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Publication 1542 - Main Contents


How To Use Per Diem Rate Tables

This section contains information about the per diem rate substantiation methods available and the choice of rates you must make for the last 3 months of the year.

The Two Substantiation Methods

The tables in this publication reflect the high-low substantiation method and the regular federal per diem rate method.

High-low method.   The first two tables in this publication list the localities that are treated under the high-low substantiation method as high-cost localities for all or part of the year. Table 1 lists the localities that are eligible for $246 ($58 meals and incidental expenses (M&IE)) per diem, effective October 1, 2006. For travel on or after October 1, 2006, all other localities within CONUS are eligible for $148 ($45 M&IE) per diem under the high-low method.

  Table 2 lists the localities that are eligible for $237 ($58 M&IE) per diem, effective October 1, 2007. For travel on or after October 1, 2007, the per diem for all other localities increases to $152 ($45 M&IE).

Regular federal per diem rate method.   Tables 3 and 4 give the regular federal per diem rates published by the General Services Administration (GSA). Both tables include the separate rate for meals and incidental expenses (M&IE) for each locality. The rates listed in Table 3 are effective October 1, 2006; those in Table 4 are effective October 1, 2007. The standard rate for all locations within CONUS not specifically listed in Table 3 is $99 ($60 for lodging and $39 for M&IE). For Table 4, this rate is $109 ($70 for lodging and $39 for M&IE).

Transition Rules

The transition period covers the last 3 months of the calendar year, from the time that new rates are effective (generally October 1) through December 31. During this period, you generally may change to the new rates or finish out the year with the rates you had been using.

High-low method.   If you use the high-low substantiation method for an employee, when new rates become effective (generally October 1) you can either continue with the rates you used for the first part of the year or change to the new rates. However, you must continue using the high-low method for that employee for the rest of the calendar year (through December 31). Also, you must use the same rates for all employees reimbursed under the high-low method during that calendar year.

  For example, Employee A travels extensively during March and April of 2008, and you determine A's travel allowance (reimbursement) using the high-low method (Table 2). Employee A does not travel again until November 2008. For A's November trip and any others during the remainder of 2008, you may continue using the same set of rates (Table 2) or change to the new rates that generally will be effective in October. Assume that two of your other employees, B and C, are also reimbursed under the high-low method—your choice of rates must also apply to them.

  For Employee A's travel on or after January 1, 2009, you must use the rates in effect for 2009, but may either continue with the high-low method or choose the regular federal per diem rate method. The choice of method stays in effect for the entire 2009 calendar year.

  The new rates and localities for the high-low method are included each year in a revenue procedure that is generally published in mid- to late-September. You can find the revenue procedure in the weekly Internal Revenue Bulletin (IRB) on the Internet at www.irs.gov/irb.

Federal per diem rate method.   New CONUS per diem rates become effective on October 1 of each year, and remain in effect through September 30 of the following year. Employees being reimbursed under the per diem rate method during the first 9 months of a year (January 1-September 30) must continue under the same method through the end of that calendar year (December 31). However, for travel by these employees from October 1 through December 31, you can choose to continue using the same per diem rates or use the new rates. Your choice applies to all employees reimbursed under the per diem rate method during that calendar year. Just as for the high-low method, you must continue using the same method for an employee for the entire calendar year.

  For example, Employees P and Q attend an industry conference in February 2008 and you reimburse their expenses using the per diem rate method (Table 4). Employee P attends other conferences in July (reimbursed using Table 4) and December 2008, while Employee Q's only other travel occurs in October 2008. When determining Q's travel allowance for the October travel, you must decide whether to continue with the old (Table 4) rates, or adopt the new ones effective October 1, 2008. Your choice of rates will also apply to Employee P's December travel. Both employees must continue being reimbursed under the per diem rate method for travel through December 31, 2008. You can choose a new method for either or both employees; this choice will become effective on January 1, 2009.

  The new federal CONUS per diem rates are published each year, generally early in September, on the Internet at www.gsa.gov.

Caution
Per diem rates for localities listed in Table 4 may change at any time during the rest of 2007 or 2008. To be sure you have the most current rate, check the IRS website ( www.irs.gov) for an updated Publication 1542, the other Internet website listed earlier under Per diem rates on the Internet , or call the IRS at 1-800-829-1040.

