Military Travel and Per Diem Rates

Per Diem is a daily allotment to reimburse servicemembers for the out-of-pocket cost of food, lodging and incidental expenses that occur while on military business or temporary assigned duty (TDY or TAD) away from their home station. Per Diem sets the limit to how much a servicemember can be reimbursed for meals and lodging. The following is a summary of how the Per Deim works:

• The Per Diem Allowance
• The Actual Per Diem Rate
• Proportional Meals Rate Explained
• GSA POV Travel Reimbursement Rates

The Per Diem Allowance

Each year the DoD Per Diem, Travel and Transportation Committee sets the Per Diem allowance. The Per Diem is specific to a given travel location and can range from a standard CONUS rate of $99 per day to over $400 per day for Out-of-CONUS rates.

The Actual Per Diem Rate

The actual Per Diem rate you will receive is based on a combination of the Maximum Lodging and the Meals and Incidental Expenses (M&IE) rates. M&IE is either determined by adding the Local Meals Rate and Incidental Expense Rates, or the Proportional Meal Rate.

Proportional Meals Rate Explained

The proportional meal rate applies under the following conditions:

• When a military traveler is lodged in Government quarters on an installation and at least one meal is available in a Government mess on that installation.
• When a military traveler is lodged in Government quarters on installation had the Government meal rate prescribed in the order but the mess wasn't available for all meals.
• When one or two meals are paid for otherwise by the Government (e.g., one or two 'deductible meal(s)' on one or more days included in a conference registration fee); or
  
  
• When a military traveler isn't entitled to per diem but must purchase a meal (the proportional meal rate is the ceiling against which the traveler's actual meal cost is compared - the lesser of the two being paid).

The Proportional Rate is a M&IE rate that is an average of two other rates. The locality meal rate portion of the M&IE amount and the Government meal rate (GMR) are averaged, rounded to the nearest dollar, and then the appropriate incidental expense rate is added. For example, if the CONUS "other" M&IE rate is $31 ($28 for meals plus $3 incidentals) and the Government meal rate is $8.00 the proportional per diem for a CONUS "other" site is ($28 + $8.00)/2 = $18.00 rounded to $18 + $3 = $21.

Visit the DoD Per Diem, Travel and Transportation Committee website to determine the current per diem for any given location in the world.

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GSA's Privately Owned Vehicle (POV) Mileage Reimbursement Rates