get subtracted.2 Rates can shift in the middle of a stay when a season changes or a new fiscal year starts on October 1.5 You can also add more than one stop and see each leg on its own.

You get a day-by-day table, charts, a step-by-step math breakdown, and a searchable rate table you can check. GSA sets the rates for the 48 contiguous states and the District of Columbia, the Department of Defense sets them for Alaska, Hawaii, and U.S. territories, and the State Department sets them for foreign areas.1 Lodging and M&IE outside the lower 48 states are estimates here, so check the official Defense or State Department rate before you file. Use the results to plan a trip budget or to check a travel expense report before you turn it in.

How to use our Per Diem Calculator

Tell us where you travel, when you leave, when you come back, and which meals someone else paid for. The calculator shows your lodging and M&IE per day, a subtotal for each trip leg, and one grand total per diem estimate.

Destination type: Pick Domestic CONUS for the lower 48 states, AK / HI / Territories for Alaska, Hawaii, Guam, Puerto Rico or the U.S. Virgin Islands, or International for any other country.

State: For a CONUS trip, choose the state you are visiting. This turns on the county and city list.

County / City: Choose the city or county you stay in. If your spot is not listed, pick "All other locations in this state" to use the Standard CONUS rate.

Or search any GSA location: Type at least 2 letters of a city or county name, then click a match or press Enter. This fills in the state and city for you.

Non-contiguous U.S. location: For Alaska, Hawaii, or a U.S. territory, pick your city from this list. These use DoD rates.

Country: For an international trip, pick the country you travel to.

City / Post: Pick the city inside that country. Choose "Other" if your city is not shown.

Departure date: Enter the day you leave home. This day pays the 75% travel day rate.

Return date: Enter the day you get home. This day also pays 75%, and no lodging is paid for that night.

Rate fiscal year: Leave it on auto-detect for most trips. Change it only if you need older rates for a past trip.

Meals provided: Check breakfast, lunch, or dinner if those meals were given to you for free. The set dollar value of each meal is taken out of your M&IE.

Per-day override: Use this day list to uncheck a meal on any single day it was not provided.

Pro-rate incidentals: Leave this on to include incidentals in the 75% travel day math. Turn it off if your agency removes the full incidental amount on travel days.

Add Another Destination: Click this to add a new leg if your trip has more than one stop. Each leg gets its own rates and subtotal.

Calculate and Reset: Click Calculate to see your results, charts, and step-by-step math. Click Reset to start a new trip.

What Is Per Diem?

Per diem is a daily allowance for work travel. Instead of saving every receipt, your employer pays you a set amount each day. The word is Latin for "per day." Per diem has two parts: lodging (your hotel room for the night) and M&IE (meals and incidental expenses, like tips).

Who Sets the Rates

Per diem rates change by place and by date. Three groups publish them for U.S. federal travel:

  • GSA sets rates for the 48 contiguous states and the District of Columbia, an area called CONUS.1
  • The Department of Defense sets rates for Alaska, Hawaii, Guam, Puerto Rico, and other U.S. territories.1
  • The State Department sets rates for other countries.1

Many private companies use these same rates, because an allowance at or below the federal rate is not included in box 1 of your Form W-2.6

The Standard CONUS Rate

Most small towns and rural counties do not get their own rate. They use the "standard CONUS rate," which is the basic fallback amount.1 Big cities and tourist spots get higher rates because hotels there cost more.

Key Per Diem Rules

  • First and last day rule: On your travel days, you only get 75% of the full M&IE rate.1 You are not there the whole day, so you do not eat every meal there.
  • No lodging on the last day: You check out and go home, so no hotel night is paid for that date.
  • Free meals get subtracted: If a conference feeds you lunch, that lunch amount comes out of your M&IE for that day.2 Breakfast, lunch, and dinner each have their own dollar value.3
  • Incidentals: A small piece of M&IE covers tips for hotel staff and similar small costs.1 Meal deductions should not wipe this out.2
  • Day trips: Travel of 12 hours or less pays no per diem.2 Travel of more than 12 but less than 24 hours pays 75 percent of the M&IE rate for each calendar day.2 A same-day trip shows no M&IE in the results, so add 75% of the M&IE rate yourself if your trip ran longer than 12 hours.

Fiscal Years and Seasons

New rates start every October 1, the first day of the federal fiscal year.5 If your trip crosses that date, part of it uses the old rates and part uses the new ones.

