2017 Per Diem Rate
For 2017, the Per Diem Rate is $282 (High-cost locality), $189 (Other locality within CONUS), $5 (Incidental expenses only) and 5 more figures below.
| Item | High-cost locality | Other locality | CONUS | OCONUS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Meals portion | $68 | $57 | - | - |
| Transportation industry M&IE | - | - | $63 | $68 |
A dash is a figure this site has not published for that row, not an amount of zero.
Effective 2016-10-01Source: Notice 2016-58 (IRS)Verified 2026-08-31
Compared with 2016
| Item | 2016 | 2017 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| High-cost locality | $275 | $282 | +$7 (+2.5%) |
| Other locality within CONUS | $185 | $189 | +$4 (+2.2%) |
| Incidental expenses only | $5 | $5 | +$0 (+0.0%) |
| High-cost threshold | $230 | $236 | +$6 (+2.6%) |
| Meals portion, high-cost locality | $68 | $68 | +$0 (+0.0%) |
| Meals portion, other locality | $57 | $57 | +$0 (+0.0%) |
| Transportation industry M&IE, CONUS | $63 | $63 | +$0 (+0.0%) |
| Transportation industry M&IE, OCONUS | $68 | $68 | +$0 (+0.0%) |
Localities the document lists
49 localities in 20 states, each named as the document prints it.
12 rows name no portion of the year, and the table reads all of the calendar year for them.
| Locality | State | Portion of the calendar year |
|---|---|---|
| Sedona City Limits of Sedona | Arizona | March 1-April 30 |
| Los Angeles Los Angeles, Orange, | California | January 1-March 31 |
| Mill Valley/San Rafael/Novato Marin | California | October 1-October 31 and June 1-September 30 |
| Monterey Monterey | California | July 1-August 31 |
| Napa Napa | California | October 1-October 31 and May 1-September 30 |
| San Francisco San Francisco | California | All of the calendar year |
| San Mateo/Foster City/Belmont San Mateo | California | All of the calendar year |
| Santa Barbara Santa Barbara | California | All of the calendar year |
| Santa Monica City limits of Santa Monica | California | All of the calendar year |
| Sunnyvale/Palo Alto/San Jose Santa Clara | California | All of the calendar year |
| Aspen Pitkin | Colorado | December 1-March 31 and June 1-August 31 |
| Denver/Aurora Denver, Adams, Arapahoe, | Colorado | October 1-November 30 and and Jefferson February 1-September 30 |
| Grand Lake Grand | Colorado | December 1-March 31 |
| Silverthorne/Breckenridge Summit | Colorado | December 1-March 31 |
| Steamboat Springs Routt | Colorado | December 1-March 31 |
| Telluride San Miguel | Colorado | December 1-March 31 and June 1-August 31 |
| Vail Eagle | Colorado | December 1-August 31 |
| Washington D.C. (also the cities of Alexandria, Falls Church, and Fairfax, and the counties of Arlington and Fairfax, in Virginia; and the counties of Montgomery and Prince George's in Maryland) (See also Maryland and Virginia) | District of Columbia | All of the calendar year |
| Boca Raton/Delray Beach/Jupiter Palm Beach and Hendry | Florida | January 1-April 30 |
| Fort Lauderdale Broward | Florida | January 1-April 30 |
| Fort Walton Beach/De Funiak Springs Okaloosa and Walton | Florida | June 1-July 31 |
| Key West Monroe | Florida | All of the calendar year |
| Miami Miami-Dade | Florida | December 1-March 31 |
| Naples Collier | Florida | December 1-April 30 |
| Vero Beach Indian River | Florida | December 1-April 30 |
| Chicago Cook and Lake | Illinois | October 1-November 30 and April 1-September 30 |
| Bar Harbor Hancock | Maine | July 1-August 31 |
| Ocean City Worcester | Maryland | June 1-August 31 |
| Washington, DC Metro Area Montgomery and Prince George’s | Maryland | All of the calendar year |
| Boston/Cambridge Suffolk, city of Cambridge | Massachusetts | All of the calendar year |
| Falmouth City limits of Falmouth | Massachusetts | July 1-August 31 |
| Martha's Vineyard Dukes | Massachusetts | June 1-September 30 |
| Nantucket Nantucket | Massachusetts | October 1-December 31 and June 1-September 30 |
| Traverse City/Leland Grand Traverse and Leelanau | Michigan | July 1-August 31 |
| Lake Placid Essex | New York | July 1-August 31 |
| New York City Bronx, Kings, New York, Queens, and Richmond | New York | All of the calendar year |
| Saratoga Springs/Schenectady Saratoga and Schenectady | New York | July 1-August 31 |
| Kill Devil Dare | North Carolina | June 1-August 31 |
| Seaside Clatsop | Oregon | July 1-August 31 |
| Hershey Hershey | Pennsylvania | June 1-August 31 |
| Philadelphia Philadelphia | Pennsylvania | October 1-November 30, April 1-June 30, and September 1-September 30 |
| Jamestown/Middletown/Newport Newport | Rhode Island | July 1-August 31 |
| Charleston Charleston, Berkeley and | South Carolina | October 1-November 30 and Dorchester March 1-September 30 |
| Park City Summit | Utah | December 1-March 31 |
| Virginia Beach City of Virginia Beach | Virginia | June 1-August 31 |
| Wallops Island Accomack | Virginia | July 1-August 31 |
| Washington, DC Metro Area Cities of Alexandria, Fairfax, and Falls Church; counties of Arlington and Fairfax | Virginia | All of the calendar year |
| Seattle King | Washington | All of the calendar year |
| Jackson/Pinedale Teton and Sublette | Wyoming | July 1-August 31 |
Who it applies to
Taxpayers using the IRS per diem rates to substantiate business travel expenses under the high-low method or the incidental expenses only method, as described in Notice 2016-58.
