Per Diem Calculator
Calculate per diem rates for business travel including lodging, meals, and incidental expenses by city.
Per Diem Calculator
Calculator
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Formula: Total = (Lodging x Nights) + (Full Day Meals x Full Days) + (Partial Day Meals x 0.75 x Partial Days) - Meal Deductions
Worked example — Lodging: $774 | Meals: $276.50 | Total: $1,050.50
Formula
Total = (Lodging x Nights) + (Full Day Meals x Full Days) + (Partial Day Meals x 0.75 x Partial Days) - Meal Deductions
Per diem is the sum of nightly lodging rates times the number of hotel nights, plus daily M&IE rates for full travel days, plus 75% of the M&IE rate for first and last travel days, minus deductions for any provided meals.
Worked Examples
Example 1: Washington DC Business Trip
Problem:An employee travels to Washington, DC for 4 days/3 nights. First and last days are partial. No meals provided.
Solution:DC Rates: Lodging $258/night, M&IE $79/day Lodging: 3 nights x $258 = $774 Meals: Day 1 (75%): $79 x 0.75 = $59.25 Days 2-3 (full): 2 x $79 = $158 Day 4 (75%): $79 x 0.75 = $59.25 Total Meals: $59.25 + $158 + $59.25 = $276.50 Total Per Diem: $774 + $276.50 = $1,050.50
Result:Lodging: $774 | Meals: $276.50 | Total: $1,050.50
Example 2: Team Conference Travel
Problem:A team of 3 travels to Chicago for 3 days/2 nights. Lunch is provided on day 2.
Solution:Chicago Rates: Lodging $219/night, M&IE $79/day Per person lodging: 2 x $219 = $438 Per person meals: Day 1 (75%): $59.25, Day 2: $79 - $23.70 (lunch) = $55.30, Day 3 (75%): $59.25 Total meals per person: $173.80 Per person total: $438 + $173.80 = $611.80 Team total: $611.80 x 3 = $1,835.40
Result:Per Person: $611.80 | Team of 3: $1,835.40
Frequently Asked Questions
What is per diem and who sets the rates?
Per diem, Latin for per day, is a daily allowance given to employees or contractors to cover lodging, meals, and incidental expenses while traveling on business. In the United States, per diem rates for federal employees are set by the General Services Administration for the continental United States and by the Department of Defense for locations outside the continental US. These rates are updated annually, typically effective October 1st, and vary by location to reflect local cost of living differences. Private sector companies may adopt GSA rates or establish their own per diem policies. The per diem system simplifies expense reporting because travelers receive a flat daily allowance rather than submitting individual receipts for every meal and incidental purchase during their trip.
What is the difference between lodging and M&IE per diem?
Per diem is divided into two components: lodging and Meals and Incidental Expenses, commonly abbreviated as M and IE. The lodging component covers the cost of overnight accommodations and varies significantly by location, ranging from about 98 dollars per night in rural areas to over 280 dollars in expensive cities like New York and San Francisco. The M and IE component covers breakfast, lunch, dinner, and incidental expenses such as tips to hotel staff, laundry, and dry cleaning. M and IE rates range from 59 to 84 dollars per day depending on the city. Lodging per diem typically requires receipts while M and IE is usually provided as a flat allowance without requiring individual meal receipts, making it simpler to administer.
What are first and last day travel per diem rules?
Federal per diem rules specify that the first and last days of travel receive only 75 percent of the standard M and IE rate. This is because travelers typically eat some meals at home on departure and arrival days. For example, if the full M and IE rate is 79 dollars, the first and last day allowance would be 59.25 dollars. Some organizations apply this rule strictly while others provide the full rate for all travel days. For single-day trips where the traveler departs and returns on the same day, the 75 percent rate applies to the entire day. Lodging per diem is not affected by this rule since you either have a hotel night or you do not. Understanding these partial day rules is important for accurate travel budget planning.
How do provided meals affect per diem calculations?
When meals are provided at no cost to the traveler, such as conference meals, client dinners, or complimentary hotel breakfasts, the per diem must be reduced accordingly. The federal deduction rates are based on a percentage of the M and IE rate: breakfast is approximately 20 percent, lunch is approximately 30 percent, and dinner is approximately 50 percent. For example, if the M and IE rate is 79 dollars and breakfast is provided, the traveler deducts approximately 15.80 dollars from their per diem for that day. Continental breakfasts at hotels are generally exempt from this deduction rule. These deductions prevent double-dipping where a traveler receives per diem for meals they did not actually purchase out of pocket during their business trip.
Is per diem taxable income for employees?
Per diem payments are generally not taxable if they meet certain IRS requirements. Under the accountable plan rules, per diem is tax-free when the travel has a business purpose, the payment does not exceed the federal rate for the location, and the employee provides an expense report with dates, locations, and business purpose within a reasonable time. If per diem exceeds the federal rate, only the excess amount is taxable as wages. If the employer does not require adequate accounting of the expenses, the entire per diem amount becomes taxable income subject to income tax and employment taxes. Self-employed individuals cannot receive per diem but can deduct actual travel expenses on their tax returns, using the GSA rates as a guideline for meal deductions without requiring individual receipts.
What is the difference between CONUS, non-foreign OCONUS and foreign rates?
CONUS covers the 48 contiguous states and the District of Columbia, and those rates come from GSA, which is what the city list here reflects. Non-foreign OCONUS locations, meaning Alaska, Hawaii and the US territories and possessions, are set by the Defense Travel Management Office. Everywhere else is a foreign rate published by the State Department. The three sets are revised on different cycles and treat items such as lodging tax differently, so for Honolulu or Anchorage confirm the figure against the DoD table rather than assuming the GSA schedule applies.
What is the high-low substantiation method?
It is a simplified alternative for employers who do not want to look up a separate rate for every destination. The IRS publishes an annual notice naming one combined rate for a defined list of high-cost localities and a single lower rate for everywhere else in CONUS, each split into a lodging portion and an M and IE portion. An employer choosing it must apply it consistently to that employee for the whole year rather than switching to locality rates when they happen to be more generous. Reimbursement stays tax-free on the same accountable plan terms.
Why does the calculator bill one fewer lodging night than travel days?
Lodging is paid per night, not per calendar day, so a four-day trip departing Monday and returning Thursday involves three hotel nights. The published lodging figure is also a ceiling on the room rate, not an entitlement: most policies reimburse the actual room charge up to that cap, and travellers who stay with family claim nothing. In CONUS, lodging taxes usually sit outside the cap and are reimbursed separately as a miscellaneous expense, which is why a hotel folio can exceed the nightly rate and still comply.
Does per diem apply to a day trip with no overnight stay?
Usually not. The M and IE allowance is tied to travel that requires sleep or rest away from the tax home, so a same-day trip that starts and ends in one workday generally does not qualify. Employers may still reimburse a meal on such a trip, but under IRS rules that payment is normally treated as taxable wages rather than a tax-free per diem. Setting the trip length to one day here shows the 75 percent partial-day amount, which is the right figure only when an overnight qualifying trip begins or ends that day.
How are trips handled when rates change on 1 October?
GSA rates run on the federal fiscal year and take effect on 1 October, and many localities also carry seasonal lodging tiers within the year, so the same hotel can have a different ceiling in peak months. For travel that straddles the changeover, the rate in force on each individual night or M and IE day is the one that applies, rather than the rate at the time of booking or of filing the expense report. Because this tool holds one rate per trip, split a straddling trip into two calculations.
References
Reviewed for accuracy by Raz Mohammad, Tax & Salary Specialist · Editorial policy
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