I Two buckets
Per diem is not one allowance. It is two, and they work in completely different ways.
| Lodging | M&IE | |
|---|---|---|
| FY2026 standard | $110/night | $68/day |
| Paid as | Actuals up to the cap | Flat allowance |
| Receipts | Always | None |
So a $98 room in a $110 locality reimburses $98. A $115 room reimburses $110, and the extra $5 is yours. Meanwhile the $68 lands whether you eat at a steakhouse or a petrol station.
GSA held FY2026 rates at FY2025 levels. The standard covers most of the continental US; roughly 300 non-standard areas carry their own lodging rates, and M&IE tiers run $68 to $92.
II The 75 percent rule
The Federal Travel Regulation pays 75 percent of the destination M&IE rate on both the first and the last day of travel.
Three days away, at the standard tier
Day 2 — $68 (100%)
Day 3 — $51 (75%)
Total $170, not the $204 three full days would suggest. The reduction applies at every M&IE tier — at the $92 top tier the first and last days pay $69.
On short trips. A two-day trip is entirely first-and-last day — $51 plus $51, so 75 percent throughout with no full day at all. The longer the trip, the less the rule costs you proportionally.
III Trip Estimator
What Will This Trip Reimburse?
IV Which location counts
Where the temporary duty work occurs. Not where the hotel is, and not your official duty station.
Staying in a cheaper suburb to save money does not reduce your M&IE entitlement — the rate still follows the work location.
And many non-standard areas are defined by county, so a town can qualify for the higher rate even when its name never appears in the GSA workbook. Check the county, not just the city.
Non-standard lodging rates also change by month in seasonal destinations, so the same city can carry a different cap in July than in January. Look up the exact month of travel.
V Receipts and deductions
| Expense | Receipt needed |
|---|---|
| Lodging | Always |
| Any authorised expense over $75 | Yes, or an explanation your agency accepts |
| M&IE | None — flat allowance |
Keep the lodging invoice specifically. Hotel taxes are treated separately from the lodging ceiling, so you need the breakdown to claim them properly. Ask for a state tax exemption certificate where the state offers one.
And deduct provided meals. GSA publishes each tier split into breakfast, lunch, dinner and incidentals — at the $92 tier that is $23, $26, $38 and $5 — so the deduction is a published figure, not a judgement call. Failing to deduct is among the most common voucher errors.
VI Day trips and overseas
A day trip with no overnight stay gets no lodging and no full M&IE. But travel of more than 12 hours attracts 75 percent of the M&IE rate; under 12 hours attracts nothing.
That threshold matters on long single-day trips: an 11-hour day pays nothing, a 13-hour day pays three-quarters.
GSA sets rates for the 48 contiguous states and DC only. DoD sets Alaska, Hawaii and the US territories. State Department sets foreign locations. Looking up Honolulu on the GSA site returns the wrong figure — a frequent cause of underclaimed vouchers.
VII Playbook
| Situation | What to do |
|---|---|
| Planning a short trip | Expect 75 percent M&IE on both ends. A two-day trip is all first-and-last. |
| Booking a hotel | Check the cap for the work location and the month before you book. |
| Nothing available at the rate | Ask for an actual expense allowance — up to 300 percent — in advance. |
| Staying outside the city to save | Your M&IE still follows the work location. No penalty. |
| Small town, unsure of the rate | Look up the county. Non-standard areas are often county-wide. |
| Conference includes meals | Deduct them using GSA’s published tier breakdown. |
| Long day trip | Over 12 hours pays 75 percent M&IE. Under 12 pays nothing. |
| Travelling to Hawaii or overseas | GSA is the wrong source. Use DoD or State. |
Before you book and before you file
- Look up the rate for the work location, by county and by month.
- Confirm which agency sets it — GSA, DoD or State.
- Get any actual expense allowance authorised before booking, not after.
- Ask the hotel for a state tax exemption certificate where one exists.
- Keep the lodging invoice with the tax breakdown separated.
- Keep receipts for any other authorised expense over $75.
- Deduct every meal the conference provided.
- Check your voucher applies 75 percent to the first and last day.
Questions
For fiscal year 2026, running 1 October 2025 through 30 September 2026, the standard CONUS rate is $178 a day: $110 for lodging and $68 for meals and incidental expenses. GSA held those figures at their FY2025 levels. The standard rate covers most of the continental United States, with roughly 300 non-standard areas carrying individually set lodging rates, and M&IE tiers running from $68 up to $92. Always check the specific destination and month, because non-standard lodging rates can change seasonally.
Because the Federal Travel Regulation pays 75 percent of the destination M&IE rate on both the first and the last day of travel. At the standard $68 tier that is $51 rather than $68, and at the top $92 tier it is $69. So a three-day trip pays 75 percent, then 100 percent, then 75 percent — two and a half days of meals for three days away. The reduction applies at every M&IE tier, not only the standard one.
You pay the difference, unless your agency authorises otherwise. Lodging is reimbursed as actual cost up to the ceiling, so a $98 room in a $110 locality reimburses $98, and a $115 room reimburses $110 with the remaining $5 coming out of your pocket. Where lodging genuinely is not available at the per diem rate, the Federal Travel Regulation allows your agency to authorise or approve an actual expense allowance of up to 300 percent of the per diem for the location — but that has to be authorised, ideally before you book.
The place where the temporary duty work occurs, not where the hotel happens to be and not your official duty station. That distinction matters when you stay outside an expensive city to save money, because it does not reduce your entitlement, and it matters when the work location sits inside a listed non-standard county even though the city name does not appear in the workbook. Check the county, not just the city.
For lodging, always. For any other authorised expense costing over $75, yes, or an explanation acceptable to your agency for why you cannot provide one. M&IE is different: it is a flat daily allowance and needs no receipts at all, which is why claiming it does not depend on what you actually spent on food. Keep the lodging invoice in particular, because hotel taxes are treated separately from the lodging ceiling and you will need the breakdown.
You deduct them from your M&IE claim. GSA publishes a breakdown of each M&IE tier into breakfast, lunch, dinner and incidentals, so the amount to deduct for a provided meal is a published figure rather than a judgement call. At the top CONUS tier of $92 the split is $23 breakfast, $26 lunch, $38 dinner and $5 incidentals. Failing to deduct provided meals is one of the more common voucher errors.
There is no lodging and no full M&IE, but travel of more than 12 hours without an overnight stay attracts 75 percent of the M&IE rate. Under 12 hours attracts nothing by way of per diem. That threshold catches people out on long single-day trips, where the difference between an 11-hour and a 13-hour day is the difference between nothing and three-quarters of a day's meals.
Not GSA. The Department of Defense sets per diem rates for Alaska, Hawaii and the US territories, and the Department of State sets them for foreign locations. GSA covers only the 48 contiguous states and the District of Columbia. If you are travelling to any of those other destinations, looking the rate up on the GSA site will not give you the right figure, which is a frequent source of underclaimed vouchers.