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Per Diem Allowance Calculator

Enter the trip length, the M&IE rate and the nightly lodging cost to total your per diem.

How it is calculated

Inputs are the number of calendar days of the trip, the M&IE daily rate in dollars, the number of travel days paid at 75% (normally 2, the first and the last day; 1 for a one-day trip of more than 12 hours) and the lodging cost per night. M&IE for full days: (days − travel days) × rate. M&IE for the travel days: travel days × rate × 0.75. Lodging: (days − 1) × lodging per night, because a 5-day trip has 4 nights. Total: the sum of the three. For lodging, enter the actual nightly cost or the lodging maximum, whichever is lower; it is never reduced to 75%. Days and travel days must be whole numbers, travel days can be at most 2 and never more than the days of the trip, and the lodging field may be left blank for a trip without an overnight stay. The rates themselves come from your agency's or employer's table (for U.S. federal travel, GSA's per diem lookup), not from the tool.

Worked example

A 5-day trip with an M&IE rate of $68 and a hotel at $110 a night (within the lodging cap). M&IE for full days: (5 − 2) × 68 = $204.00. M&IE for the two travel days: 2 × 68 × 0.75 = $102.00. Lodging: 4 nights × 110 = $440.00. Total: 204 + 102 + 440 = $746.00. Cutting the whole daily amount to 75% on the travel days would wrongly take another 2 × 110 × 0.25 = $55.00 off the lodging; the 75% rule touches only the $68 M&IE.

Try this example →

Common mistakes

  • Applying the 75% to lodging. Only M&IE is reduced on the first and last day; a hotel night is paid at actual cost up to the cap.
  • Entering the combined lodging + M&IE figure as the daily rate. The rate field is M&IE only; lodging has its own field.
  • Counting nights as days. The tool pays lodging for days − 1 nights, so a 5-day trip gets 4 nights.
  • Entering the lodging maximum when the hotel cost less. You are reimbursed the actual cost up to the maximum, so enter the lower of the two.
  • Entering more than 2 travel days, or 2 travel days for a one-day trip. Only the first and the last day are travel days, so the tool shows no result.

Sources

About this calculator

A per diem allowance is a daily allowance a traveler is paid for meals, lodging and incidental expenses on a business trip. U.S. federal rates, published by the General Services Administration (GSA) by city or county, come in two parts: a lodging maximum per night and a meals and incidental expenses (M&IE) rate per day. Many employers and other governments use the same structure.

Under the Federal Travel Regulation (41 CFR 301-11.101), full days of travel are paid at 100% of the M&IE rate and the day of departure and the last day of travel at 75% of the M&IE rate; a trip of more than 12 but less than 24 hours gets 75% for each calendar day. The 75% applies to M&IE only. Lodging is reimbursed per night at your actual cost, up to the lodging maximum for the location (41 CFR 301-11.100), and is never cut to 75%. This calculator applies both rules: M&IE by day with the reduced travel days, and lodging for each night (days − 1) at the nightly amount you enter. Finance and HR teams, travel coordinators and employees use it to budget a trip or check an expense report; an employer's own policy can differ from the federal rules.

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Comments (1)

  • Editorial team

    The rules behind this tool are the US federal travel regulations, where the meals-and-incidentals rate and the lodging cap depend on the destination, so look up the rate for your city first. A one-day trip with a travel day pays 51.00 of meals and no lodging, because lodging is counted only for nights. The tool also does not deduct meals that were provided. What fraction does your employer use on travel days?

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