Lodging rates can also change by month in the same city. A beach town may cost much more in July than in January. A ski town flips that around. These are called seasonal rates, and each night of your stay uses the rate for that month.

Why It Matters

Knowing your per diem before you travel helps you plan your spending and check that your reimbursement is correct. An allowance at or below the federal rate is not included in the wages box of your Form W-2.6 Any excess above the federal rate is reported as wages on your Form W-2.6 Knowing the real number lets you check your pay.

Formulas used

Trip length: days and lodging nights per leg
\text{Days} = \frac{\text{Return} - \text{Departure}}{86{,}400{,}000} + 1, \qquad \text{Nights} = \text{Days} - 1
Travel-day M&IE (75% first/last day rule) 1
\text{M\&IE}_{\text{travel}} = 75\% \times \text{M\&IE}_{\text{rate}} \;\; (\text{less the incidentals when they are not pro-rated})
Adjusted daily M&IE after provided-meal deductions (incidental floor preserved)
\text{M\&IE}_{\text{adj}} = \text{M\&IE}_{\text{day}} - \min\!\left(D_B + D_L + D_D,\; \max(0,\; \text{M\&IE}_{\text{day}} - I_{\text{floor}})\right)
Meal breakdown for a non-CONUS M&IE total (GSA OCONUS table) 3
M \le 265:\ B,\ L,\ D \text{ from the GSA OCONUS M\&IE breakdown table};\quad M > 265:\ B = 15\%\,M,\ L = 25\%\,M,\ D = 40\%\,M;\quad I = M - B - L - D
Daily lodging billed (no lodging on the return day)
\text{Lodging}_{\text{day}} = \begin{cases} \text{Rate}_{\text{month}} \times \text{Index}_{FY}, & \text{day is not the last day} \\ 0, & \text{last day} \end{cases}
Leg subtotal and grand total
\text{Leg}_{k} = \sum_{d=1}^{n_k} \text{Lodging}_{d} + \sum_{d=1}^{n_k} \text{M\&IE}_{\text{adj},d}, \qquad \text{Grand Total} = \sum_{k} \text{Leg}_{k}
300% actual-expense ceiling (FTR § 301-11.17) 2
\text{Ceiling} = 300\% \times \left(\text{Lodging}_{\text{rate}} + \text{M\&IE}_{\text{rate}}\right)
Rate indexing for fiscal years without a published table
\text{Index}_{FY} = \begin{cases} 1.05^{\,FY - 2027} \text{ (CONUS, from the FY2027 table)},\quad 1.12 \times 1.05^{\,FY - 2027} \text{ (outside CONUS)}, & FY > 2027 \\ 0.88 \times 0.95^{\,2023 - FY}, & FY < 2023 \end{cases}

Frequently asked questions

Can I keep the money I don't spend from my per diem?

Usually yes. Per diem is a flat daily amount, not a refund of what you spent. If your meals cost less than the M&IE rate, the extra is yours to keep and it is still tax free, as long as the payment stays at or below the official government rate.6

Lodging works differently for many federal travelers. Hotel costs are often paid up to the rate based on your actual bill, so you cannot pocket the difference there.2

Do I need receipts if I get per diem?

You do not need meal receipts under per diem. That is the main point of a daily allowance. You still need proof of the trip itself, such as dates, place, and business purpose.

You must still provide a lodging receipt, and a receipt for any other authorized expense costing over $75.1

Does per diem cover airfare, rental cars, or mileage?

No. Per diem only covers lodging, meals, and incidental expenses.1 Getting to and from your destination is a separate travel cost.

Flights, train tickets, rental cars, gas, parking, tolls, and mileage are all claimed on their own. Do not add them into your per diem total.

Is hotel tax included in the lodging per diem rate?

For travel inside the lower 48 states, no. The lodging rate covers the room charge only. State and local hotel taxes are reimbursed on top of the rate as a separate expense.2

The same applies in Alaska, Hawaii, and U.S. territories.2 For foreign areas, lodging taxes are built into the State Department rate, so there is nothing extra to claim.2

What happens if my hotel costs more than the per diem lodging rate?

