The General Services Administration (GSA) has released the per diem rates for fiscal year 2024. The new rates go into effect on October 1, 2023.
FY 2024 GSA Per Diem Rates
The standard continental United States (CONUS) lodging rate will increase from $98 to $107 (9%), resulting in 302 locations receiving a maximum lodging allowance higher than the standard rate.
The meals and incidental (M&IE) expenses per diem tiers for FY 2024 are unchanged at $59-$79, with the standard M&IE rate unchanged at $59.
There are two new NSA locations for FY 2024:
- Huntsville, AL (Madison County)
- Charles Town, WV (Jefferson County)
The following locations that were NSAs (or part of an established NSA) in FY 2023 will move into the standard CONUS rate category:
- Hammond / Munster / Merrillville, IN (Lake County)
- Wichita, KS (Wichita County)
- Baton Rouge, LA (East Baton Rouge Parish)
- Baltimore County, MD
- Frederick, MD (Frederick County)
- East Lansing / Lansing, MI (Ingham and Eaton Counties)
- Kalamazoo / Battle Creek, MI (Kalamazoo and Calhoun Counties)
- Eagan/ Burnsville / Mendota Heights, MN (Dakota County)
- Akron, OH (Summit County)
- Wooster, OH (Wayne County)
- Erie, PA (Erie County)
- Corpus Christi, TX (Nueces County)
- Round Rock, TX (Williamson County)
- Appleton, WI (Outagamie County)
- Brookfield / Racine, WI (Waukesha and Racine Counties)
- Morgantown, WV (Monongalia County)
Meals and Incidentals (M&IE) Breakdown for FY 2024
| M&IE Total1 | Continental Breakfast/ Breakfast2 | Lunch2 | Dinner2 | Incidental Expenses | First & Last Day of Travel3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $59 | $13 | $15 | $26 | $5 | $44.25 |
| $64 | $14 | $16 | $29 | $5 | $48.00 |
| $69 | $16 | $17 | $31 | $5 | $51.75 |
| $74 | $17 | $18 | $34 | $5 | $55.50 |
| $79 | $18 | $20 | $36 | $5 | $59.25 |
- This column lists the full daily amount federal employees receive for a single calendar day of travel when that day is neither the first nor last day of travel.
- The separate amounts for breakfast, lunch and dinner listed in the chart are provided should you need to deduct any of those meals from your trip voucher. For example, if your trip includes meals that are already paid for by the government (such as through a registration fee for a conference), you will need to deduct those meals from your voucher. Refer to Section 301-11.18 of the Federal Travel Regulation for specific guidance on deducting these amounts from your per diem reimbursement claims for meals furnished to you by the government. Other organizations may have different rules that apply for their employees; please check with your organization for more assistance.
- This column lists the amount federal employees receive for the first and last calendar day of travel. The first and last calendar day of travel is calculated at 75 percent.
All per diem rates for 2024 and other years are available on the GSA website.
What About Inflation?
With everything costing more these days than it did even just a few years ago, some federal employees may be wondering why the rates did not increase more than they did. And for 2023, the rates were largely flat despite even higher levels of inflation.
GSA says COVID is to blame. The agency’s press release states:
GSA bases the maximum lodging allowances on historical average daily rate (ADR) data, less five percent. However, the COVID-19 pandemic led to unprecedented declines in ADR, followed by a volatile hotel industry recovery. The ADR data available to establish FY 2024 rates was from before the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency expired on May 11, 2023. (GSA used data from the trailing April through March.) Similar to the approach for FY 2023, GSA made upward adjustments to ensure that maximum lodging allowances for federal travelers are sufficient in FY 2024.
The ADR is a travel industry metric that divides room sales rental revenue by the number of rooms sold. This is the metric that GSA has used for calculating per diem rates since FY 2005. GSA says that all rates are evaluated to ensure that they are fair and equitable in the approval process.
