Federal Employee Official Travel and Relocation — Per Diem, Mileage, and PCS Moves

When the federal government sends you somewhere — whether for a two-day training trip or a permanent change of station across the country — a detailed set of rules governs exactly what it will pay for. The Federal Travel Regulations (FTR), issued by the General Services Administration under authority of 5 U.S.C. Chapter 57 (§§ 5701–5757), determine your per diem rates for lodging and meals, how much you get reimbursed for driving your personal vehicle, what it costs the government to move your household goods, and whether your family's transportation is covered. These rules affect the more than 1.5 million civilian federal employees who travel on official business each year, and they govern the mechanics of the roughly 100,000+ Permanent Change of Station (PCS) moves the federal government funds annually. For military personnel, parallel rules exist under separate statutes, but civilian federal employees governed by the federal civil service framework are covered entirely by Title 5 Chapter 57 and the FTR — a set of entitlements that sits alongside the federal pay system and the broader menu of federal employee benefits.

Current Law (2026)

Legal Authority

• 5 U.S.C. § 5702 — Per diem: when an employee travels away from their official duty station on official business, the agency must pay per diem (a daily rate covering lodging and meals) at rates established under the GSA's Federal Travel Regulations; the standard rate is set by GSA and varies by city; employees may not claim per diem at their permanent duty station
• 5 U.S.C. § 5704 — Mileage: employees who use their personal vehicle for official travel must be reimbursed at a per-mile rate (not actual vehicle costs); the rate is set to correspond to the IRS standard mileage rate and covers fuel, wear, and insurance; employees using motorcycles or aircraft may also claim mileage at set rates
• 5 U.S.C. § 5706 — Allowable travel expenses: only necessary travel costs may be reimbursed; agencies cannot pay for luxury accommodations, first-class travel without justification, or personal expenses incurred during official travel
• 5 U.S.C. § 5707 — Regulations and reports: the Administrator of General Services must issue regulations to implement this chapter; the regulations (the FTR) are binding on all executive branch agencies; the FTR is codified at 41 C.F.R. Parts 300–304
• 5 U.S.C. § 5721 — Definitions: "agency" for relocation purposes includes all executive agencies, military departments, federal courts, and D.C. government; sets the framework for what kinds of employment moves generate relocation entitlements
• 5 U.S.C. § 5722 — New appointees outside CONUS: agencies may pay travel and transportation for new hires being placed at posts of duty outside the continental United States; similar authority for hires in Alaska, Hawaii, and U.S. territories; domestic new-hire relocation is at agency discretion under §5723
• 5 U.S.C. § 5724 — Transferred employees: when the government transfers an employee (not a voluntary move at employee request), the agency must pay travel and transportation for the employee and immediate family, household goods shipment, and related costs; the employee may elect reimbursement on a "commuted basis" (flat percentage of household goods weight) instead of actual costs
• 5 U.S.C. § 5724a — Relocation expenses: agencies must pay the costs of en route per diem during a PCS move; temporary quarters subsistence allowance (up to 60 days at the new station while the employee waits for permanent housing); real estate transaction expenses (buying and selling a home); and a miscellaneous relocation expense allowance (a flat amount to cover incidentals not otherwise reimbursed)
• 5 U.S.C. § 5724b — Tax reimbursement: agencies may use administrative funds to pay the income taxes the employee owes on relocation reimbursements; moving expense reimbursements are generally taxable income to the employee after the 2017 TCJA changes, making this tax "gross-up" authority practically important
• 5 U.S.C. § 5726 — Storage: agencies must pay for temporary storage of household goods during PCS transitions; for overseas assignments, extended storage (beyond what would otherwise be allowed) can be authorized

How Per Diem Works

Per diem is the daily payment covering lodging and meals when you travel away from your official duty station. GSA sets "CONUS" (continental United States) per diem rates for hundreds of individual cities and counties; any location not specifically listed uses the standard rate (currently $107 for lodging, $59 for M&IE as a 2026 baseline).

