[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"detail-sidebar-cat-1-en-105":3,"doc-seo-253701-105":53,"doc-detail-253701-en":126},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",[7,14,19,24,29,34,39,44,49],{"id":8,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":11,"show_sort_weight":12,"slug":13},11,1,"Template","Presentations",90,"presentations",{"id":15,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":16,"show_sort_weight":17,"slug":18},12,"Resumes",80,"resumes",{"id":20,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":21,"show_sort_weight":22,"slug":23},14,"Invoices",70,"invoices",{"id":25,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":26,"show_sort_weight":27,"slug":28},15,"Posters",60,"posters",{"id":30,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":31,"show_sort_weight":32,"slug":33},16,"Social Media",50,"social-media",{"id":35,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":36,"show_sort_weight":37,"slug":38},17,"Forms",40,"forms",{"id":40,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":41,"show_sort_weight":42,"slug":43},18,"Letters",30,"letters",{"id":45,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":46,"show_sort_weight":47,"slug":48},21,"Paper Templates",5,"papers-templates",{"id":50,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":51,"show_sort_weight":4,"slug":52},158,"General","general-158",{"code":4,"msg":54,"data":55},"ok",{"site_id":56,"language":57,"slug":58,"title":59,"keywords":60,"description":61,"schema_data":62,"social_meta":119,"head_meta":121,"extra_data":123,"updated_unix":125},105,"en","per-diem-payments-frequently-asked-questions","Per Diem Payments - Frequently Asked Questions","","Per diem payments are explained as an allowance for lodging, meals, and incidental expenses incurred during employee travel, provided as an alternative to reimbursing actual travel costs. Guidance covers federal per diem rates by area, what per diem can include, how employers may use meal-only or combined methods, and the conditions under which per diem becomes taxable. Key requirements for expense reports, recordkeeping, and examples for rates across days and locations are also addressed.",{"@graph":63,"@context":118},[64,80,101],{"@type":65,"itemListElement":66},"BreadcrumbList",[67,71,74,77],{"item":68,"name":69,"@type":70,"position":9},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":72,"name":10,"@type":70,"position":73},"https://docshare.wps.com/template/",2,{"item":75,"name":36,"@type":70,"position":76},"https://docshare.wps.com/template/forms/",3,{"item":78,"name":59,"@type":70,"position":79},"https://docshare.wps.com/template/per-diem-payments-frequently-asked-questions/253701/",4,{"url":78,"name":59,"@type":81,"image":82,"author":87,"headline":59,"publisher":90,"fileFormat":93,"inLanguage":57,"description":61,"dateModified":94,"datePublished":95,"encodingFormat":93,"isAccessibleForFree":96,"interactionStatistic":97},"DigitalDocument",{"url":83,"@type":84,"width":85,"height":86},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/per-diem-payments-frequently-asked-questions/253701.png","ImageObject",442,249,{"name":88,"@type":89},"Alex Sinclair","Person",{"url":68,"name":91,"@type":92},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-27","2026-09-13",true,{"@type":98,"interactionType":99,"userInteractionCount":20},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":100},"ViewAction",{"@type":102,"mainEntity":103},"FAQPage",[104,110,114],{"name":105,"@type":106,"acceptedAnswer":107},"What is per diem and when is it used?","Question",{"text":108,"@type":109},"Per diem is an allowance paid to employees for lodging, meals, and incidental expenses incurred when travelling. It is provided in lieu of paying the actual travel expenses.","Answer",{"name":111,"@type":106,"acceptedAnswer":112},"When do per diem payments become taxable?",{"text":113,"@type":109},"Per diem is taxable when no expense report is filed, when the expense report lacks required trip details or purpose, when a flat amount is given with no expense report, or when per diem exceeds the allowable federal standard rate.",{"name":115,"@type":106,"acceptedAnswer":116},"What does the expense report need to include?",{"text":117,"@type":109},"The expense report must include the business purpose, the date and place of the trip, and receipts for lodging when using the meals-only per diem rate. It must be filed within 60 days; failing requirements makes the payment taxable.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":78,"og:type":120,"og:title":59,"og:site_name":91,"og:description":61},"article",{"robots":122,"canonical":78},"index,follow",{"doc_id":124,"site_id":56},253701,1790010704,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":127},{"doc_id":124,"user_id":128,"nickname":88,"user_avatar":129,"doc_module":9,"category_id":35,"category_name":36,"doc_title":59,"doc_description":61,"doc_content":130,"file_id":131,"file_url":132,"file_type":133,"file_size":134,"view_count":20,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":9,"is_downloadable":9,"audit_status":9,"page_count":79,"language":135,"language_code":57,"site_id":56,"html_lang":57,"table_of_contents":136,"faqs":137,"seo_title":138,"seo_description":61,"update_tm":139,"read_time":73},1099523882182,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_6f874abed73319feea01a86fa6f0fab8","?  \nFrequently Asked Questions  \nText  \nForms  \nCode & Treasury Regulations  \nProcedures &  \nPublications &  \nInternal Revenue  \nRevenue Rulings  \nCases  \nCurrent  \nPer Diem Payments  \n1. What is per diem?  \n2.  What is the federal per diem rate for my area?  \n3. What does per diem cover?  \n4.  Do I include per diem payments in my employee’s wages?  \n5.  What does an expense report need to include?  \n6.  When are per diem payments taxable?  \n7. Do I have to pay the federal per diem rate?  \n8.  What records should I keep if I pay per diem?  \n9.  What are Meal & Incidental Expenses (M & IE)?  \n10. Do I pay the same rate each day the employee is travelling?  \n11. Is there a per diem rate for lodging?  \n12. Can I pay a combined rate for Lodging, Meals, and Incidental Expenses?  \n13.  What if the combined rate I pay my employees is less than the federal per diem rate?  \nE-mail us a Question  \nBack to Topical Index  \n1. What is per diem?  \nPer diem is an allowance paid to your employees for lodging, meals, and incidental expenses incurred when travelling. This allowance is in lieu of paying their actual travel expenses.  \n2. What is the federal per diem rate for my area?  \nPublication 1542 , Per Diem Rates provides the rates for all continental U.S. areas.  \n3. What does per diem cover?  \nThere is a per diem rate for combined lodging and meal costs, and a per diem rate for meal costs alone. An employer may use either per diem method for reimbursing employee travel expenses. A self-employed person can only use per diem for the meal costs.  \n4. Do I include per diem payments in my employee’s wages?  \nPer diem payments are not part of the employee’s wages if the payment is equal to or less than the federal per diem rate and the employer receives an expense report from the employee.  \n5. What does an expense report need to include?  \nThe report must include:  \n∙ The business purpose of the trip,  \n∙ The date and place of the trip, and  \n∙ Receipts for lodging (if using the meals-only per diem rate) .  \nThe employee must file the expense report with the employer within a reasonable period of time (60 days) . If any of these requirements are not met, the payment is taxable to the employee.  \n6. When are per diem payments taxable?  \nPayments will be taxable to the employee when any of these situations are true:  \n∙ No expense report is filed with the employer,  \n∙ The expense report filed does not include the date, time, place, amount and business purpose of the expense,∙ A flat amount is given to the employee and no expense report is required, or  \n∙ Per diem is paid in excess of the allowable standard federal rate.  \nThese per diem payments listed above would be treated as wages and employment taxes are due from the employer. See Example.  \n7. Do I have to pay the federal per diem rate?  \nYou can pay more or less than the federal per diem rate. However, if you pay more than the federal per diem rate, the excess will be taxable to the employee.  \n8. What records should I keep if I pay per diem?  \nYou should keep the expense reports that show the time, place, and business purpose of your employees’ travel. The self-employed individual should keep the same type of records.  \n9. What are Meal & Incidental Expenses (M & IE)?  \nThe per diem rate for M&IE includes the following items:  \n∙ All meals,  \n∙ Room service,  \n∙ Laundry, dry cleaning, and pressing of clothing, and  \n∙ Fees and tips for persons who provide services, such as food servers and luggage handlers.  \n10. Do I pay the same rate each day the employee is travelling?  \nThe rates vary for different locations. Use the rate for the area where the employee spends the night. You only pay ¾ of the standard rate for the first and last day of employee’s travel. See Example  \n11. Is there a per diem rate for lodging?  \nThere is not a per diem rate for lodging.  \n12. Can I pay a combined rate for Lodging, Meals, and Incidental Expenses?  \nA per diem rate can be used for the combined costs o","cbCaiqrHIH9yqdd8","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaiqrHIH9yqdd8","pdf",32061,"English","# Frequently Asked Questions\n## What is per diem?\n## Federal per diem rates\n## What per diem covers\n## Expense report and taxable rules\n## Meal & incidental expenses (M&IE)\n## Lodging and combined per diem rates","[{\"question\":\"What is per diem and when is it used?\",\"answer\":\"Per diem is an allowance paid to employees for lodging, meals, and incidental expenses incurred when travelling. It is provided in lieu of paying the actual travel expenses.\"},{\"question\":\"When do per diem payments become taxable?\",\"answer\":\"Per diem is taxable when no expense report is filed, when the expense report lacks required trip details or purpose, when a flat amount is given with no expense report, or when per diem exceeds the allowable federal standard rate.\"},{\"question\":\"What does the expense report need to include?\",\"answer\":\"The expense report must include the business purpose, the date and place of the trip, and receipts for lodging when using the meals-only per diem rate. It must be filed within 60 days; failing requirements makes the payment taxable.\"}]","Per Diem Payments - Frequently Asked Questions | PDF",1789269103]