What changed this year, and why
Updated per diem rates for the high-low substantiation method and the incidental expenses only deduction for travel away from home within CONUS.
Common questions
- What is the per diem rate for a high-cost locality under the high-low method?
- For travel on or after October 1, 2016, the rate for any high-cost locality within CONUS is $282 per day.
- What is the per diem rate for other localities within CONUS?
- For travel on or after October 1, 2016, the rate for any other locality within CONUS is $189 per day.
- What is the incidental expenses only rate?
- The rate for incidental expenses only, for any CONUS or OCONUS locality, is $5 per day.
- How do the 2017 rates compare to the prior year?
- The high-cost locality rate increased from $275 in 2016 to $282. The other-locality rate increased from $185 in 2016 to $189. The incidental expenses only rate remained at $5.
What a per diem rate actually proves
A per diem rate is not a guess - it is an IRS-approved figure that satisfies the strict substantiation requirements of Internal Revenue Code § 274(d) and the corresponding Income Tax Regulations. When a taxpayer is away from home on business and uses the rate, the amount up to the published limit is treated as ordinary and necessary travel expense without the taxpayer having to keep receipts for every meal or night of lodging. The notice covers three uses: the special M&IE rates for the transportation industry, the incidental-expenses-only deduction, and the high-low method with its annual high-cost-locality list. Because the substantiation rules also require the traveler to prove the time, place, and business purpose of the trip, the rate relieves only the burden of proving the dollar amount of meals and lodging, not the other elements. Taxpayers who use the rate must still follow the conditions set out in Rev. Proc. 2011-47.
This annual notice provides the 2016-2017 special per diem rates for taxpayers to use in substantiating the amount of ordinary and necessary business expenses incurred while traveling away from home, specifically (1) the special transportation industry meal and incidental expenses (M&IE) rates, (2) the rate for the incidental expenses only deduction, and (3) the rates and list of high-cost localities for purposes of the high-low substantiation method.
Notice 2016-58 (IRS)
What makes a city a high-cost locality
A locality qualifies as a high-cost locality for the 2016-2017 rates if its federal per diem rate is $236 or more during the period in question. That threshold is what moves a city from the $189 rate to the $282 rate under the high-low method. Many of the listed cities are only high-cost during a specific portion of the calendar year - for example, Los Angeles is high-cost from January 1 through March 31, Sedona only from March 1 through April 30, and Napa has two windows from October 1 through October 31 and from May 1 through September 30. When travel falls outside the listed window, the city drops back to the other-locality rate. A traveler using the high-low method therefore has to check not only whether a city appears on the list, but also whether the travel dates fall inside the parenthetical dates shown next to it, because a single city can switch between the high and the low rate several times within the same year.
The following localities have a federal per diem rate of $236 or more, and are high-cost localities for all of the calendar year or the portion of the calendar year specified in parentheses under the key city name.
