Per Diem Calculator — Look Up GSA Rates & Calculate Your Meal Deduction
Self-employed and traveling for business? You can skip the meal receipts and use the federal per diem rate instead. This calculator applies GSA FY2026 M&IE rates, the 50% meal deduction rule, and the first/last-day 75% adjustment — so you know exactly what's deductible on Schedule C before you file.
60-day free trial · No credit card · Lodging receipts + per diem meals, all in one place
Per Diem Calculator — Enter Your Trip
Applies GSA FY2026 M&IE rates. Self-employed: per diem covers meals only — lodging requires actual receipts.
Add actual lodging receipts separately — per diem does not cover lodging for self-employed. Report meals on Schedule C Line 24b.
For city-specific rates, use the GSA per diem lookup. Rates update October 1 each fiscal year. This calculator uses FY2026 standard M&IE tiers.
GSA Per Diem Rates FY2026 — How They Work
The General Services Administration (GSA) sets per diem rates for federal employees traveling within the continental United States (CONUS). These same rates are used by self-employed individuals, S-corp owners, and businesses to determine allowable meal deductions without tracking receipts. FY2026 rates cover October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026 — and for the first time since FY2019–2020, GSA has held rates flat for a second consecutive year.
Per Diem for Self-Employed — Schedule C Rules
If you're self-employed, you can use the federal per diem rate for meals and incidental expenses instead of keeping every restaurant receipt. The trade-off: you give up the ability to deduct actual meal costs when they exceed the per diem, and the 50% deduction limit still applies to the per diem amount. For most self-employed travelers, the simplified record-keeping is worth it.
Use the GSA rate for your destination. No receipts needed, but you must keep a travel log: dates, destinations, business purpose.
No standard lodging per diem for the self-employed. IRS Publication 463 requires your actual hotel cost with documentation.
The 50% meal deduction limit applies to the per diem amount, not just actual costs. $68/day × 50% = $34 deductible. The 100% COVID-era rate expired end of 2022.
Meals per diem goes on Schedule C Line 24b (travel meals). Lodging actual expense goes on Line 24a. Keep your travel log as supporting documentation.
Required documentation: Even without meal receipts, you need a written travel log for each trip showing: date, business destination, business purpose, and number of days away from your tax home. IRS Publication 463 governs — keep logs for at least 3 years.
CRA Simplified Method — Canadian Per Diem
Canada Revenue Agency's simplified method sets a flat meal rate of $23 CAD per meal ($69 CAD/day for three meals) with no receipts required. The critical nuance: this rate officially applies to medical travel, moving expenses, and northern residents deductions — not to general T2125 business travel. For most self-employed Canadians, actual meal receipts are required on T2125 Line 8523, with a 50% deductibility limit (the same as the US rule).
| Situation | Method | Rate / Rule |
|---|---|---|
| T2125 business travel (general) | Actual receipts required | 50% deductible, Line 8523 |
| Medical travel, moving, northern | Simplified method allowed | $23 CAD/meal, $69 CAD/day, no receipts |
| Self-employed courier / rickshaw | Flat rate with logbook | $23 CAD/day flat rate |
| Long-haul truck drivers | Higher deductibility rate | 80% deductible (24+ hrs away, 160+ km) |
| TL-2 transport employees | Employment expense rules | Claim on T2200, different limits |
Canada's long-haul trucker rules are notably more generous than the US: 80% deductibility (vs 50% in the US) for drivers away from their home base for 24+ hours and 160+ km. This has not been cut back like the temporary US COVID provision that expired in 2022. For T2125 filers, track business meal expenses in ExpenseBot under the T2125 expense tracker to auto-populate Line 8523.
Per Diem vs Actual Expenses — Which Saves More?
The per diem method wins on simplicity — no receipt tracking for meals — but doesn't always win on dollars. Actual expenses win when your meal costs genuinely exceed the per diem rate, particularly for expensive cities or business entertaining. Here's when each approach makes sense:
Per Diem Wins When…
- You eat cheaply (fast food, grocery-store lunches)
- You travel to high-cost cities with high M&IE rates
- You want simpler record-keeping (no meal receipts)
- You travel frequently and receipt-tracking is burdensome
- You travel as a trucker or transportation worker (higher M&IE rate applies)
Actual Expenses Win When…
- Your actual meal costs exceed the per diem rate
- You're entertaining clients (separate entertainment deduction)
- You travel to non-CONUS / international destinations
- Lodging costs are already tracked and meals are incidental
- You need to deduct alcoholic beverages at a business dinner
Trucker Per Diem — Special Rules for Transportation Workers
DOT hours-of-service workers — over-the-road truck drivers, pilots, rail workers, and certain maritime workers — use a higher M&IE rate than standard CONUS. For FY2026: $80/day CONUS and $86/day OCONUS. The deductibility limit reverted to 50% for 2023 and beyond; the temporary 80% rate that applied during COVID-era tax years (2021–2022) is no longer in effect.
