US Per Diem Calculator (2026-27 GSA Rates)

Three agencies set US government per diem rates, and which one applies depends on where you're traveling. The calculator covers the first; the other two are linked so you can look up the rest.

The General Services Administration (GSA) sets rates for the continental US, known as CONUS. The Department of Defense sets rates for non-foreign areas outside CONUS, such as Alaska, Hawaii, and US territories. The State Department sets rates for foreign countries.

GSA resets its rates each October 1 at the start of the federal fiscal year. Lodging in some cities also changes by month, which is why Chicago runs $148 in winter and $238 in spring. If your team travels abroad, the international per diem rates guide covers the State Department side.

The calculator applies four rules from the Federal Travel Regulation to every trip you enter. Each one changes the total, and missing any of them is the usual reason a per diem estimate is wrong.

• Lodging is a cap: Federal travelers are reimbursed actual hotel cost up to the GSA lodging rate for that city and month, with a receipt. If your hotel costs $95 and the cap is $113, the reimbursement is $95. The calculator shows the cap so you can budget the maximum.
• M&IE is a flat daily amount: It covers breakfast, lunch, dinner, and incidentals like tips. At the $68 standard tier the split is $16 breakfast, $19 lunch, $28 dinner, and $5 incidentals. No meal receipts are needed.
• The first and last day pay 75%: On travel days you get three-quarters of the M&IE rate, which is $51 at the standard tier. Here is a three-night trip at the standard rate: lodging is 3 × $113 = $339, and M&IE is $51 + $68 + $68 + $51 = $238. The total is $577.
• Provided meals are deducted: If the hotel includes breakfast or a conference serves lunch, the calculator subtracts that meal's share from the day's M&IE. Incidentals are never deducted. In the example above, a free breakfast on day two drops the total by $16.

ITILITE's expense management checks per diem claims against location-specific policy rules, so the city and month lookup happens at submission, not in a spreadsheet. For the full walkthrough, read the guide to how per diem works for US business travel.