2023 GSA Per Diem Rate
For 2023, the GSA Per Diem Rate figures are $98 (Standard CONUS lodging rate), $59 (Standard CONUS M&IE rate), $59 (Lowest M&IE rate tier) and $79 (Highest M&IE rate tier).
Effective 2022-10-01 through 2023-09-30Source: Maximum Per Diem Reimbursement Rates for the Continental United States (CONUS), FY 2023 (GSA Per Diem Bulletin FTR 23-01) (GSA)Verified 2026-09-02
Compared with 2022
| Item | 2022 | 2023 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard CONUS lodging rate | $96 | $98 | +$2 (+2.1%) |
| Standard CONUS M&IE rate | $59 | $59 | +$0 (+0.0%) |
| Lowest M&IE rate tier | $59 | $59 | +$0 (+0.0%) |
| Highest M&IE rate tier | $79 | $79 | +$0 (+0.0%) |
Who it applies to
Federal employees travelling on official business inside the continental United States, and the agencies that reimburse them. These are maximum reimbursement rates set by GSA under the Federal Travel Regulation: an agency may pay up to the lodging rate for a night's room and up to the M&IE rate for a day's meals and incidental expenses, in any location GSA has not set a non-standard rate for. They are not the IRS high-low per diem rates, which are what a private employer or a self-employed taxpayer uses to substantiate a business travel deduction.
What changed this year, and why
The standard CONUS lodging rate rose from $96 to $98 a night for fiscal 2023, and lodging rates went up in some existing non-standard areas, though no new one was added. Meals did not move: the M&IE tiers stay at $59 to $79 and the standard CONUS M&IE rate stays at $59 a day.
Common questions
- What is the standard CONUS lodging rate for fiscal 2023?
- $98 a night, for travel performed on or after October 1, 2022, through September 30, 2023.
- Did the meals rate change for fiscal 2023?
- No. The standard CONUS M&IE rate is unchanged at $59 a day and the non-standard area tiers are unchanged at $59 to $79.
- Why does this page give one standard rate instead of the rate for my city?
- GSA publishes the per-city and per-county lodging and M&IE rates only as a lookup grid at gsa.gov/perdiem, where a location's row crossed with a column holds a bare amount with no sentence around it. This site publishes figures a document states in words, so what it carries is the standard CONUS rate the Federal Register notice states in its own prose. A city GSA has not listed takes that standard rate anyway.
The first and last day of a trip pay three quarters of the M&IE rate
A trip's first and last day are not reimbursed at the full meals and incidental expenses rate. GSA pays three quarters of the M&IE rate for the traveller's temporary duty location on each of those two days, on the reasoning that a departure day and a return day do not each contain a full day of meals away from home. The rate that gets cut is the one for the place being travelled to, not the one for the traveller's own official duty station, which is the part people get wrong when they work a reimbursement out by hand. GSA publishes the already-reduced amount for every location in the meal breakdown table on its own site, under a heading for the first and last day of travel, so the arithmetic does not have to be redone.
On the first and last travel day, Federal employees are only eligible for 75 percent of the total M&IE rate for their temporary duty travel location (not the official duty station location).
Per diem rates frequently asked questions (GSA)
What happens when no room can be had at the maximum rate
The lodging figure on this page is a ceiling on ordinary reimbursement, not a promise that a room exists at that price. Where a federal traveller cannot find one within the established rate, the Federal Travel Regulation lets the employing agency authorise the actual expense allowance instead and reimburse what the room actually cost, up to triple the established per diem rate for that location. It is an authorisation rather than an entitlement: the agency has to approve it, normally before the travel happens, and GSA's own guidance asks the traveller to check FedRooms first to confirm that nothing is available at the per diem rate. The Federal Travel Regulation sets the allowance out in its own actual expense subpart, which is the part of the rules an agency travel manager will point to when approving one.
In addition, if a Federal employee cannot find a room within the established per diem rates, the travel policy allows the agency to reimburse the actual hotel charges up to 300 percent of the established per diem rates.
Per diem rates frequently asked questions (GSA)
Standard locations, non-standard areas, and the city that is on neither list
GSA sets a rate of its own for the non-standard areas, which are the places the federal community travels to often enough for GSA to review them every year. Everywhere else is a standard CONUS location, and standard locations are deliberately not listed one by one on the per diem site. So an address that returns nothing from GSA's lookup has not been left out by mistake. Check the county first: where the city is unlisted but its county is listed, the county's rate governs the whole county, that city included. Where neither the city nor the county appears, the location takes the standard CONUS rate published at the top of this page. That is why the standard rate is what most federal travel is actually reimbursed against, rather than an obscure fallback.
If the city is not listed, but the county is, then the per diem rate is the rate for that entire county. If the city and the county are not listed, then that area receives the standard CONUS location rate.