Notice 2016-58 (IRS)
What changed in the high-cost list since last year
Sedona, Los Angeles, Mill Valley, Vero Beach, Kill Devil and Seaside joined the high-cost list. Denver/Aurora, Vail, Fort Lauderdale, Naples, Chicago, Philadelphia, Newport and Jackson/Pinedale stayed on it but changed the months they count for. Only Mammoth Lakes, California and Midland, Texas came off, and Mammoth Lakes had been added a year earlier, which is how quickly a resort town can cross the threshold in both directions. Check the months as well as the city: a locality listed for part of the year is an other-locality for the rest of it.
a. The following localities have been added to the list of high-cost localities: Sedona, AZ; Los Angeles, California; Mill Valley/San Rafael/Novato, California; Vero Beach, Florida; Kill Devil, North Carolina; Seaside, Oregon. b. The following localities have changed the portion of the year in which they are high-cost localities: Denver/Aurora, Colorado; Vail, Colorado; Fort Lauderdale, Florida; Naples, Florida; Chicago, Illinois; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Jamestown/Middletown/Newport, Rhode Island; Jackson/Pinedale, Wyoming. c. The following localities have been removed from the list of high-cost localities: Mammoth Lakes, California; Midland, Texas.
Notice 2016-58 (IRS)
How much of the rate counts as meals
Only a portion of the per diem rate counts as the amount paid for meals, and that distinction matters because § 274(n) limits the deductible portion of meal expenses. Under the high-low substantiation method for 2017, of the $282 high-cost locality rate, $68 is treated as paid for meals for purposes of § 274(n), while of the $189 other-locality rate, $57 is treated as paid for meals. The remainder of each rate - the difference between the full per diem and the meals portion - is attributable to lodging and incidental expenses, which are not subject to the § 274(n) limitation. The same meal portions apply when a taxpayer uses the meal and incidental expenses only substantiation method instead of the full per diem method: $68 of meals in a high-cost locality and $57 of meals in any other locality within CONUS. This fixed allocation lets employers and employees know exactly how much of the daily rate is subject to the meals deduction cap without having to itemize actual spending.
The amount of the $282 high rate and $189 low rate that is treated as paid for meals for purposes of § 274(n) is $68 for travel to any high- cost locality and $57 for travel to any other locality within CONUS.
Notice 2016-58 (IRS)
How much of the meals portion you can actually deduct
A per diem rate is not a deduction. It is the ceiling on what can be treated as substantiated, and the meals part of it is then cut again before it reaches a tax return: whichever method you use, you can generally deduct only 50% of the unreimbursed cost of your meals. On the high-low method the meals part is the figure this page publishes above, $68 a day in a high-cost locality and $57 a day anywhere else in CONUS, so it is half of that amount, not the whole rate, that survives the limit. The lodging part of the rate is not touched by it, and neither is the incidental-expenses-only amount.
Both of these methods are explained below. But, regardless of the method you use, you generally can deduct only 50% of the unreim- bursed cost of your meals.
Publication 463 (2017), Travel, Gift, and Car Expenses (IRS)
Drivers and crews get their own M&IE rate
Taxpayers who work in the transportation industry do not use the regular CONUS and high-cost locality rates. Instead, the notice provides a single flat M&IE rate of $63 for any travel inside the continental United States and a single flat rate of $68 for any travel outside the continental United States. These special rates apply regardless of which specific city or locality the traveler is in, which reflects the mobile nature of transportation-industry work and the impracticality of tracking which high-cost locality applies on any given day. The rates cover meals and incidental expenses only - lodging is handled separately. A driver, pilot, or crew member who uses these rates must still meet the general substantiation rules of Rev. Proc. 2011-47, including proving the time, place, and business purpose of the travel.
The special M&IE rates for taxpayers in the transportation industry are $63 for any locality of travel in the continental United States (CONUS) and $68 for any locality of travel outside the continental United States (OCONUS).
Notice 2016-58 (IRS)
The rates change on October 1, not January 1
The rates in this notice do not line up with the calendar year. They apply to per diem allowances paid to an employee on or after October 1, 2016, for travel away from home on or after that same date, and they remain in effect through September 30, 2017, when the next annual notice takes over. This October-to-September cycle matches the federal government's own fiscal year and the schedule on which the General Services Administration updates its locality rates, which are the benchmark the IRS uses. For a business that files on a calendar-year basis, this means a single tax year straddles two different per diem schedules - one set of rates for the last three months of 2016 and another set for the first nine months of 2017 - and a traveler's reimbursement or deduction has to use the rate in effect on the date the travel occurred, not a single rate for the whole trip.
This notice is effective for per diem allowances for lodging, meal, and incidental expenses, or for meal and incidental expenses only, that are paid to any employee on or after October 1, 2016, for travel away from home on or after October 1, 2016.
Notice 2016-58 (IRS)
The first and last day of a trip are not full days
A trip that starts at lunchtime and ends at breakfast does not buy two full days of meals. For the day you leave and the day you come back, the M&IE rate has to be prorated, and Publication 463 gives two ways to do it: claim 3/4 of the standard meal allowance for each of those days, or prorate by any method you apply consistently and that is in accordance with reasonable business practice. Only the meals and incidental side is prorated. Lodging is not, because a night away from home is either bought or it is not. An employer reimbursing under the high-low method prorates the meals part the same way, which is why the per diem paid for a departure day is smaller than the daily rate printed above.
