Government employee travel reimbursement runs on a fixed sequence: a supervisor signs a travel authorization before you book anything, you use required government booking channels and your travel charge card during the trip, and you file a voucher through your agency’s electronic travel system within five working days of returning. Reimbursement rates come from the General Services Administration’s annual bulletins. For fiscal year 2026, the standard continental U.S. per diem is $110 per night for lodging plus $68 per day for meals and incidentals, with higher rates in roughly 300 designated high-cost locations.1General Services Administration. GSA Per Diem Bulletin FTR 26-01 Skip a step and you can end up paying for the trip yourself.
Get the Travel Authorization Signed First
The travel authorization, sometimes called a travel order, is the legal green light to spend government money. It states where you’re going, how long you’ll be there, and how much you’re expected to spend, and your supervisor’s signature confirms the trip serves an agency mission.2eCFR. 41 CFR Part 301-71 Subpart B – Travel Authorization Book a flight or hotel before it’s signed and you’re gambling with your own money.
Agencies can approve reimbursement after the fact when advance authorization wasn’t practical, but that’s the exception. Some expense categories always require written advance approval.3eCFR. 41 CFR 301-2.1 – Travel Authorization Requirement The approved authorization also caps what you can later claim, so if costs run over the estimate, you’ll need an amended authorization before filing your voucher.
Per Diem: What It Covers and How Much
Per diem is the daily allowance for lodging, meals, and small incidentals while on temporary duty. GSA publishes rates by county, updated each October at the start of the federal fiscal year.4General Services Administration. Per Diem Rates
Lodging
Lodging reimburses your actual hotel cost up to the published nightly ceiling. The standard FY2026 CONUS ceiling is $110, with high-cost cities like Washington, D.C., New York, and San Francisco set well above that. Keep the lodging receipt regardless of the amount. The reimbursement covers the room rate and taxes only, not minibar charges or pay-per-view movies.5eCFR. 41 CFR 301-11.25 – Must I Provide Receipts to Substantiate My Claimed Travel Expenses
Meals and Incidental Expenses
Meals and incidentals work as a flat daily allowance. You receive the full amount whether you spend it or not. The standard FY2026 M&IE rate is $68 per day, broken down as $16 breakfast, $19 lunch, $28 dinner, and $5 for incidentals like tips.6General Services Administration. FY 2026 Per Diem Rates Your first and last travel days pay 75% of the full M&IE rate, which comes to $51 at the standard rate.7GovInfo. 41 CFR 301-11 – Per Diem Expenses
The meal breakdown matters when someone else feeds you. Conference lunch included? Deduct the lunch portion from that day’s M&IE. Missing that deduction is one of the more common voucher errors and tends to surface during review.
When Per Diem Isn’t Enough
Your agency can authorize actual expense reimbursement when the published rate can’t cover local costs, such as a conference hotel priced above the ceiling, a special event driving up prices locally, a presidentially declared disaster area, or specific mission requirements.8eCFR. 41 CFR 301-11.300 – When Is Actual Expense Reimbursement Warranted Reimbursement can reach 300% of the normal per diem rate, though agencies often set lower internal caps.9eCFR. 41 CFR Part 301-11 – Subsistence Expenses – Section 301-11.17 The authorization for actual expense must appear on your travel order before the trip starts.
Laundry and dry cleaning are reimbursable as a separate miscellaneous expense on CONUS trips of at least four consecutive nights. Those costs are already built into overseas per diem, so you can’t claim them separately on international trips.
Driving Your Own Vehicle
Use your personal car for official travel and the government pays a per-mile rate rather than actual fuel and wear costs. For calendar year 2026, the standard rate is 72.5 cents per mile. If a government vehicle was available and you chose your own car anyway, the rate drops to 20.5 cents per mile. Motorcycles reimburse at 70.5 cents per mile, and privately owned aircraft at $1.78 per mile.10General Services Administration. GSA Bulletin FTR 26-02
Beyond the mileage figure, the government reimburses parking, tolls, bridge and tunnel fees, and ferry costs. It does not reimburse fuel, oil, insurance, or repairs, because the mileage rate is designed to cover those.11U.S. General Services Administration. Federal Travel Regulation Overview Airport or train station parking during a trip can be reimbursed up to the cost of a taxi or rideshare to the terminal, whichever your agency determines more cost-effective.
