GSA Announces Fiscal 2022 Travel Per Diem Rates

The General Services Administration announced Friday that it will keep lodging per diem rates for traveling federal employees at current levels in fiscal 2022.

Each fiscal year, GSA updates the reimbursement rates it offers federal employees who travel on official business, based on the average daily rate at hotels in each region of the continental United States. But the agency announced that for fiscal 2022, which begins Oct. 1, it will maintain the base lodging rate at $96 per night, because the COVID-19 pandemic has driven hotel prices down.

Most federal agencies currently have restrictions on who can travel for work due to the pandemic, and the White House’s mandate that federal employees who report to federal facilities be vaccinated or submit to regular testing and wear masks also bars nonvaccinated workers from engaging in official travel.

“GSA focuses on evidence-based policymaking that strives to balance the mission requirements of federal agencies, the needs of federal employees and the interests of the American public,” said Krystal Brumfield, associate administrator for GSA’s Office of Government-wide Policy. “Equity in the way we collect, analyze, apply and publish data is a top priority for GSA. Ultimately, we want federal travelers to be able to find affordable lodging as they return to mission-critical, time-sensitive official travel required to perform their essential duties.”

Unlike lodging, per diem rates for meals and incidental expenses will increase in fiscal 2022. The standard rate will increase from $55 this year to $59 come October, while non-standard area tiers, which vary by region, will increase from a range of $56-$76 to $59-$79.

GSA offers a tool where federal workers can see the per diem rates throughout the continental United States in fiscal 2022 on its website.