Per diem rates frequently asked questions (GSA)
Who this rate is actually for
The 2023 GSA per diem rates are the reimbursement rates that federal agencies use to pay back their own employees for lodging, meals, and incidental expenses when those employees are on official travel within the continental United States. The continental United States includes the 48 contiguous states and the District of Columbia. Travel outside this area is handled by other agencies: the Department of Defense sets rates for non-foreign areas such as Alaska, Hawaii, and U.S. territories, while the Department of State sets rates for foreign travel. The standard CONUS lodging rate for 2023 is $98 and the standard CONUS meals and incidental expenses rate is $59, though actual rates vary by county and can be higher in specific locations.
The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) establishes the per diem reimbursement rates that federal agencies use to reimburse their employees for subsistence expenses incurred while on official travel within the continental U.S. (CONUS), which includes the 48 contiguous states and the District of Columbia.
Per diem rates frequently asked questions (GSA)
What you have to keep and hand over to get reimbursed
Federal travelers on official travel must keep receipts and turn them in to their agency in order to be reimbursed. Specifically, a receipt is always required to substantiate lodging expenses, no matter the amount. For other authorized travel expenses - such as meals or incidentals - a receipt is required for any single expense costing over $75. If a traveler cannot produce a receipt, they must provide a reason acceptable to their agency explaining why the receipt is unavailable. Without proper documentation, the agency may deny the reimbursement claim. Travelers should keep all receipts organized during their trip so they can submit them when they file their travel voucher after returning to their duty station.
For any official temporary travel destination, you must provide a receipt to substantiate your claimed travel expenses for lodging and receipts for any authorized expenses incurred costing over $75, or a reason acceptable to your agency explaining why you are unable to provide the necessary receipt (see Federal Travel Regulation 301-11.25).
Per diem rates frequently asked questions (GSA)
Money you do not spend on the room cannot be shifted to meals, or the other way around
Federal employees cannot pool their lodging and meals allowances together to spend more on one category. The Federal Travel Regulation does not allow "mixing and matching" between the two per diem components. Lodging per diem is a cap on what the agency will reimburse for the hotel room; if the traveler spends less than the lodging rate, the unspent portion does not become extra money to spend on meals. Conversely, the M&IE rate - whether the lowest tier at $59 or a higher locality rate up to $79 - cannot be reduced or given up to pay for a more expensive hotel room. Each allowance is separate, and reimbursement is limited to actual costs incurred in each category up to its own maximum rate.
The lodging per diem rates are a maximum amount; the traveler only receives actual lodging costs up to that maximum rate. Therefore, there is no “extra” lodging per diem to add to the M&IE rate. Likewise, the M&IE per diem cannot be given up or transferred to lodging costs.
Per diem rates frequently asked questions (GSA)
GSA's rate does not automatically govern a contractor's pay or a trucker's tax deduction
GSA's per diem rates are set for federal employees on official travel only. GSA does not regulate what private companies pay their contractors, nor does it set the meal deduction limits that self-employed truckers or other independent workers claim on their tax returns. If a contractor working on a federal contract wants to know what rate applies to their travel billing, they should check with the contracting officer and review the terms of their specific contract, as the contract itself governs payment. Similarly, truckers and other self-employed individuals who use per diem rates for tax deductions should consult the IRS or a tax professional, because IRS rules - not GSA rules - determine what amount may be deducted for meals.
GSA establishes per diem rates and related policies for federal travelers on official travel only, and cannot address specific inquiries concerning the payment of contractors.
Per diem rates frequently asked questions (GSA)
A hotel's advertised GOV rate is not the same thing as the federal per diem rate
Many hotels advertise a special "GOV" rate for government travelers, but this rate is not the same as the federal per diem rate. A hotel's GOV rate is simply a discounted price the property offers; it may be higher or lower than the per diem rate GSA has published for that locality. If a hotel's GOV rate exceeds the federal per diem rate, the traveler cannot simply charge the difference - they must receive prior approval from their agency for an actual expense allowance in order to be reimbursed for the full amount. Travelers are responsible for knowing the current federal per diem rate for their destination and should not assume that a hotel's advertised GOV rate matches it. The difference between the two is a matter of agency policy and the Federal Travel Regulation, not hotel pricing.
It is the traveler’s responsibility to know the federal per diem reimbursement rates, and should not assume a GOV rate is the same as the federal per diem rate.
Per diem rates frequently asked questions (GSA)
How each figure was verified
Each number below was read from a stored copy of the document named beside it, and checked to occur word for word in the quoted sentence. The digest is of that stored text.
- Standard CONUS lodging rate
the standard CONUS lodging rate will increase from $96 to $98.
- Standard CONUS M&IE rate
the standard M&IE rate unchanged at $59.
- Lowest M&IE rate tier
The M&IE per diem tiers for FY 2023 are unchanged at $59-$79,
- Highest M&IE rate tier
The M&IE per diem tiers for FY 2023 are unchanged at $59-$79,