IRS Tax Per Diem Meals & Travel Deductions

Effective Oct. 1, 2008. Reimbursements of an employee's business travel costs (lodging, meal and incidental expenses (M&IE)) at a per diem rate are payroll-and income-tax free if simplified substantiation is provided and the daily rate doesn't exceed the federal per diem rate (the maximum amount that the federal government reimburses its employees) for the locality of travel for that day. While the per diem rates vary by travel destination, employers can make reimbursements at the simplified “high-low” per diem rates, which assign one per diem rate to high-cost areas within the continental U.S., and another to non-high-cost areas. The IRS has issued the “high-low” simplified per diem rates for post-Sept. 30, 2008, travel. An employer may reimburse up to $256 for high-cost localities ($198 for lodging and $58 for M&IE) and $158 for other localities ($113 for lodging and $45 for M&IE). The list of high-cost areas is also updated.