By now, you’re well aware that per diem payments are for lodging, meals, and incidental expenses while traveling away for business purposes. With

1.3 million

people traveling for work every day in the U.S. alone, making sure you know all there is to know is essential for cost-saving.Throughout this guide, we’ve explained the ins and outs of

per diem payments in the UK and the United States.

When it comes to meal expenses, the two vary greatly in how per diem payments are handled, including employee reimbursement, meal costs, foreign areas you’re traveling to and from, and more.

The benchmark rate for per diem payments in the UK is as follows:An additional meal allowance not exceeding £10 per day may be paid if an allowance under 1. or 2. is paid, and travel is ongoing at 8pm.This covers meals, but it doesn’t cover other costs such as accommodation—you’ll need to

arrange a lodging rate

if there’s an overnight stay involved.Use the benchmark rate for quick and easy tax-deductible allowances. If these don’t suffice, you can also agree on a

bespoke rate

with HMRC. However, this involves past receipts and expense reports.The bespoke rate form is an

online form

and will require you to have business information on hand—such as PAYE information and business address.

Source

To agree on a bespoke rate, you'll have to show HMRC that your travel expenses are typically higher than allowed. You’ll also need to provide proof. Once a bespoke rate is agreed upon, employees can continue to use it without having to reapply every time.As per the travel regulations

Finance Act of 2019

, employees needn’t compile expense reports if expenses don’t exceed the benchmark rates. If the rate is bespoke, a regime of verifying and checking receipts must be put in place. For the specifics, head to the HMRC guidelines on

checking systems

.

In the continental United States (CONUS), the General Services Administration (GSA) establishes per diem rates. They separate rates into ‘lodging’ and ‘meals and incidental expenses (M&IE) and, unlike in the UK, have benchmark rates for both.Per diem rates for non-foreign, non-contiguous U.S. areas, such as Hawaii and Alaska, are established by the Department of Defense Per Diem, Travel and Transportation Allowance Committee (

PDTATAC

).Employers have two options when it comes to per diem allowances:If you’re using the high-low method, the rates are revised yearly. They currently stand as follows:The list of high-cost localities is updated yearly—the full list is

here

. These are some of the newly added locations that qualify for the ‘high-cost’ rate:Some locations’ ‘high-cost’ status is also seasonal—they’re only considered ‘high-cost’ for certain parts of the year. These seasonal locations include:All locations not on the list are considered to be ‘low-cost’ areas and take the ‘low-cost’ rate. The same goes for the seasonal ‘high-cost’ areas—they revert to ‘low-cost’ areas for parts of the year.

Keeping up with changing per diem allowances is a task in itself, but knowing where to go to find the information you need is essential for

corporate business travel

. Here’s a quick recap of where to go to find the per diem rates for your desired destination.

Per diem allowances for meal expenses can be spent wherever the employee desires; however, it shouldn’t exceed the per diem allowance. If a per diem rate goes over the standard or agreed amount it’s considered a taxable benefit to employees, so make sure your employees adhere to the rates.Now you’re up-to-date with per diem allowances for business meals and incidental expenses, you can rest easy knowing your business travel complies with government guidelines.