Get Announcement 97- 71 - Availability Of Publication 1542, Per Diem ...

The IRS publication 1542 is for employers who pay a per diem allowance to employees for business travel away from home within the continental United States. This publication will provide the maximum per diem rate which can be used without treating part of the per diem allowance as wages for tax purposes.

Expenses must be ordinary and necessary. This deduction is limited to the regular federal per diem rate (for lodging, meals, and incidental expenses) and the standard mileage rate (for car expenses) plus any parking fees, ferry fees, and tolls.

The per diem rates in lieu of the rates described in Notice 2022-44 (the meal and incidental expenses only substantiation method) are $74 for travel to any high-cost locality and $64 for travel to any other locality within CONUS.

Rates vary by location and time of year and are broken down into two categories: lodging and meals and incidental expenses (M&IE). As long as your payments do not exceed the maximum federal per diem rate, they are non-taxable; if per diem payments exceed federal limits, any excess will be taxed as ordinary income.

Federal per diem rates consist of a maximum lodging allowance component and a meals and incidental expenses (M&IE) component. Most of CONUS (approximately 2,600 counties) is covered by the standard rate of $166 ($107 lodging, $59 M&IE).

1. Annual high-low rates. For purposes of the high-low substantiation method, the per diem rates in lieu of the rates described in Notice 2022-44 (the per diem substantiation method) are $309 for travel to any high-cost locality and $214 for travel to any other locality within CONUS.

As of October 1, 2023, the special meals and incidental expenses (M&IE) per diem rates for taxpayers in the transportation industry are $69 for any locality of travel in the continental United States (CONUS) and $74 for any locality of travel outside the continental United States (OCONUS).

Q: Are Employers Required To Pay Per Diem in California? A: If the travel expenses are directly related to an employee's work requirements, then an employer is required to reimburse them for those expenses.