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GSA (General Services Administration) per diem rates set the maximum daily allowance the federal government pays its employees for lodging and meals when traveling. The IRS uses these same rates as the benchmark for tax-free stipends — if your stipend exceeds the GSA rate, the excess may be taxable.

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Two Components

GSA per diem has two parts:

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Lodging

The maximum daily rate for hotel/housing in a specific area. Rates vary significantly by location — a rural area might be 107/daywhileManhattanis107/day while Manhattan is 282/day. Rates are updated annually (October 1) by GSA.

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M&IE (Meals & Incidental Expenses)

The daily allowance for meals, tips, and minor expenses. M&IE has fewer tiers (currently 59–59–79/day depending on location) and is the same for all areas within a tier.

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How It Applies to Travel Nurses

Your staffing agency sets your housing and M&IE stipends. Ideally, these should be at or below the GSA rate for your assignment location. Here’s what happens:
ScenarioTax Treatment
Stipend ≤ GSA rateFully tax-free (if you have a valid tax home)
Stipend > GSA rateExcess may be taxable income
Just because your stipend is within GSA limits doesn’t automatically make it tax-free. You still need a valid tax home and must meet all other IRS requirements.

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First and Last Day Rule

On the first and last day of travel, the M&IE allowance is 75% of the normal rate. This is a GSA rule that TaxHomeBase factors into its calculations.

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How to Look Up Rates

  • Official source: GSA.gov Per Diem Rates
  • In TaxHomeBase: Rates are shown automatically on each assignment card and in the Tax Estimate
TaxHomeBase tries the live GSA API first, then falls back to static rates for the top ~50 travel nurse metro areas plus the CONUS default.

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CONUS Default

If your assignment location doesn’t have a specific GSA rate, the standard CONUS (Continental US) rate applies. This is the lowest rate tier and covers most rural and smaller metro areas.

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What TaxHomeBase Shows

  • Assignment cards — Green “Within GSA limits” or amber “Exceeds GSA limits” badge
  • Expanded assignment detail — Daily rate comparison (your rate vs. IRS max for housing and M&IE)
  • Tax Estimate — Per-assignment GSA comparison with excess amounts
  • Export — GSA Per Diem Compliance table in the PDF package
  • Notifications — gsa_exceeds alert when any assignment exceeds limits
See GSA Per Diem for how to use this feature in TaxHomeBase.