Travel for days you depart and return. For both the day you depart for and the day you re- turn from a business trip, you must prorate the standard meal allowance (figure a reduced amount for each day). You can do so by one of two methods. Method 1: You can claim 3 4 of the standard meal allowance.
Publication 463 (2017), Travel, Gift, and Car Expenses (IRS)
An allowance paid above the federal rate is wages
Nothing stops an employer paying more than the federal rate. What it cannot do is call the extra a reimbursement. Where an accountable plan pays an allowance higher than the federal rate, the traveller does not have to return the difference, but the difference is reported as wages on the Form W-2 and is taxed and withheld on like any other pay. Only the part up to the federal rate stays out of income. That is what the rates on this page are for a reader who deducts nothing at all: the line above which an allowance stops being an expense reimbursement and becomes salary.
Per diem allowance more than federal rate. If your employer's accountable plan pays you an allowance that is higher than the federal rate, you don’t have to return the difference be- tween the two rates for the period you can prove business-related travel expenses. How- ever, the difference will be reported as wages on your Form W-2. This excess amount is con- sidered paid under a nonaccountable plan (dis- cussed later).
Publication 463 (2017), Travel, Gift, and Car Expenses (IRS)
There is no per diem for lodging, only for meals
The standard meal allowance is open to anyone travelling on business, employee or self-employed, reimbursed or not. Lodging is not. There is no optional standard lodging amount, so the lodging deduction is the actual cost and nothing else, proved by the actual bill. That is the practical split for a self-employed traveller reading this page: the M&IE side of the notice can be used instead of meal receipts, and the full lodging-plus-meals rates above cannot, because they are written for a payor reimbursing an employee rather than for someone deducting their own hotel.
There is no optional standard lodging amount similar to the standard meal al- lowance. Your allowable lodging ex- pense deduction is your actual cost. Who can use the standard meal allowance. You can use the standard meal allowance whether you are an employee or self-employed, and whether or not you are reimbursed for your traveling expenses.
Publication 463 (2017), Travel, Gift, and Car Expenses (IRS)
Who can deduct travel an employer did not reimburse
An employee who is not reimbursed claims travel on Form 2106 or 2106-EZ, and only by itemizing. Those expenses are a miscellaneous itemized deduction, so they count only to the extent the total clears the 2%-of-adjusted-gross-income floor, and the meal part is already halved by the 50% limit before the floor is applied. An employee who takes the standard deduction gets nothing at all from the rates on this page. A self-employed traveller is in a different position: the deduction goes on a business schedule, with no floor to clear and no itemizing required.
You must complete Form 2106 or 2106-EZ and itemize your deductions to deduct your ex- penses for travel, transportation, meals, or en- tertainment. Your meal and entertainment ex- penses will be subject to the 50% limit discussed in chapter 2. Also, your total expen- ses will be subject to the 2%-of-adjus- ted-gross-income limit that applies to most mis- cellaneous itemized deductions.
Publication 463 (2017), Travel, Gift, and Car Expenses (IRS)
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.
Notice 2016-58 (IRS)
- High-cost locality
are $282 for travel to any high-cost locality and $189 for travel to any other locality within CONUS.
- Other locality within CONUS
are $282 for travel to any high-cost locality and $189 for travel to any other locality within CONUS.
- Incidental expenses only
The rate for any CONUS or OCONUS locality of travel for the incidental expenses only deduction is $5 per day.
- High-cost threshold
The following localities have a federal per diem rate of $236 or more, and are high-cost localities for all of the calendar year or the portion of the calendar year specified in parentheses under the key city name.
- Meals portion, high-cost locality
The amount of the $282 high rate and $189 low rate that is treated as paid for meals for purposes of § 274(n) is $68 for travel to any high- cost locality and $57 for travel to any other locality within CONUS.
- Meals portion, other locality
The amount of the $282 high rate and $189 low rate that is treated as paid for meals for purposes of § 274(n) is $68 for travel to any high- cost locality and $57 for travel to any other locality within CONUS.
- Transportation industry M&IE, CONUS
The special M&IE rates for taxpayers in the transportation industry are $63 for any locality of travel in the continental United States (CONUS) and $68 for any locality of travel outside the continental United States (OCONUS).
- Transportation industry M&IE, OCONUS
The special M&IE rates for taxpayers in the transportation industry are $63 for any locality of travel in the continental United States (CONUS) and $68 for any locality of travel outside the continental United States (OCONUS).