Enter the trip dates and the destination, upload the hotel folio, airfare and meal receipts, and get a per diem expense report with the GSA meal rate for every day, 75 percent on travel days, lodging checked against the federal maximum, and an Excel or CSV file ready for reimbursement.
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The rule fits on one line: a daily rate for meals and incidentals, lodging up to a cap. The report is where the hours go. Somebody looks up the rate for the city, cuts the first and last day to 75 percent, checks each hotel night against the lodging maximum for that month, and then still attaches the folio, the airfare and the cab receipts.
GSA publishes new rates for each federal fiscal year. A trip that crosses October 1 uses two tables, and a spreadsheet template copied last year quietly applies the old one.
The first and last day of a trip are paid at 75 percent of the M&IE rate. Forget it on a two-day trip and half the meal claim is wrong.
Lodging is reimbursed at actual cost up to the GSA maximum, so the folio is still required, and the cap for Chicago in November is not the cap for Chicago in March.
The airline email, the hotel folio PDF, a photo of the taxi slip and a pocket of meal receipts all have to end up in one report with one total.
ReceiptOCR reads every receipt with AI and keeps it in your archive. Create a trip and the report collects the folios, airfare, ground transport and meal receipts dated inside it, applies the GSA rate for each day, and puts the two meal methods side by side so you claim the right one.
The report applies the CONUS M&IE rate and lodging maximum for the destination and the date, from the FY2025, FY2026 and FY2027 GSA tables. Trips that cross October 1 switch tables on the right day.
The first and last day of the trip are paid at 75 percent of the M&IE rate, using the GSA breakdown for that tier, for example $69 instead of $92.
Hotel folios are read for arrival, departure and room charges. Room cost is compared with the GSA lodging maximum night by night, and nights above it are listed with the amount paid and the cap.
Switch the meal method between the federal per diem and the actual meal receipts. The report shows both amounts, which one is higher, and the 50 percent deductible figure.
Airfare, rail tickets and lodging paid up to 60 days before departure are pulled into the trip, so the flight bought last month is not missing from the report.
Download the report with a summary, a per diem line for every day and every receipt with merchant, city, role and amount, ready for an accountable plan reimbursement or your CPA.
From a folder of travel receipts to a report your finance team or CPA can approve, without looking up a single rate.
Drop in the hotel folio, the airline or Amtrak receipt, taxi and parking slips and meal receipts as photos or PDFs. AI reads the merchant, date, city and total of each one.
Enter the trip name, business purpose, start and end date and the destination city, or the standard rate for any other CONUS location. An optional tag limits the report to tagged receipts.
Tip: Write the business purpose now. An accountable plan and the IRS both expect it next to the dates.
Check the per diem line for each day, untick a hotel booking the folio already covers, change a receipt role if needed, and pick per diem or actual meals.
Export the report with the summary, the daily rates and the receipt list, and attach it to the reimbursement request.
Built for US businesses and professionals who reimburse or deduct business travel at federal per diem rates and need the report to match the receipts.
Federal contractors whose travel costs are allowable only up to the federal per diem, who need the rate, the dates and the receipts in one file.
Finance staff reimbursing employees under an accountable plan who check every claim against the GSA table today by hand.
Consultants, auditors, inspectors and technicians on the road for several days at a time who submit a report after every trip.
Organizations whose grants cap travel at federal rates and who need the cap check to show in the report.
Short answer: a per diem tracker app records each business trip with its dates and destination, applies the federal M&IE rate and lodging maximum for every day, and turns the receipts into a report you can submit. ReceiptOCR does this from your own receipts: it reads the folio, airfare and meal receipts with AI, uses the FY2027 GSA tables (standard rate $113 lodging and $68 M&IE), pays travel days at 75 percent, and exports Excel or CSV.
| Date | M&IE rate | Percent | Meals | Lodging maximum |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 3 | $92 | 75% | $69.00 | $232 |
| Nov 4 | $92 | 100% | $92.00 | $232 |
| Nov 5 | $92 | 100% | $92.00 | $232 |
| Nov 6 | $92 | 75% | $69.00 | None, last day |
On the first and last day of a trip you get 75 percent of the full M&IE rate for the destination, and every full day in between gets 100 percent. For a $92 location that is $69 on each travel day and $92 on each full day, so a four day trip pays $69 + $92 + $92 + $69 = $322 for meals. Lodging is not prorated: it is the actual room cost per night up to the lodging maximum, and there is no lodging on the last day because you do not stay that night. ReceiptOCR applies the 75 percent automatically from the GSA breakdown table, which rounds some tiers, for example $55.50 for the $74 rate.
Your rate depends on where you stay and when. For federal fiscal year 2027, which runs from October 1, 2026 to September 30, 2027, the standard CONUS rate is $113 for lodging and $68 for M&IE, and about 295 non-standard areas pay more, with M&IE tiers of $68, $74, $80, $86 and $92. Lodging maximums in many cities also change by month. In the app you pick the state and the city from the GSA list, or the standard rate for any place not listed, and every day of the report gets the rate for that date.
| Destination, November 2026 | Lodging maximum per night | M&IE per day | M&IE on travel days |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard CONUS rate | $113 | $68 | $51.00 |
| Chicago, IL | $232 | $92 | $69.00 |
| Atlanta, GA | $188 | $86 | $64.50 |
| Dallas, TX | $184 | $80 | $60.00 |
| Washington, DC | $203 | $92 | $69.00 |
| New York City, NY | $358 | $92 | $69.00 |
Figures from the FY2027 GSA CONUS tables built into the app. Lodging maximums for several of these cities are different in other months.
