Beginning Oct. 1, the agency will increase the base lodging rate from $98 to $107 per night. PM Images/Getty Images
Per diem rates for federal workers will increase this fall, GSA says
The standard lodging rate will jump by nearly $10 beginning in October, as the government continues to confront recent inflation.
The General Services Administration on Wednesday announced that lodging per diem rates will increase for the second straight year in fiscal 2024, although allowances for meals and incidentals remain flat.
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. After a slight increase to lodging rates last year, beginning Oct. 1, the agency will increase the base lodging rate from $98 to $107 per night.
But for the second straight year, the standard daily reimbursement rates for meals and incidental expenses will remain flat at $59 for fiscal 2024, while non-standard tiers will remain with in the range of $59-$79.
This year’s rate changes come alongside a shakeup of the list of so-called ”non-standard areas,” which are regions that are subject to their own per diem rates higher than the standard amount. Although Huntsville, Ala., and Charles Town, W.V., will be added to list, 16 regions have been reshuffled back into the standard per diem rate category: Hammond/Munster/Merrillville, Ind.; Wichita, Kan.; Baton Rouge, La.; Baltimore County and Frederick, Md.; East Lansing/Lansing and Kalamazoo/Battle Creek, Mich.; Eagan/Burnsville/Mendota Heights, Minn.; Akron and Wooster, Ohio; Erie, Pa.; Corpus Christi and Round Rock, Texas; Appleton and Brookfield/Racine, Wis.; and Morgantown, W.V.
The total number of non-standard areas will sit at 302 beginning in October.
GSA offers a tool where federal workers can see the per diem rates throughout the continental U.S. in fiscal 2024 on its website.