What is per diem meal allowance?
Mia Ramsey
Published Mar 24, 2026
Per Diem (latin for ‘per day’ or ‘for each day’) or ‘living away from home allowance’ is a daily allowance for expenses that employers pay employees to cover living expenses when travelling for work. Travel allowances are usually paid in advance and include a meals allowance and an incidentals allowance.
What is the per diem meal allowance for 2021?
$55
For FY 2021, the standard Continental United States (CONUS) lodging rate will remain unchanged at $96, and 319 locations will receive a maximum lodging allowance higher than the standard allowance. The Meal and Incidental Expense (M&IE) per diem tiers for FY 2021 are unchanged at $55-$76.
What is included in per diem expenses?
In the business world, a per diem payment is a daily allowance for travel expenses. This daily rate covers lodging, meals, and incidental expenses (also known as M&IE). Your employees can also use their per diem allowance to cover laundry or dry cleaning services for those all-important business meetings.
How many allowances are included in a per diem?
Per diem includes three allowances: a rate for lodging, a rate for meals, and a rate for incidental expenses. Visit DoD site > Visit the State Dept Site > The State Department sets Foreign Rates.
What is the 2020 IRS standard meal per diem rate?
What is the 2020 IRS standard meal per diem rate? The per diem rate for traveling for work to what the government calls ‘high-cost’ locality is $297. It is $200 for any other locality.
How do I Find my per diem rate?
Per Diem Rates. Rates are set by fiscal year, effective October 1 each year. Find current rates in the continental United States (“CONUS Rates”) by searching below with city and state (or ZIP code), or by clicking on the map, or use the new Per Diem tool to calculate trip allowances.
Can a self employed person use a per diem?
There is a per diem rate for combined lodging and meal costs, and a per diem rate for meal costs alone. An employer may use either per diem method for reimbursing employee travel expenses. A self-employed person can only use per diem for the meal costs. Return to top.