Per Diem Rate Tables

Table 1. Localities Eligible for $246 ($58 M&IE) Per Diem Amount Under the High-Low Substantiation Method (Effective October 1, 2006 - September 30, 2007) 1,2

Note: The standard (“low”) rate of $148 ($103 for lodging and $45 for M&IE) applies to all locations within the continental United States (CONUS) not specifically listed below or encompassed by the boundary definition of a listed point.
Per Diem Locality Effective Date of
State Key City County and/or Other Defined Location $246 Rate
AZ Phoenix, Scottsdale Maricopa 1/1 - 3/31
CA San Francisco San Francisco All year
  Santa Barbara Santa Barbara 7/1 - 8/31
  Santa Monica City limits of Santa Monica All year
  South Lake Tahoe El Dorado 1/1 - 3/31
12/1 - 12/31
CO Aspen Pitkin 1/1 - 4/30
12/1 - 12/31
  Crested Butte, Gunnison Gunnison 1/1 - 4/30
12/1 - 12/31
  Steamboat Springs Routt 1/1 - 3/31
12/1 - 12/31
  Telluride San Miguel 1/1 - 4/30
10/1 - 12/31
  Vail Eagle 1/1 - 3/31
12/1 - 12/31
DC Washington, DC (also the cities of Alexandria, Fairfax, and Falls Church, and the counties of Arlington and Fairfax, in Virginia; and the counties of Montgomery and Prince George's in Maryland)   All year
FL Fort Lauderdale Broward 1/1 - 3/31
  Fort Walton Beach, DeFuniak Springs Okaloosa, Walton 6/1 - 7/31
  Key West Monroe All year
  Miami Miami-Dade 1/1 - 3/31
  Naples Collier 2/1 - 3/31
  Palm Beach Palm Beach (also the cities of Boca Raton, Delray Beach, Jupiter, Palm Beach Gardens, Palm Beach Shores, Singer Island, and West Palm Beach) 2/1 - 3/31
  Stuart Martin 2/1 - 3/31
IL Chicago Cook, Lake All year
LA New Orleans Orleans, St. Bernard, Jefferson, and Plaquemines Parishes 1/1 - 5/31
10/1 - 12/31
MA Boston, Cambridge Suffolk; City of Cambridge All year
  Martha's Vineyard Dukes 6/1 - 8/31
  Nantucket Nantucket 6/1 - 11/30
MD Counties of Montgomery and Prince George's   All year
  Baltimore Baltimore City All year
  Cambridge, St. Michaels Dorchester, Talbot 5/1 - 8/31
  Ocean City Worcester 6/1 - 9/30

Table 1. (Effective October 1, 2006 - September 30, 2007) (Continued)

Per Diem Locality Effective Date of
State Key City County and/or Other Defined Location $246 Rate
NY Floral Park, Garden City, Glen Cove, Great Neck, Roslyn Nassau All year
  Lake Placid Essex 7/1 - 8/31
  Manhattan Boroughs of Manhattan, Brooklyn, the Bronx, and Staten Island All year
  Queens Queens All year
  Saratoga Springs, Schenectady Saratoga, Schenectady 7/1 - 8/31
PA Philadelphia Philadelphia All year
RI Jamestown, Middletown, Newport Newport 3/1 - 11/30
  Providence Providence All year
UT Park City Summit 1/1 - 3/31
12/1 - 12/31
VA Cities of Alexandria, Falls Church, and Fairfax; counties of Arlington and Fairfax   All year
WA Seattle King All year

1 Transition rule. A payor who uses the high-low substantiation method
in Table 1 for an employee during the first 9 months of calendar year 2007
must continue to use the high-low substantiation method for the remainder
of calendar year 2007 for that employee. For travel on or after October 1, 2007, and before January 1, 2008, the payor may continue to use the rates and high-cost localities published in Table 1 or the updated rates and
high-cost localities published in the revenue procedure that supersedes Revenue Procedure 2006-41, as long as those rates and localities are used consistently during this period for all employees reimbursed under this method. See Transition Rules under How To Use Per Diem Rate Tables for an example.

2 Revenue Procedure 2006-41 in Internal Revenue Bulletin No. 2006-43 and Announcement 2006-96 in Internal Revenue Bulletin No. 2006-50.

Table 2. Localities Eligible for $237 ($58 M&IE) Per Diem Amount Under the High-Low Substantiation Method (Effective October 1, 2007) 1,2

