The standard FY2026 GSA per diem rate is $178 per day — $110 for lodging plus $68 for meals & incidental expenses (M&IE) — and about 300 higher-cost cities have their own rates. Enter your city and travel dates to get your exact allowance, with the 75% first/last-day rule applied.
Official GSA FY2026 rates, effective October 1, 2025 to September 30, 2026.
A 4-night business trip anywhere at the standard rate totals $746: $440 lodging (4 nights × $110) + $306 M&IE (5 days, first & last at 75%). In the 298 higher-cost areas below, the same trip can cost more than double.
Ranked by the highest calendar-month lodging cap GSA sets for FY2026. The full daily cap adds that area's M&IE.
| # | Area | Peak lodging / night | M&IE / day | Peak daily total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Park CityUT | $483Jan | $92 | $575 |
| 2 | NantucketMA | $471Jun | $92 | $563 |
| 3 | Martha's VineyardMA | $462Jun | $92 | $554 |
| 4 | Key WestFL | $436Feb | $86 | $522 |
| 5 | Jackson / PinedaleWY | $420Jun | $92 | $512 |
| 6 | AspenCO | $407Jan | $92 | $499 |
| 7 | VailCO | $397Jan | $92 | $489 |
| 8 | TellurideCO | $350Jan | $92 | $442 |
| 9 | Boston / CambridgeMA | $349Sep | $92 | $441 |
| 10 | New York CityNY | $342Sep | $92 | $434 |
| 11 | NaplesFL | $314Feb | $80 | $394 |
| 12 | Big Sky / West Yellowstone/GardinerMT | $310Jun | $80 | $390 |
| 13 | Bar Harbor / RockportME | $304Jul | $92 | $396 |
| 14 | Sun Valley / KetchumID | $300Jan | $80 | $380 |
| 15 | Ocean CityMD | $295Jun | $80 | $375 |
GSA resets these lodging caps month by month — book against the wrong month and the same hotel blows the budget. M&IE never changes by season.
| Area | Low month | Peak month | Swing |
|---|---|---|---|
| NantucketMA | $175Jan | $471Jun | +169% |
| Ocean CityMD | $115Jan | $295Jun | +157% |
| Bar Harbor / RockportME | $128Jan | $304Jul | +138% |
| Fort Walton Beach / De Funiak SpringsFL | $110Jan | $260Jun | +136% |
| Martha's VineyardMA | $196Jan | $462Jun | +136% |
| Steamboat SpringsCO | $123Apr | $288Jan | +134% |
| Park CityUT | $221Apr | $483Jan | +119% |
| Phoenix / ScottsdaleAZ | $113Jun | $229Feb | +103% |
| MoabUT | $110Jan | $221Sep | +101% |
| VailCO | $201Apr | $397Jan | +98% |
Method: peak/low = the highest/lowest calendar-month lodging cap GSA publishes for the area in FY2026; swing = peak vs. low. Source: U.S. GSA Per Diem API, all 298 non-standard areas.
You receive a lodging cap for each night you stay over. In major cities the cap changes month to month, so a summer trip can cost far more than a winter one.
A flat daily allowance covers meals and incidental expenses. Unlike lodging, M&IE does not change by season, only by location.
The first and last day of any trip reimburse M&IE at 75% of the daily rate, since you are only traveling part of the day.
A naive estimate of daily rate × days overstates short trips and ignores seasonality. The calculator above applies all three rules to every trip.
Otto is an AI travel agent that finds and books hotels at or under your GSA lodging cap — on policy, with a defensible paper trail. Free for your first year.
Tax-free housing and meal stipends (with a qualifying tax home) are capped at the GSA per diem for your assignment location. Switch to Travel nurse mode to see your weekly and monthly tax-free cap.
Multi-week deployments run on per diem. Get an accurate, defensible trip total before you file expenses, then project take-home with the CAT adjuster pay calculator.
GSA rates are the benchmark most company travel policies set their caps against. Size reimbursements and budgets, or build a travel policy around them.
Browse FY2026 lodging and M&IE rates for every U.S. state and city.