What you'll be paid on temporary duty — lodging plus the M&IE you keep
Lodging is reimbursed at your actual nightly cost, up to the locality ceiling. Spend less than the cap and you're reimbursed the lower amount — there's no surplus to keep on lodging. Spend more and the excess is out of pocket unless your orders authorize an exception.
M&IE (Meals & Incidental Expenses) is a flat daily allowance set by the locality. You receive it whether or not you spend it on food, and you don't submit meal receipts. This is the part of per diem you can come out ahead on — eat economically and the difference is yours.
The 75% travel-day rule. Your departure day and your return day each pay 75% of the M&IE rate, because you're only traveling part of those days. The full M&IE rate applies only to days you're at the location for the entire calendar day. At the standard $68 rate, a travel day pays $51.
Provided meals. When the government furnishes a meal — a dining facility, or a conference fee that includes meals — that meal's amount is deducted from your M&IE for the day, using the full meal value even on the 75% travel days. If every meal is provided, your M&IE drops to the $5 incidental portion, which you keep while in a travel status. Complimentary hotel breakfast and meals served on a flight do not reduce per diem.
For FY2026 the standard CONUS rate is $110 lodging and $68 M&IE. Higher-cost areas have their own ceilings, and lodging often varies by season. Check the GSA per diem lookup for CONUS, or DTMO for OCONUS (Alaska, Hawaii, territories, and overseas), then plug the numbers in above. OCONUS M&IE can be any amount and the meal breakdown is computed for you. Planning a permanent move instead? Use the PCS Move Calculator for DLA, MALT, and TLE.
Yes. M&IE is a flat allowance, not a reimbursement. You're paid the daily rate for each eligible day with no receipts and no requirement to return what you don't spend on food. Lodging is the opposite — it only covers your actual hotel cost up to the cap, so there's nothing to pocket there.
Per diem paid at or below the published locality rate for official travel is generally not taxable income. It's an allowance to cover travel costs, not wages. Amounts paid above the federal rate, or per diem retained without qualifying travel, can become taxable — but a standard TDY trip reimbursed at the GSA rate stays tax-free.
If the government directs you to use a dining facility that provides all three meals, your M&IE is reduced to the incidental portion ($5/day on CONUS) — check all three meal boxes above to model it. Some long-course TDYs pay a reduced "proportional" M&IE; your orders will state how meals are handled. Lodging in the barracks or on-base quarters is reimbursed at the cost charged, up to the cap.
One per calendar day you're in a travel status, including the day you leave and the day you return. A 4-night trip is 5 per diem days: the departure day and return day at 75% M&IE, and the 3 days in between at the full rate. A same-day trip with no overnight pays 75% M&IE for that one day if you're away more than 12 hours, with no lodging.
All data on this page comes from official government sources. Verify independently:
📎 CONUS Per Diem Rates (GSA)📎 M&IE Breakdown Table (GSA)📎 OCONUS Per Diem (DTMO)📎 Joint Travel Regulations (JTR)📍 This is an estimate. For official entitlements, talk to your installation's free financial resources:
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