Booking Rules That Affect Reimbursement
Federal travel isn’t booked like a personal vacation. Agencies use electronic travel systems that route reservations through government-negotiated contracts and create the paper trail your voucher will need.
City Pair Program
The GSA’s City Pair Program is a mandatory-use contract locking in discounted airfares between frequently traveled cities. City Pair fares are typically well below commercial rates and come with full refundability and no change fees.12General Services Administration. City Pair Program When a City Pair fare exists for your route, you’re expected to book it. Choose a pricier commercial fare without justification and you’ll cover the difference yourself.
Fly America Act
Government-funded air travel must use a U.S. flag carrier. This applies to employees, contractors, and grantees. A non-compliant flight will not be reimbursed.13General Services Administration. Fly America Act Open Skies agreements with the European Union, Australia, Switzerland, and Japan carve out limited exceptions for carriers of those countries; Department of Defense-funded travel doesn’t qualify for any Open Skies exception.
Rental Cars
A rental car needs specific authorization on your travel order and an agency determination that renting beats taxis or transit. When authorized, rent the least expensive compact car available. Exceptions for medical needs, multiple travelers, government equipment, or severe weather have to be documented on the authorization.14eCFR. 41 CFR 301-10.450 – Rental Vehicle Use and Authorization Vendors in the Defense Travel Management Office’s government rental agreement should be the first choice; that agreement includes insurance and damage liability coverage.
The Government Travel Charge Card
Federal employees are required to use a government-issued travel charge card for official travel expenses, including airfare, lodging, and rental cars. The card is usually an individually billed account, so charges appear on a statement in your name and you’re responsible for paying it once your reimbursement comes through.
The FTR provides exemptions for employees with a pending application, employees whose mission or personal safety would be compromised by carrying the card, and employees who are ineligible for issuance.15eCFR. 41 CFR 301-51.2 – Exemptions From Mandatory Use of the Government Contractor-Issued Travel Charge Card The GSA Administrator can grant broader exemptions when card use is impractical or imposes unreasonable costs.
The card is for official expenses only. Personal use or charges outside approved travel orders can trigger suspension, revocation, and disciplinary action up to removal from federal service. Personal charges stand out because they don’t reconcile against any travel authorization.
Filing the Voucher
After the trip, you file a travel voucher through your agency’s electronic system. The voucher lists actual expenses, reconciles them against what the authorization approved, and starts the reimbursement.
The FTR requires submission within five working days of returning to your regular duty station. On extended or continuous travel, file at least every 30 days. Missing the deadline doesn’t automatically forfeit your claim, but it creates trouble with your card balance and draws attention from your travel office.
Attach receipts for all lodging regardless of amount, and for any individual expense over $75. Your agency can require receipts for smaller expenses if it tells you before the trip. A lost receipt calls for a written explanation the agency finds acceptable.5eCFR. 41 CFR 301-11.25 – Must I Provide Receipts to Substantiate My Claimed Travel Expenses
Reimbursement uses split disbursement: the system pays the travel card bank directly for charges on the government card, and any remaining balance goes to you. That keeps the card account current while the agency processes the voucher.
If the agency takes more than 30 calendar days to reimburse you after you’ve submitted a proper claim, you’re entitled to a late payment fee. Most employees don’t know it exists, but it does.
Travel Advances
Need cash before the trip for expenses that can’t hit the travel card? Your agency can issue a travel advance limited to the estimated amount of those cash transactions. For non-cash expenses that would normally go on the card, the advance is generally zero unless your agency specifically authorizes otherwise.16eCFR. 41 CFR 301-51.201 – Maximum Travel Advance Amount Any advance gets deducted from your final reimbursement; it’s an early draw, not extra money.
Tax Treatment
Federal travel reimbursements paid under an accountable plan are not taxable income. Three conditions apply: the expenses must have a clear business purpose, you must substantiate them to your agency within a reasonable time, and you must return any excess payment promptly.17Internal Revenue Service. Nonresident Aliens and the Accountable Plan Rules The standard federal voucher process meets all three, so per diem and expense reimbursements should not appear on your W-2.
Payments above the GSA-published per diem rate are treated as wages and become subject to income and employment tax withholding.18Internal Revenue Service. Per Diem Payments Frequently Asked Questions For standard federal employees this rarely comes up, since agencies reimburse at or below published rates. It matters more for contractors or grantees whose organizations set their own per diem policies.