Reading the rates
Every number on this site comes from GSA’s per diem files. This page explains what those numbers cover, and how the comparisons on each destination page are worked out.
What a per diem rate covers
GSA sets the maximum lodging and meals-and-incidentals (M&IE) allowances that federal agencies reimburse for official travel in the continental United States: the 48 contiguous states and the District of Columbia. Alaska, Hawaii and U.S. territories use other rate tables and are not on this site. The rates apply to federal travelers; other employers may use them by choice, but nothing here describes their rules or any tax treatment.
A fiscal year runs from October 1 to September 30. FY 2027 began on October 1, 2026. Every page names the fiscal year of the rates it shows.
Standard and non-standard areas
Any county that GSA does not list uses the standard rate: $113 lodging and $68 M&IE in FY 2027. GSA lists 295 non-standard areas, each defined by one or more counties or cities. A city that is not named may still be inside a listed county, so the county decides the rate. When a destination page says “in Alabama” or “of the 295”, it compares only these listed areas.
Lodging by month
Many areas have seasons: GSA gives start and end dates, always on the first and last day of a month, with a different lodging cap for each period. The site expands each area into twelve monthly caps, October first. The M&IE rate does not change during the year.
The measures on each page
- Full-year average lodging cap: the twelve monthly caps weighted by the number of days in each month of the fiscal year. It lets areas with seasons be compared with one-rate areas. Ranks “of the 295” use this measure unless a sentence says otherwise.
- Peak and low cap: the highest and lowest monthly caps. The rank of a peak cap compares it with every other area’s peak.
- Seasonal spread: peak cap divided by low cap. Nantucket has the widest, 2.85.
- Change: the full-year average compared with the same area in an earlier GSA file. An area is matched by state and name; where GSA renamed an area, it is matched by a shared county, and the earlier name is shown.
- Closest full-year averages: the three areas in other states whose full-year averages are nearest to the page’s area.
- Highest daily total: peak lodging cap plus the M&IE rate.
- Sample trip: Monday to Thursday in the first high month (and the first low month if the area has seasons): three nights of lodging at the cap, two full M&IE days and two travel days at 75%.
First and last day of travel
GSA’s M&IE breakdown table lists, for each M&IE tier, the amounts for breakfast, lunch, dinner, incidental expenses and the first and last day of travel, which is 75% of the daily rate. The same table is used to deduct meals provided by the government or included in a registration fee (Federal Travel Regulation 301-11.18). The site checks that every row adds up.
What these figures are not
They are maximums, not hotel prices. Reimbursement depends on actual costs and agency rules, and lodging taxes are reimbursed separately. The site gives no tax, legal or financial advice. For a binding answer, use your agency’s travel office and GSA’s own lookup.
Files used
From gsa.gov per diem files, retrieved 2026-10-28:
- FY 2021:
/system/files/FY2021_PerDiemMasterRatesFile.xlsx - FY 2022:
/system/files/FY2022_PerDiemMasterRatesFile.xlsx - FY 2023:
/system/files/FY2023_PerDiemMasterRatesFile.xlsx - FY 2024:
/system/files/FY2024_PerDiemMasterRatesFile_correction.xlsx - FY 2025:
/system/files/FY2025_PerDiemMasterRatesFile.xlsx - FY 2026:
/system/files/FY2026_PerDiemMasterRatesFile.xlsx - FY 2027:
/system/files/FY2027_PerDiemRates_Validated090126.xlsx - M&IE breakdown:
/system/files/FY%202025%20MIE%20Breakdown.docx
Source: U.S. General Services Administration, per diem rates (gsa.gov). U.S. Government works are in the public domain. FY 2026 lodging caps in GSA’s file are identical to FY 2025 for every area, so a change “from FY 2026” also equals the change over two years. The site is rebuilt from the new files each October.