Do Federal Contractors Get GSA Per Diem? The Contract Decides
A contractor books a hotel at the GSA lodging rate, flies to the site, and submits the trip for reimbursement. The invoice comes back questioned. The rate was right, the city was right, and none of it mattered, because the contract never promised per diem in the first place.
Do federal contractors get GSA per diem? The GSA writes its rates for federal employees, and the Federal Travel Regulation binds agencies, not companies. Contractors sit outside that system. What they get is whatever their contract says, and contracts say three different things: some reference GSA per diem rates explicitly, some require actual expenses with receipts, and some bake travel into a fixed price so there is no separate reimbursement at all. The same traveler, the same city, the same hotel, three different answers. The document that decides is the one most travelers never read.
This is worth internalizing because the common assumption runs the other way. People see "federal per diem" and read it as a universal federal travel benefit. It is not. It is a rate schedule plus a set of rules, and the rules attach to employment status. Your company may reimburse you generously, strictly, or not at all, and that is a separate question from what the government will reimburse your company.
What FAR 31.205-46 actually does
For contracts where travel costs are billed to the government, usually cost-reimbursement work, the Federal Acquisition Regulation sets the ceiling. FAR 31.205-46 says lodging, meals, and incidental expenses are generally reasonable and allowable only up to the applicable federal per diem maximums, with specified exceptions. Read that as a cap, not a grant: the government will not pay more than the per diem maximum for your costs, but nothing in the FAR entitles you to the per diem itself. The contract still has to authorize the travel and the reimbursement method.
The practical effect is that GSA rates function as the industry's shared vocabulary even where they are not mandatory. A contracting officer and a vendor can negotiate travel terms in about ten words, "per diem per the FTR," because both sides know the schedule. For FY2027 the standard CONUS rate is $181 a day: $113 for lodging and $68 for meals and incidentals. Private companies with no government business at all adopt the same schedule as a benchmark, since published annual rates make for clean, defensible travel policies and help reimbursements qualify for tax-free treatment under accountable plan rules.
Check the contract before you book
On a cost-reimbursement contract that references the Federal Travel Regulation or GSA rates, you travel within the per diem maximums, keep lodging receipts, and invoice per the contract's instructions. On a fixed-price contract with travel baked into the price, there is no separate reimbursement to claim; the travel cost was negotiated into your rate, and spending above it comes out of margin. On a contract silent about travel, stop and ask the contracting officer before you book anything, because silence is not permission and the answer you get verbally is worth nothing unless it is in writing.
One more confusion to clear up, because it costs people money: IRS per diem rates are not GSA per diem rates. They are different schedules for different purposes. The IRS high-low substantiation rates govern the tax treatment of what your employer reimburses you; the GSA schedule governs federal travel ceilings. Using one number where the other belongs is how expense reports get rejected and how tax filings get interesting.
The question I cannot answer from here is what your specific contract says, and that is genuinely the whole ballgame. Two contractors on the same program, different contract vehicles, can have different travel rules. Read the travel clause before the trip, not after the invoice. The five minutes it takes is the cheapest insurance in federal contracting.
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Calculate Per DiemFrequently asked questions
Do federal contractors get GSA per diem?
Not automatically. GSA per diem rates are set for federal employees. Many federal contracts reference GSA rates for contractor travel, but some require actual expenses and some build travel into a fixed price with no separate reimbursement. The contract's travel clause decides.
What does FAR 31.205-46 say about contractor travel?
FAR 31.205-46 governs the allowability of travel costs charged to government contracts. Lodging, meals, and incidental expenses are generally considered reasonable and allowable only up to the applicable federal per diem maximums, subject to specified exceptions and the contract's terms.
Can a private company use GSA per diem rates for its employees?
Yes. Private companies frequently adopt GSA rates as their reimbursement benchmark even without a government contract, because the rates are public, updated annually, and provide a defensible standard that helps reimbursements qualify for tax-free treatment under accountable plan rules.
What should a contractor check before traveling on a federal contract?
Check the contract for travel clauses and invoicing instructions, confirm whether it specifies GSA CONUS rates or an agency-specific schedule, verify receipt requirements, and confirm who approves travel. Never assume GSA rules apply unless the contract says so.
Are IRS per diem rates the same as GSA per diem rates?
No. IRS per diem rates and GSA per diem rates are different schedules used for different purposes. GSA rates govern federal travel; IRS rates relate to tax treatment of employer reimbursements. Do not use one where the other is required.
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