Fedweek

Despite published reports that the General Services Administration definitely will change its cycle for per diem rates effective this fall, GSA officials say the idea merely remains under consideration – as it has been for months – and that no final decision has been made. GSA has been considering releasing new per diem rates each September and making them effective with the October 1 beginning of the government’s fiscal year. In recent years, per diem rates have been issued each December, effective at the start of the succeeding calendar year, although sometimes there have been holdups in releasing the politically sensitive figures that determine how much federal travelers will be reimbursed for their lodgings and meals and incidental expenses.