High-cost locations have significantly higher rates. New York City, San Francisco, Washington D.C., Honolulu, Boston, and other expensive metro areas have lodging rates ranging from $200 to $350+ per night, with corresponding higher M&IE rates. GSA reviews rates annually based on commercial lodging cost data.

Meals and incidental expenses (M&IE) cover breakfast, lunch, dinner, and tips. On the first and last days of a trip, you receive 75% of the daily M&IE rate (regardless of what you actually eat). If your conference or employer provides a meal, your M&IE is reduced by the "deductible meal" rate for that meal.

The "lowest first-class" limit for air travel means you may only claim the lowest available fare in the first-class cabin — you cannot automatically fly business class and claim reimbursement, even on long international flights, without specific agency authorization. In practice, most routine domestic travel is reimbursed at coach rates.

How PCS Relocation Works

A Permanent Change of Station (PCS) move is triggered when the government transfers you from one duty station to another at government direction. The relocation entitlements are substantial — the average government-funded domestic PCS move costs $13,000–$18,000 and an international move can cost $50,000 or more.

Household goods shipment is paid at government expense, up to a weight limit (generally 18,000 pounds). Employees with more household goods than the weight limit pay for the excess themselves.

Temporary quarters (TQSA or TLE) are paid at reduced per diem rates for up to 60 days while you search for permanent housing at your new duty station. For overseas assignments, the allowance is more generous.

Real estate transaction costs — including broker commissions, settlement costs, and related expenses for selling your old home and buying a new one — are reimbursable, subject to limits. This benefit is one of the most financially significant PCS entitlements, given typical broker fees of 5–6%.

The miscellaneous relocation allowance is a flat payment (typically one week's basic pay) to cover incidental costs of the move — changing your driver's license and vehicle registration, utility hookups, and similar expenses.

Tax gross-up: Since the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act eliminated the exclusion for employer-paid moving expenses, most PCS reimbursements are now taxable income. The tax withholding mechanics for these reimbursements flow through the federal payroll administration system. The government can use §5724b authority to reimburse the employee for the taxes owed on the relocation payments, preventing a situation where a government-ordered move leaves the employee with an unexpected tax bill.

How It Affects You

If you're being transferred by the government for a Permanent Change of Station, your relocation entitlements are substantial but require careful documentation to collect in full. The federal government funds the entire move — household goods shipment (up to 18,000 pounds; anything over, you pay), per diem during transit for you and your family, temporary quarters at the new location for up to 60 days while you find permanent housing, and real estate transaction costs including broker commissions (typically 5-6% of your home's sale price) and settlement costs on your new home purchase. That real estate reimbursement is often the largest single benefit — on a $400,000 home, it can amount to $20,000–$25,000 in broker fees and closing costs alone. The critical caveat: a government-directed transfer qualifies for full entitlements; a voluntary transfer at your request typically does not. Since the 2017 TCJA, most PCS reimbursements are taxable income — but agencies have authority under 5 U.S.C. § 5724b to issue a "tax gross-up" payment covering the taxes you owe on the reimbursements, so a fully-funded PCS shouldn't leave you with an unexpected IRS bill. In the 2025-2026 DOGE-era environment, federal employees facing directed transfers — including RIF-driven duty station changes — should work with their agency's travel office to confirm exactly which entitlements apply to their specific appointment authority before moving.

If you travel for official government business (TDY/temporary duty), your per diem is determined by the location you're visiting, not where you live. GSA sets lodging rates city-by-city; the 2026 standard (default) CONUS rate is $107/night for lodging and $59/day for meals & incidentals (M&IE). Major metro areas are higher — New York City runs $350+/night, San Francisco $265+/night, Washington DC $228+/night. Look up the exact rate for your destination at gsa.gov/travel/plan-book/per-diem-rates before booking. You're responsible for staying at or below the per diem lodging rate; if you choose a more expensive hotel, you pay the difference. On the first and last day of any trip, M&IE is prorated to 75% of the daily rate — even if you eat three full meals. If a conference or your agency provides a meal, your M&IE is reduced by the "deductible meal" amount. For driving your personal vehicle, the 2026 reimbursement rate is 72.5 cents/mile — the IRS standard mileage rate. You cannot claim actual vehicle costs (fuel, tolls separately, insurance) in lieu of mileage; the rate is all-inclusive except parking and bridge tolls, which are separately reimbursable.

