Meals and Incidentals Per Diem

Oakland University reimburses travelers for meals and incidental expenses with a Meals & Incidental Expenses Per Diem (M&IE) upon return of overnight business travel and will cover the following expenses:

• All personal food & beverages, including gratuities 
• Bag handling & hotel gratuities 
• Transportation to and from meal locations 
• Expenses incurred for submitting travel receipts and travel reports during travel 

Hosting While on Travel Status

When hosting a meal while traveling, Policy 208 must be adhered to and hosting meals will NOT be subject to M&IE rates. On the TES, the meal should be noted on the "hosting" line and the corresponding meal should be deducted in the per diem section.

What Rate to Use

The per diem rate for your business travel should be based on the location of your hotel. If you have multiple destinations during your business travel, generally the per diem should be based on where you stay the night, however if you have further questions please contact the Accounts Payable Manager for further directions.

Domestic per diem rates currently range from $46 - $71 per day and the rate for your business destination may be located here: 

http://www.gsa.gov/portal/content/104877

The rates for Alaska and Hawaii may be located here: (note that the DOD has not updated their website security certificate so you will need to click past the warning using the “More Information” selection to reach the website)

http://www.defensetravel.dod.mil/site/perdiemCalc.cfm 

Important note: When calculating per diem rates for Alaska and Hawaii exclude military installations and then add together Local Meals and the Local Incidentals to obtain the full per diem amount

The rates for foreign countries vary widely and may be located here: 

http://aoprals.state.gov/web920/per_diem.asp (Please note: The U.S. Dept. of State link may not launch from this page. You may need to copy and paste the hyperlink to your browser line to access this website.)

Additional Information

Please note the following per diem facts:

• $5.00 of each domestic per diem is to cover incidentals, regardless of the rate
• Per diem will NOT be reimbursed when a meal has been provided as part of a conference
• Domestic per diem is provided at 75% on the first and last days of travel, regardless of travel time; however, this rule does NOT apply to foreign travel