​The Latest Per Diem Changes Coming Your Way Oct. 1, 2023

It’s not a trick (or a treat): Per diem rates are changing on Oct. 1. so, here’s a high-level overview of what you need to know.

Quick definition: A per diem — or daily amount — is money paid to an employee for business travel instead of reimbursing them for actual expenses for the costs of away-from-home lodging, meals, and incidentals.

If you want to know the per diem rates of a specific location, there’s actually a handy government website for that.

Per Diem Changes

• The special meals and incidental expenses rates for transportation industry taxpayers are $69 for travel in the U.S. and $74 for travel outside the U.S.
• The rate for any travel for the incidental-expenses-only deduction is $5 per day.
• The per diem rates are $309 for travel to any high-cost locations and $214 for travel to any other location within the U.S. Per diem for paid-for meals is $74 for high-cost locations and $64 for travel to any locations in the U.S.

High- And Low-Cost Locations

Several localities will now be included in the list of high-cost localities. These include the Yosemite National Park, California; Tampa/St. Petersburg, Florida; Atlanta, Georgia; Missoula, Montana; Saratoga Springs/Schenectady, New York; Eugene/Florence, Oregon; and Montpelier, Vermont.

On the flip side, the following locations will be removed from the list of high-cost areas: Los Angeles, California, Durango, Colorado, Portland, Oregon, and Vancouver, Washington.

Questions about per diem rates? Let us know.