Per Diem

A business may give its workers a per diem allowance in lieu of reimbursing their actual costs for meal and incidental expenses, (M &IE) and lodging.  Using a per diem allowance eliminates the requirement to record actual expense amounts, but the taxpayer still must maintain records reflecting the date, place, and business purpose of travel.

The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) website (www.gsa.gov/perdiem) reports the current and past per diem rates. The IRS no longer published Publication 1542, Per Diem Rates.