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Long-term TDY Rates to Change, Official Says

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New long-term temporary duty per diem rules that go into effect Nov. 1 will save the Defense Department about $22 million annually, the director of the Defense Travel Management Office said recently.

Long-term TDY is considered to be any temporary duty longer than 30 days. “So, for travel from 31 to 180 days, you will receive a flat-rate per diem of 75 percent. For travel greater than 180 days, you will receive a flat-rate per diem for 55 percent,” Harvey Johnson explained in a DoD News interview.

Johnson said the changes are meant to give long-term TDY travelers an incentive to seek out extended-stay lodgings, which generally are less expensive. Before this change, the Joint Travel Regulations encouraged travelers on extended TDY to seek out this type of lodging, but there wasn’t a requirement or incentive to do so.

Changes apply to all three parts of per diem

The reduced per diem rates apply to all three parts of the per diem -- lodging, meals and incidentals -- he noted, and apply equally to civilian and military personnel.

Travelers who are authorized the flat-rate per diem no longer have to submit a lodging receipt, but before they’re reimbursed, a receipt may be needed to validate that lodging costs were incurred. Staying anywhere for free or buying a home at the TDY location will make a traveler ineligible for the flat-rate per diem payment.

“Several other federal civilian agencies already implement similar policies. … Some are even more restrictive than ours,” Johnson said. The changes are simply meant to recognize that long-term stays are different from short-term TDYs, he noted.

Many of the conveniences available at extended-stay hotels can save money for travelers, and in turn, for DoD, Johnson said.

“They offer the kitchenettes, the sink, the refrigerator -- recognizing that people aren't eating out at an expensive restaurant every day, three meals a day,” he explained. “And I believe that's vital in this environment of sequestration and other external factors that have brought this on. So, we've got to make sure that people are traveling smarter and more [efficiently].”

Options if additional costs arise

Johnson said travelers still will have options if they are unable to find extended-stay lodging within a reasonable distance of their duty location, or if additional costs arise, such as a rental car. “You can work with your approving official to do actual-expense authorizations, which allows you to go above the flat-rate per diem to 100 percent, if needed,” he said.

And at no time should travelers end up paying out-of-pocket for authorized TDY expenses, Johnson said. “The intent is to do no harm. The intent is to ensure that we're finding affordable travel solutions.”

While acknowledging that these changes may feel like a pay cut to some travelers, Johnson said it’s important to recognize that per diem payments aren’t meant to serve as an extra pay.

“It's not a hardship pay, it's not a supplemental pay; it's a travel allowance,” he said. “And a travel allowance is designed to reimburse travelers for expenses incurred. … We are looking to fairly reimburse travelers for actual expenses incurred. If that means that it's over the flat per diem rate, then we will reimburse up to whatever it was that they spent.”

(Follow Claudette Roulo on Twitter: @roulododnews)  

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• Per Diem Lookup

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The Federal Travel Regulation summarizes the travel and relocation policy for all federal civilian employees and others authorized to travel at the government’s expense. Federal employees and agencies may use the FTR as a reference to ensure official travel and relocation is conducted in a responsible and cost effective manner.

Download the FTR (41 CFR) [PDF]

Last annual edition updated July 1, 2021. Prior years may be found at Code of Federal Regulations (Annual Edition) . Contents may be out of date. Refer to eCFR.gov for the most up-to-date regulation information.

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PER DIEM LOOK-UP

1 choose a location.

Error, The Per Diem API is not responding. Please try again later.

No results could be found for the location you've entered.

Rates for Alaska, Hawaii, U.S. Territories and Possessions are set by the Department of Defense .

Rates for foreign countries are set by the State Department .

2 Choose a date

Rates are available between 10/1/2021 and 09/30/2024.

The End Date of your trip can not occur before the Start Date.

Traveler reimbursement is based on the location of the work activities and not the accommodations, unless lodging is not available at the work activity, then the agency may authorize the rate where lodging is obtained.

Unless otherwise specified, the per diem locality is defined as "all locations within, or entirely surrounded by, the corporate limits of the key city, including independent entities located within those boundaries."

Per diem localities with county definitions shall include "all locations within, or entirely surrounded by, the corporate limits of the key city as well as the boundaries of the listed counties, including independent entities located within the boundaries of the key city and the listed counties (unless otherwise listed separately)."

When a military installation or Government - related facility(whether or not specifically named) is located partially within more than one city or county boundary, the applicable per diem rate for the entire installation or facility is the higher of the rates which apply to the cities and / or counties, even though part(s) of such activities may be located outside the defined per diem locality.