If you're a federal employee on telework or remote status, the definition of your "official duty station" determines when you can claim per diem. If your home is designated as your official duty station (common for full-time teleworkers), travel to a government office is technically "official travel" — and if you travel to the office frequently, the agency may argue it's actually your official duty station regardless of what your telework agreement says. OMB's 2023-2024 guidance addressed some of these scenarios, but agencies vary in how they handle them. The practical risk: if you relocate your home (changing your official duty station at personal initiative) and then claim per diem for travel to a former duty station, the claim likely isn't valid. The DOGE-era return-to-office mandates have created situations where remote employees are asked to report to offices hundreds of miles from their homes — and the question of whether the government owes PCS relocation costs in that scenario has been litigated in the Merit Systems Protection Board and federal courts.

If you work in federal HR, finance, or travel administration, the FTR's complexity generates predictable compliance problems. The most common errors: (1) new hire relocation claims — domestic new hire relocation is at agency discretion under § 5723, not an automatic entitlement like transferred-employee PCS; new employees sometimes believe they're entitled to full PCS benefits when their offer letter doesn't specifically include them; (2) weight limit overages — employees who own more than 18,000 lbs of household goods must arrange and pay for excess shipment themselves, but move contractors often don't separate excess weight clearly, resulting in disputed invoices; (3) real estate timing — the agency must approve real estate reimbursement claims before the sale closes, not after; retroactive approval is administratively complicated and sometimes denied; (4) telework duty station questions — when an employee's official duty station is their home and they are called back to a federal building, the per diem calculation depends on whether the agency has formally redesignated the office as the duty station. GSA's FTR is published at gsa.gov/policy-regulations/regulations/federal-travel-regulation-ftr; the FTR Bulletin archive provides updates and case-specific guidance.

State Variations

Federal travel regulations apply to federal employees regardless of which state they work in. State government employees have separate state travel regulations that vary widely.

Pending Legislation

The GSA reviews and updates per diem rates annually. The mileage rate is tied to IRS standard mileage adjustments. No major legislative changes to Chapter 57 are currently pending, though the post-pandemic shift to telework has raised questions about the definition of "official duty station" and per diem eligibility for remote workers on temporary travel. The presidential compensation framework has its own separate travel budget authority under 3 U.S.C. SS 103.

Recent Developments

The expansion of telework under COVID-era policies and its continuation under many agencies — shaped by the Federal Telework Act framework — has created complications for the official duty station rules: an employee who teleworks full-time from home may have their home designated as their official duty station, affecting per diem eligibility when they travel to a government office. OMB issued guidance in 2023–2024 addressing some of these scenarios, and agencies have adopted varying policies on duty station designations for teleworkers.

• Trump's return-to-office mandates upended telework duty station designations in 2025: EO 14151 (January 2025) directed all federal agencies to end remote work arrangements; employees whose home had become their official duty station were ordered to return to their assigned office locations — in some cases hundreds of miles away — creating PCS move eligibility questions and hardship claims for employees who had relocated in reliance on permanent telework approvals.
• DOGE deferred resignation and buyout offers created travel compensation complexity: the administration's February 2025 "Fork in the Road" deferred resignation offer and subsequent RIF actions raised questions about whether separating employees were entitled to PCS relocation benefits when their separation was involuntary; OPM issued interim guidance, but legal challenges to the buyout program created uncertainty about which benefit calculations applied.
• GSA per diem rate increases for 2025: GSA raised the standard per diem rate to $110/day lodging + $68/day M&IE effective October 2024 for FY2025; high-cost localities like San Francisco ($271), New York ($304), and Washington D.C. ($258) received increases reflecting post-pandemic hotel price inflation.