Per Diem Expense Method

• Per Diem rates and rules are based upon Federal guidelines in order to prevent taxable income to the traveler. No per diem may be claimed for one-day travel (when there is no overnight travel). If the per diem method is used, use expense item Per Diem (Domestic) or Per Diem (International).
• The university will reimburse using per diem rates based on the tables below:
  • Domestic Per Diem Rates for destinations within the Continental United States (CONUS) provided by the U.S. General Services Administration (link to website)
  • Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and Guam Per Diem Rates provided by the Department of Defense (link to website). Note: Sum amounts included under the Local Meals and Local Incidentals for the total per diem rate.
  • Foreign Per Diem Rates provided by the U.S. Department of State (link to website).
• When claiming per diem, the traveler cannot use a Procurement Card for meals and incidentals.
• Incidental expenses included in the per diem rate include fees and tips given to baggage carriers, bellhops, hotel maids, etc. The per diem rate for foreign travel also includes laundry and dry cleaning.
• If per diems are claimed, the expense report must include support obtained from the applicable rate table. Because rates for foreign locations may change as often as every month, the traveler must be careful to ensure that the applied rate is appropriate to the actual dates of travel.
• Per diem rates must be adjusted under the following circumstances:
  • For the day of departure and day of return (from/to your home city), the reimbursement rate is limited to 75 percent of the total daily per diem rate based on the location where the traveler is most likely to incur the meal expense.
  • If a meal has been paid as part of a registration fee or conference, the traveler must reduce the total daily per diem for the meal (15 percent for breakfast, 25 percent for lunch and 60 percent for dinner).
  • If a traveler selects the per diem method but hosts a business meal with others (non-university employees), the university will reimburse the traveler’s particular meal based on a receipt. The traveler must reduce the total daily per diem for the meal (15 percent for breakfast, 25 percent for lunch and 60 percent for dinner).
  • If the traveler is an invited guest of a third party, the traveler must reduce the total daily per diem for any meal provided (15 percent for breakfast, 25 percent for lunch and 60 percent for dinner).
• Travel throughout the trip could put the traveler in several cities with differing per diems. The traveler is eligible for the meal and incidental expense per diem in effect for the location where he or she spends the night. For the final day of travel, the per diem in effect will be that of the prior night’s stay but is limited to 75 percent of the rate.