"Away from home" test: You qualify for per diem when you're away from your tax home long enough to require sleep or rest. Day trips where you return home at night don't qualify — one of the most common trucker per diem mistakes. Your "tax home" is your regular place of business, not where you happen to sleep.
Canada long-haul truckers: The 80% deductibility rate remains intact in Canada for long-haul drivers who are away from their municipality of business for 24+ continuous hours and travel 160+ km from home. This applies to the simplified $23 CAD/meal rate as well as actual expenses.
Track Your Per Diem Trips in ExpenseBot
Forward your hotel and flight confirmations to ExpenseBot. Tag each expense with a Trip – prefix and ExpenseBot groups lodging receipts (actual expense) separately from your per diem meal days. At year-end, your Schedule C or T2125 report shows lodging (actual) and meals (per diem) on the correct lines — no manual sorting.
Also tracks mileage and Schedule C expenses.
Frequently Asked Questions — Per Diem
Can self-employed use per diem instead of actual meal receipts?
Yes. IRS allows self-employed individuals to use the federal per diem rate for meals and incidental expenses (M&IE) instead of tracking actual receipts. You must still maintain a travel log showing business days, destinations, and business purpose. The 50% meal deduction limit applies.
What is the per diem rate for meals in 2026?
The standard CONUS M&IE rate is $68/day for FY2026 (October 2025 – September 2026). High-cost localities go up to $92/day (NYC, San Francisco, Washington DC). The first and last day of any trip count at 75% of the applicable rate. FY2026 rates are frozen at FY2025 levels.
Can I use per diem for lodging if I'm self-employed?
No. Self-employed individuals must use actual lodging expenses with receipts. There is no standard per diem for lodging for the self-employed — IRS Publication 463 explicitly states you must use your actual cost. The per diem option for the self-employed covers meals and incidentals only.
What's the Canadian per diem rate?
CRA's simplified method is $23 CAD/meal ($69/day) with no receipts needed — but it officially applies to medical travel, moving expenses, and northern residents deductions. For general T2125 business travel, self-employed individuals typically need actual meal receipts. Long-haul truckers are a specific exception with a flat rate and logbook requirement.
Do truckers get a higher per diem deduction?
DOT hours-of-service workers (truckers, pilots, rail crew) previously had an 80% meal deduction, but the temporary COVID-era increase expired at end of 2022. The rate reverted to 50% for 2023 and beyond. However, the DOT M&IE rate is higher: $80/day CONUS (vs $68 standard), $86/day OCONUS.
Can I mix per diem and actual expenses on the same trip?
You can use per diem for meals and actual receipts for lodging on the same trip — the IRS allows this combination. But once you choose the per diem method for meals on a trip, you must use it for every meal day of that trip. You cannot cherry-pick per diem for cheap days and actual expenses for expensive days.
What's the IRS high-low simplified method?
The IRS high-low method sets two flat rates instead of looking up each city individually: $319/day for designated high-cost localities ($233 lodging + $86 M&IE) and $225/day for all other CONUS locations ($151 lodging + $74 M&IE) for FY2026. Check IRS Notice 2025-54 for the current high-cost locality list.
Where can I look up the exact per diem rate for a specific city?
Use the GSA per diem lookup tool at GSA.gov. Enter your destination city or ZIP code and select the fiscal year. Rates are updated annually on October 1. The calculator above uses the standard CONUS rate and M&IE tiers — for city-specific lodging rates, always confirm with the GSA lookup since rates change each fiscal year.
Per Diem Calculated. Now Track It.
Forward your hotel and travel receipts once. ExpenseBot tags lodging as actual expense, tracks your per diem meal days, and produces a clean Schedule C / T2125 report at year-end.
✓ No credit card · ✓ 60-day free trial · ✓ Lodging receipts + per diem meals combined