Do You Receive Per Diem on Weekends?
Eligibility for weekend per diem is determined by the interplay between foundational travel principles and your own company's specific reimbursement policies.
Per diem is a daily allowance an employer provides to cover lodging, meals, and incidental expenses during business travel, which simplifies expense reporting. A common question for employees on extended assignments is whether this allowance applies to non-working days, such as weekends. The answer depends on a combination of IRS tax regulations and specific company policies.
The Core Principle for Per Diem Eligibility
The foundation of per diem eligibility is the “away from home” rule established by the IRS. An employee must be traveling away from their designated tax home, which is their regular place of business or post of duty, not necessarily their family residence. The purpose of per diem is to offset the duplicate living expenses that arise when one must maintain a primary residence while also paying for lodging and meals elsewhere for business.
This principle directly addresses weekend eligibility. If an employee is on a multi-day assignment that spans a weekend, they are considered to be in a continuous travel status. Even though no work is performed, the employee remains “away from home for business” because it is often impractical or more costly to travel back to their tax home for just two days. Therefore, these weekend days are eligible for per diem because the business need requires the employee to remain at the temporary work location.
An employee must be in travel status for a period substantially longer than a normal workday, requiring them to stop for sleep or rest. For instance, a trip that begins on a Thursday and ends on a Tuesday would necessitate staying over the weekend. In this scenario, the costs for lodging and meals on Saturday and Sunday are a direct consequence of the business travel, making them eligible for the per diem allowance under IRS guidelines.
Government Guidelines vs Employer Policies
The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) establishes the maximum daily rates for lodging, meals, and incidental expenses that can be provided to an employee without being considered taxable income. These rates vary by location to account for differing costs of living. The IRS adopts these GSA rates as the standard for what is considered a substantiated, non-taxable reimbursement.
While federal regulations provide a ceiling for tax-free payments, they do not mandate that employers must pay these amounts. An employer is not required by law to offer per diem and can choose to reimburse actual expenses instead. The ultimate authority on what an employee will receive is the employer’s own internal travel policy, which dictates the specific rules and rates.
Employer policies on weekend per diem can vary significantly. Some companies pay the full GSA rate for every day the employee is required to be away from home, including weekends. Others might establish a lower, flat per diem rate for all travel. It is also common for policies to reduce or eliminate per diem for non-work days. For this reason, employees must review their company’s travel policy to understand their entitlements.
Calculating Per Diem for Travel and Non-Work Days
The calculation of per diem distinguishes between travel days and full days. For travel days—the first and last day of a business trip—it is standard practice to apply a partial reimbursement. This is calculated at 75% of the full Meals & Incidental Expenses (M&IE) rate for the given locality, as a full day’s worth of meals is not usually required.
In contrast, full days spent at the travel location, including non-work days like a Saturday or Sunday situated between business days, are eligible for 100% of the M&IE rate. This assumes the employee’s travel schedule makes it reasonable to remain at the location. Lodging is often reimbursed based on the actual cost incurred, up to the GSA maximum for that location, whereas the M&IE portion is a fixed daily amount.
The M&IE rates are set by the GSA and updated periodically. For fiscal year 2025, the standard M&IE rate is $68, but rates in higher-cost areas can be significantly more, with some rates up to $92. An employee on a trip from Thursday to the following Tuesday would receive 75% of the M&IE rate for Thursday and Tuesday, and 100% for Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday.
An alternative is the high-low substantiation method, which sets one per diem rate for high-cost areas and another for all other locations. For October 1, 2024, to September 30, 2025, the total rate, which includes lodging and M&IE, is $319 for high-cost localities and $225 for others. Of those totals, the M&IE portion is $86 for high-cost areas and $74 for all other locations.