You normally pay the extra yourself. The published lodging rate is a cap, not a suggestion.2

There are ways around it. Some hotels honor the federal rate, but they are not required to.1 Your agency can also approve actual expenses up to 300 percent of the per diem rate.2 That approval is typically given in advance.2

What counts as an incidental expense on a per diem?

The Federal Travel Regulation describes incidental expenses as fees and tips given to porters, baggage carriers, hotel staff, and staff on ships.1

Things like laundry, taxis, phone calls, and Wi-Fi are not incidentals. Those are separate expenses that follow your employer's own rules.

Does a free hotel breakfast count as a provided meal?

No. A complimentary breakfast that comes with the room does not reduce your M&IE.2 The same goes for snacks on a plane.2

A meal only gets deducted when it is furnished as part of the official business, like a conference lunch included in your registration fee or a hosted dinner.2 If that happens, the set dollar value of that meal comes out of that day's M&IE.

Do I still get per diem if I stay with friends or family?

You still get M&IE for meals and incidentals, because you are still eating and traveling. You do not get the lodging portion if you pay nothing for the room.

Your agency may pay extra costs your host has in putting you up, if you can show them and the agency finds them reasonable, but not the cost of a comparable hotel or a flat token amount.2

What is the difference between CONUS and OCONUS?

CONUS means the continental United States, which is the 48 contiguous states and the District of Columbia.1 GSA sets those rates.1

OCONUS means outside the continental United States. It splits into two groups. Alaska, Hawaii, Guam, Puerto Rico, and other U.S. territories use Department of Defense rates.1 Foreign countries use State Department rates.1

What is the IRS high-low per diem method?

It is a shortcut for private employers. Instead of looking up hundreds of city rates, a company uses just two numbers: one higher rate for a listed group of expensive cities, and one lower rate for everywhere else in the lower 48 states.

For travel on or after October 1, 2025, the high rate is $319 a day and the rate for all other places in the continental United States is $225.6 The new rates and localities come out each year in an IRS notice.6 An employer using the high-low method must keep using it through December 31 and use the same rates for all employees it reimburses that way.6

How much is the standard per diem rate per day?

For fiscal year 2026, the standard lodging rate is $110 and the standard M&IE rate is $68.4 For fiscal year 2027, which starts October 1, 2026, standard lodging rises to $113 and standard M&IE stays at $68.5 The standard rate applies wherever neither the city nor the county is listed.1

For fiscal year 2027, 295 locations get their own rates.5 Their M&IE falls in tiers from $68 to $92 a day, and lodging can run far above the standard amount in big cities and resort areas.5

Do I get per diem on weekends and days off during a long trip?

Generally, yes. Federal travelers are reimbursed on weekends and holidays when their trip requires them to stay at the location or travel on those days.2

If you choose to go home for the weekend, the most you get back for the trip home and your costs is what you would have been paid for staying.2

Does per diem go down on trips longer than 30 days?

It can. For long assignments, many agencies and employers cut the daily rate because you can rent a weekly or monthly place and cook your own food.2 A common reduction is 55% of the normal rate for extended stays.

This is not automatic everywhere. Check your own travel policy before assuming the full daily rate for a trip of a month or more.

Do private companies have to use GSA per diem rates?

No. A private employer can pay any amount it wants, higher or lower. Most follow the federal rates because the IRS treats payments at or below those rates as tax free when the trip is properly documented.6

Pay more than the federal rate and the extra counts as wages. It shows up on your W-2 and gets taxed.6

Sources

  1. Frequently asked questions, per diem. U.S. General Services Administration. Accessed September 27, 2026.
  2. 41 CFR Part 301-11, Per Diem Expenses (Federal Travel Regulation). Electronic Code of Federal Regulations. §§ 301-11.1, 301-11.7, 301-11.13, 301-11.15 to 301-11.17, 301-11.19 to 301-11.22. Accessed September 27, 2026.
  3. M&IE breakdowns. U.S. General Services Administration. CONUS and OCONUS M&IE breakdown tables. Accessed September 27, 2026.
  4. GSA Per Diem Bulletin FTR 26-01. U.S. General Services Administration. 2025. Accessed September 27, 2026.
  5. GSA Per Diem Bulletin FTR 27-01. U.S. General Services Administration. 2026. Accessed September 27, 2026.
  6. Publication 463, Travel, Gift, and Car Expenses. Internal Revenue Service. Per Diem and Car Allowances; Transition Rules. Accessed September 27, 2026.

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