Per Diem Calculator
Pick the city and the dates of your trip. The calculator looks up the GSA per diem rate for every night, applies 75% to the first and last day, and totals lodging and meals. Switch to self-employed to see the IRS Publication 463 version: meals only, half deductible.
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A per diem calculator multiplies the daily rate for your destination by your travel days. For federal travel the first and last day count at 75%. Enter your dates below to see lodging, M&IE and the total for the FY2027 GSA rates.
You choose the destination, the first and last day of travel and whether you are an employee or self-employed, and the calculator prices each day with the rate valid on that date. Lodging is the nightly rate times the number of nights. M&IE, short for meals and incidental expenses, is the daily meals rate. The table shows every day, so you can see where each dollar comes from.
How to use the per diem calculator
- Type the city, county or state in the first box and choose the destination from the list. A place that is not in the GSA file gets the standard rate, which is $113 for lodging and $68 for M&IE in FY2027.
- Choose An employee or Self-employed. The employee view adds lodging and M&IE. The self-employed view counts meals only.
- Enter the first and last day of travel. The default is a three-day trip starting today.
- Read the total at the top, then the day-by-day table. A star marks the first and last day, where M&IE is 75%.
- The address bar keeps your choices, so you can copy the link to send the same trip to someone else.
The dates decide which rate applies. If the trip crosses a change of season, the nights before the change use one lodging rate and the nights after it use the other.
Not tax advice. DiemWise applies published rates and rules; check your own case with a tax professional.
Data used: GSA per diem rates FY2027 (continental U.S.) (effective 2026-10-01, expires 2027-09-30, last checked 2026-10-24); GSA M&IE breakdowns (CONUS) (effective 2026-10-01, expires 2027-09-30, last checked 2026-10-24); IRS Publication 463, Travel, Gift, and Car Expenses (last checked 2026-10-24). All sources and dates.
How is a per diem total calculated?
For an employee, the total is the sum of two things: M&IE for every day and lodging for every night. A trip from Monday 9 November to Thursday 12 November 2026 in Chicago has four days and three nights. The FY2027 file gives Chicago $232 a night for lodging from 1 October to 30 November and $92 a day for M&IE. The first and last day count 75% of $92, which is $69. The two middle days count the full $92. M&IE comes to 69 + 92 + 92 + 69 = $322, lodging to 3 × $232 = $696, and the total to $1,018.
At the standard rate the same trip would cost 51 + 68 + 68 + 51 = $238 in M&IE and 3 × $113 = $339 in lodging, so $577. The destination matters more than anything else on the page.
Why does the first and last day count 75%?
On the day you leave and the day you return you are travelling for only part of the day. The federal travel rules give 75% of the M&IE rate for those two days, whatever the hours. The IRS uses the same share when you travel for business: Publication 463 allows three quarters of the meals amount on partial days. A trip that starts and ends on the same day counts as both a first and a last day, so it gets 75% once, not 150%.
What changes if I am self-employed?
The GSA rates are written for federal employees. The IRS lets the self-employed use the M&IE part as a standard meal allowance, but the rules for them are different, and the calculator follows Publication 463. Only meals count, so lodging is left out: there is no standard lodging amount for the self-employed, and you deduct what you actually paid with receipts. The meals are limited to 50% of the amount. The same Chicago trip at $92 and $69 gives meals of 322 × 50% = $161, and nothing for lodging. Some workers have a higher percentage (hours-of-service rules for transport workers, for example); Publication 463 lists them.
Which rates does the calculator use?
It carries two GSA files: FY2027, valid from 1 October 2026 to 30 September 2027, and FY2026, valid from 1 October 2025 to 30 September 2026. Each day is priced with the file whose dates cover it, so a trip over 1 October uses both. If today is past the end of the newest file, the page shows an expiry warning, because GSA publishes new rates every year. The sources page lists each file with its effective date, expiry and the date we last checked it.
What does the calculator not cover?
It covers the continental United States (CONUS) in the GSA file. Alaska, Hawaii, the territories and foreign countries are set by other bodies and are not in that file. For German rates, see per diem rates in Germany. It does not take meals provided by a host or a conference into account on the trip total; the M&IE page shows how much to deduct for each meal.
How this tool works and where the numbers come from
Each day of the trip is priced with the GSA rate that is valid on that date for the destination you pick; a destination that is not in the GSA file gets the standard CONUS rate. The first and last day of travel count 75% of the M&IE rate. For the self-employed role the meals are taken at the same M&IE rate, with 75% on the first and last day, and only 50% of that is counted as deductible; no lodging amount is added because the IRS has no standard lodging amount. The code is tested against totals worked out by hand, and every rate comes from the GSA files listed on the sources page.
Sources
- GSA, Per diem files (FY2027 and FY2026 rates) (FY 2027 rates published 2026-09-03) · checked
- GSA, M&IE breakdowns (page last updated 2026-10-27) · checked
- IRS Publication 463, Travel, Gift, and Car Expenses (Publication 463 (2025), page last reviewed/updated 2026-04-30) · checked
Frequently asked questions
What is the GSA per diem rate for 2027?
The standard CONUS rate for FY2027 is $113 a night for lodging and $68 a day for M&IE. About 295 destinations have their own higher rates, listed on the GSA per diem rates page.
Does the per diem include taxes on the hotel?
The GSA lodging rate does not include taxes. They are reimbursed on top of it for federal travel, which is why the calculator shows the rate itself. Check your employer’s policy for the treatment you need.
Can a private company use the GSA rates?
Many do, because they are public and the IRS accepts them for employer reimbursements under its rules for per diem allowances. Your policy decides. The calculator shows the GSA numbers; it does not decide what your employer owes you.
Why is my total lower than I expected for the self-employed view?
Because only meals are counted and only half of them. If you paid for a hotel, add the actual cost from your receipts.
Does the calculator save my trip?
No. The dates and the city stay in your browser and in the address bar of the page. What you enter is not sent to us unless you use the Pro email box. Copy the link if you want to keep the trip.
Is this tax advice?
No. It applies published rates and rules to the dates you enter. Ask a tax professional how they apply to you.
- GSA per diem rates: search any destination and see every seasonal rate. Use it when you only need the rate.
- Per diem rates 2026: the FY2026 rates and what changed. Use it for trips before 1 October 2026.
- Federal per diem rates: all destinations in one sortable table. Use it to compare cities.
- M&IE rates: the breakfast, lunch, dinner and incidentals split. Use it when a meal is provided.
- Per diem rates Washington DC: the capital’s four seasonal rates.
- Per diem rates Germany: German allowances for trips in Germany and abroad.