Per diem · rates of GSA FY2027
Meals and incidental expenses (M&IE): tiers and deductions
Choose the M&IE rate of the place, say which meals were served, and see what the day still pays.
Published by Radif Partners · Rules and data · Editorial policy
M&IE for that day
$54
$74 × 100% = $74, minus $20 for provided meals
| Breakfast value | $18 |
| Lunch value | $20 |
| Dinner value | $31 |
| Incidental expenses (never deducted) | $5 |
On the first and last day the full value of a provided meal comes off the 75% amount; the day never pays less than the incidentals (41 CFR 301-11.21(b)). How this is calculated.
Meals and incidental expenses, or M&IE, is the flat daily part of the federal per diem that covers food and the tips around travel: $68, $74, $80, $86 or $92 a day in the continental United States, depending on the GSA area. Each tier is split by GSA into a value for breakfast, lunch and dinner plus $5 of incidental expenses; at the top tier that is $23, $26, $38 and $5. The split matters only when a meal is provided: a lunch paid by the government or folded into a conference fee comes off at its GSA value, even on a 75% travel day, but the day never drops below the incidentals. Meals served by an airline and breakfast included in the hotel rate are not deducted. The tiers have not changed since FY2025 and apply to FY2026 and FY2027 trips alike.
Five tiers, one split each
The whole continental table uses only five M&IE amounts, and GSA attaches a fixed meal split to each. A dinner is worth $28 in a $68 county and $38 in a $92 one, whatever the restaurant prices of the city. The incidentals line is the same everywhere: $5.
| M&IE rate | Breakfast | Lunch | Dinner | Incidentals | Travel day (75%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $68 | $16 | $19 | $28 | $5 | $51.00 |
| $74 | $18 | $20 | $31 | $5 | $55.50 |
| $80 | $20 | $22 | $33 | $5 | $60.00 |
| $86 | $22 | $23 | $36 | $5 | $64.50 |
| $92 | $23 | $26 | $38 | $5 | $69.00 |
One day of M&IE with meals provided
M&IE paid for that day
$58
| Before meal deductions | $80 |
| Lunch value | $22 |
| Dinner value | $33 |
| Floor: incidental expenses | $5 |
What the incidentals pay for, and what they do not
$5 a day does not go far, and it is not meant to. The IRS defines incidental expenses as fees and tips given to porters, baggage carriers, hotel staff and staff on ships. Laundry, dry cleaning, lodging taxes, phone calls, and the ride from your hotel to a restaurant are outside it, according to IRS Publication 463. Lodging taxes are a separate miscellaneous expense under the FTR; for laundry and local rides, your employer's policy decides.
For a traveler who buys no meals at all on a given day, a separate IRS method allows $5 a day for incidentals alone (Notice 2026-60, section 4). It cannot be combined with the meal allowance on the same day, and it is not subject to the meal deduction limit.
Deducting a provided meal, step by step
The rule sits in 41 CFR 301-11.21. A meal furnished by the government or included in a registration fee is taken off at the GSA value shown for your tier. On a full day the arithmetic is plain: at $80, a conference that serves breakfast and lunch leaves $38. On the first or last day the deduction is made from the reduced amount, and in full: dinner on a departure day at $92 leaves $69.00 minus $38, so $31.00.
The floor shows up at the lowest tier. A first day at $68 pays $51.00; take off a provided lunch ($19) and dinner ($28) and you would land at $4.00. The regulation stops the deductions at the incidentals, so the day pays $5.00.
Meals that are never deducted
Food from a common carrier (the snack box on a flight, a meal on a train) and a complimentary breakfast that comes with the hotel room leave M&IE untouched. An agency may also pay the full amount when you could not eat a furnished meal because official business ran over it, or for medical or religious reasons, provided you asked in advance when you knew of the meal and tried to arrange an alternative.
The tax side: employers need not deduct
Private employers paying per diem for tax purposes follow a looser rule. Rev. Proc. 2019-48 (section 6.03) says a payor is not required to reduce the federal M&IE rate for meals provided in kind, provided it reasonably believes the employee will have meal and incidental costs on each travel day. Many companies still mirror the federal deductions in their policy, but the tax-free ceiling does not demand it.
Two limits apply after the payment. The meal part of the allowance is treated as food and beverage, deductible at 50% by whoever bears the cost. And if your employer reimburses actual meals instead of paying a flat rate, the federal rule asks for a receipt for any single meal above $75. For a trip priced as a whole, the per diem calculator spreads provided meals over full days and travel days for you.