Meal Per Diem and Incidental Policy (M&IE)
- Only employees, students, volunteers, and candidates with departmental permission are eligible for M&IE allowance while in travel status.
- Travelers will not receive meal per diem for hosted meals.
- Hosted meals, regardless of name (breakfast/continental breakfast), include meals provided or prepaid along with a conference registration.
- If the traveler has a business justification for skipping the provided meal, and was not hosted at another meeting, a note must be included as justification in the expense report.
- Use the timeframe table below to determine when to start and end meal per diem allowances according to the travel time established by travel status.
- 51³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ does not utilize the first and last day at 75% in GSA guidelines.
- Breakfast per diem will not be reimbursed for travelers with travel status that begins after 9 a.m.
- Dinner per diem will not be reimbursed for travelers with travel status that ends before 5 p.m.
| Meal | Time |
|---|---|
| Breakfast | 12:01 a.m.–10:00 a.m. |
| Lunch | 10:01 a.m.–3:00 p.m. |
| Dinner | 3:01 p.m.–12:00 a.m. |
Incidentals
allow a per day per diem for "incidentals" to cover non-reimbursable items such as tips for porters, baggage carriers, or hotel staff.
Meal Per Diem and Incidental Breakdown
M&IE rates are set by GSA. The rates differ by travel location. View the per diem rate for your primary destination to determine which rates apply.
- (Alaska, Hawaii, Guam, Puerto Rico, etc.)
Back Country Camping Meal Per Diem Rate
The meal per diem rate is calculated at 70% of the