Federal per diem has two parts: lodging, and meals and incidental expenses (M&IE). M&IE covers breakfast, lunch, dinner and incidentals, which GSA defines as tips to porters, baggage carriers and hotel staff. Airfare, rental cars, taxis, rideshare, parking, baggage fees and conference registration are not part of per diem; they are reimbursed separately at actual cost with a receipt. That is why the report keeps four roles, lodging, meals, transport and other, and why the transport and other lines still need receipts even when meals are claimed at the per diem rate.
For meals claimed at the per diem rate you generally do not need meal receipts, but you still have to prove the time, place and business purpose of the trip. Lodging is different: it is reimbursed at actual cost up to the maximum, so the hotel folio is required, and airfare and ground transport need their own receipts. If your plan or your client uses actual meal costs instead, every meal receipt counts. Keeping all of them in one report lets you compare both methods and keep the higher one where your policy allows it.
Most teams start with a spreadsheet template or a phone app that only looks up the rate. The difference is whether the tool also handles the receipts, because the folio and the airfare are what auditors and finance teams ask for.
| Option | GSA rates | 75% travel days | Reads receipts | Lodging cap check | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spreadsheet template | You type them in | Formula you maintain | No | Manual | One trip a year |
| Rate lookup phone app | Looks them up | Varies by app | Usually no | Usually no | Checking a rate on the road |
| Expensify per diem | Admin imports a rate spreadsheet (sample templates are for Germany, Sweden, Finland and South Africa) | Only if you add it as a sub-rate | Yes | Not described in its per diem help | Teams already on Expensify |
| ReceiptOCR trip reports | FY2025 to FY2027 built in | Automatic | Yes, folios, airfare and meals | Yes, night by night | Teams that want the report done from the receipts |
Expensify is the better choice if you need approval chains, corporate cards and reimbursement payouts in one platform; we do not run payroll or pay employees. If the job is turning a trip of receipts into a correct per diem report and a spreadsheet the trip report is faster to set up and needs no rate spreadsheet. For the wider picture see travel expense management software and the per diem vs actual expenses guide.
Each day uses the table for the fiscal year it falls in. A trip from September 29 to October 2, 2026 pays September 29 and 30 at FY2026 rates and October 1 and 2 at FY2027 rates, which matters for lodging, because the standard maximum rose from $110 to $113 and many city caps moved. The report lists the fiscal year on every day and says so in the summary when more than one table was used.
The built in rates are the GSA CONUS tables for the 48 contiguous states and DC. Alaska, Hawaii and foreign destinations use Department of Defense and State Department rates that are not included, so for those trips choose actual cost for meals; lodging, airfare and every other receipt work the same way, and foreign currency receipts are converted to US dollars.
The best one is the one that builds the report you submit, not only the rate. Look for current GSA tables, automatic 75 percent travel days, a lodging cap check and receipt capture for the folio and airfare. ReceiptOCR trip reports do all four and export Excel or CSV, included in every paid plan from $49 a month.
The first and last day of a trip are paid at 75 percent of the M&IE rate and every full day in between at 100 percent. At $92 that is $69 on travel days. Lodging is not prorated; it is actual room cost up to the lodging maximum for each night you stay.
For fiscal year 2027, from October 1, 2026 to September 30, 2027, the standard CONUS rate is $113 for lodging and $68 for meals and incidentals. About 295 non-standard areas pay more, with M&IE of up to $92 a day and higher lodging caps that can vary by month.
Not usually for meals claimed at the per diem rate, but you must still show the dates, place and business purpose of the trip. Lodging needs the hotel folio because it is paid at actual cost up to the cap, and airfare, taxis and parking need their own receipts.
Yes. Each trip has a meal method setting. The report always shows the per diem amount, the total of your meal receipts and which is higher, plus the 50 percent deductible figure, so you can pick the method your policy or your CPA allows.
Yes. Hotel folios are read for arrival, departure and room charges, and the room cost per night is compared with the GSA maximum for that date. Nights above the cap are listed with the amount paid and the maximum, so you know what needs approval or an explanation.
Trip reports, the GSA rate tables, the lodging check and the Excel and CSV export come with every paid plan, starting with Starter at $49 a month, next to receipt scanning, the mileage log and expense categories. There is no separate per diem subscription and no per user fee.
The built in rates are the GSA tables for the 48 contiguous states and DC. For Alaska, Hawaii and trips abroad choose actual cost for meals; lodging, airfare and other receipts work the same way and foreign currency receipts are converted to US dollars.
Airfare, rail tickets and lodging paid up to 60 days before the start date are pulled into the trip as prepaid items. Taxis or local rides bought before the trip are not, because they belong to other days. You can still exclude any line before you export.
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