Note: The standard (“low”) rate of $152 ($107 for lodging and $45 for M&IE) applies to all locations within the continental United States (CONUS) not specifically listed below or encompassed by the boundary definition of a listed point.
Per Diem Locality Effective Date of
State Key City County and/or Other Defined Location $237 Rate
AZ Phoenix, Scottsdale Maricopa 1/1 - 3/31
  Sedona City limits of Sedona 3/1 - 4/30
CA Napa Napa All year
  Palm Springs Riverside 1/1 - 4/30
  San Diego San Diego All year
  San Francisco San Francisco All year
  Santa Barbara Santa Barbara All year
  Santa Monica City limits of Santa Monica All year
  South Lake Tahoe El Dorado 1/1 - 3/31
12/1 - 12/31
  Yosemite National Park Mariposa All year
CO Aspen Pitkin 1/1 - 4/30
12/1 - 12/31
  Crested Butte, Gunnison Gunnison 1/1 - 3/31
12/1 - 12/31
  Silverthorne, Breckenridge Summit 1/1 - 3/31
12/1 - 12/31
  Steamboat Springs Routt 1/1 - 2/29
12/1 - 12/31
  Telluride San Miguel 1/1 - 3/31
10/1 - 12/31
  Vail Eagle All year
DC Washington, DC (also the cities of Alexandria, Fairfax, and Falls Church, and the counties of Arlington and Fairfax, in Virginia; and the counties of Montgomery and Prince George's in Maryland)   All year
FL Fort Lauderdale Broward 1/1 - 4/30
10/1 - 12/31
  Fort Walton Beach, DeFuniak Springs Okaloosa, Walton 6/1 - 7/31
  Key West Monroe All year
  Miami Miami-Dade 1/1 - 2/29
10/1 - 12/31
  Naples Collier 2/1 - 3/31
  Palm Beach Palm Beach (also the cities of Boca Raton, Delray Beach, Jupiter, Palm Beach Gardens, Palm Beach Shores, Singer Island, and West Palm Beach) 1/1 - 3/31
  Stuart Martin 2/1 - 3/31
IL Chicago Cook, Lake All year
MA Boston, Cambridge Suffolk; City of Cambridge All year
  Martha's Vineyard Dukes 7/1 - 8/31
  Nantucket Nantucket All year
MD Counties of Montgomery and Prince George's   All year
  Baltimore Baltimore City All year
  Cambridge, St. Michaels Dorchester, Talbot 4/1 - 8/31
  Ocean City Worcester 6/1 - 8/31

Table 2. (Effective October 1, 2007) (Continued)

Per Diem Locality Effective Date of
State Key City County and/or Other Defined Location $237 Rate
NH Conway Carroll 7/1 - 8/31
NV Incline Village, Crystal Bay, Reno, Sparks Washoe 6/1 - 8/31
NY Floral Park, Garden City, Glen Cove, Great Neck, Roslyn Nassau All year
  Manhattan Boroughs of Manhattan, Brooklyn, the Bronx, and Staten Island All year
  Queens Queens All year
  Saratoga Springs, Schenectady Saratoga, Schenectady 7/1 - 8/31
  Tarrytown, White Plains, New Rochelle, Yonkers Westchester All year
PA Philadelphia Philadelphia All year
RI Jamestown, Middletown, Newport Newport 2/1 - 11/30
  Providence Providence All year
UT Park City Summit 1/1 - 3/31
VA Cities of Alexandria, Falls Church, and Fairfax; counties of Arlington and Fairfax   All year
  Loudon County Loudon All year
  Virginia Beach City of Virginia Beach 6/1 - 8/31
WA Seattle King All year
WI Lake Geneva Walworth 6/1 - 9/30

1 Transition rule. A payor who uses the high-low substantiation method
in Table 2 for an employee during the first 9 months of calendar year 2008
must continue to use the high-low substantiation method for the remainder
of calendar year 2008 for that employee. For travel on or after October 1, 2008, and before January 1, 2009, the payor may continue to use the rates and high-cost localities published in Table 2 or the updated rates and
high-cost localities published in the revenue procedure that supersedes Revenue Procedure 2007-63, as long as those rates and localities are used consistently during this period for all employees reimbursed under this method. See Transition Rules under How To Use Per Diem Rate Tables for an example.

2 Revenue Procedure 2007-63 in Internal Revenue Bulletin No. 2007-42.

Table 3. Maximum Federal Per Diem Rates (Effective October 1, 2006 - September 30, 2007) 1

Note: The standard rate of $99 ($60 for lodging and $39 for M&IE) applies to all locations within the continental United States (CONUS) not specifically listed below or encompassed by the boundary definition of a listed point. However, the standard CONUS rate applies to all locations within CONUS, including those defined below, for certain relocation allowances. (See parts 302-2, 302-4, and 302-5 of 41 CFR.)
Per Diem Locality Computing Maximum Rate
State Key City 2 County and/or Other Defined Location 3,4 Effective Dates Maximum
Lodging
Rate
M&IE
Rate
Maximum
Per Diem
Rate
AL Birmingham Jefferson, Shelby All year $80   $44   $124  
  Gulf Shores Baldwin 1/1 - 5/31 88   39   127  
      6/1 - 7/31 107   39   146  
      8/1 - 12/31 88   39   127  
  Huntsville Madison, Limestone All year 71   44   115  
  Montgomery Montgomery All year 73   39   112  
AR Hot Springs Garland All year 87   49   136  
  Little Rock Pulaski All year 76   54   130  
AZ Grand Canyon, Flagstaff Coconino (except city limits of Sedona) 1/1 - 2/28 65   44   109  
      3/1 - 10/31 81   44   125  
      11/1 - 12/31 65   44   109  
  Kayenta Navajo All year 71   54   125  
  Phoenix, Scottsdale Maricopa 1/1 - 3/31 141   59   200  
      4/1 - 5/31 109   59   168