Arizona Per Diem Rates: Lodging, Meals, and Mileage

Arizona per diem rates are not a single statewide figure. The Arizona Department of Administration (ADOA) publishes location-specific lodging caps and tiered daily meal and incidental expense (M&IE) allowances in the State of Arizona Accounting Manual (SAAM), Topic 50, Section 95. Rates shift by county, by city, and in many places by season, so the amount you can claim depends on where you go and when. Before any trip, check the current SAAM 5095 at gao.az.gov for the figures in effect on your travel dates.

Who Qualifies and the 50-Mile Rule

Reimbursement is available to any public officer, deputy, or employee of the state traveling on official business away from their assigned duty post, including members of state boards and commissions.¹

To claim anything beyond mileage, you must be more than 50 miles from both your residence and your regular duty post. If your destination sits within 50 miles of either, you are not in travel status and cannot claim lodging or M&IE.

Lodging Caps by Location and Season

Lodging reimbursement pays your actual room cost up to a location-specific maximum, and you must submit a receipt for every night. Arizona adopted the federal GSA rate structure, so a hotel in central Phoenix during peak season carries a higher cap than a rural county room in summer. State and local taxes on the room are reimbursed separately and do not count against the lodging cap.²

To show how much the figures move, the SAAM rate table published in January 2023 listed these in-state lodging ceilings:³

Phoenix/Scottsdale (Maricopa County): $103 to $205 per night, highest in February and March.
Sedona city limits: $198 to $310 per night, peaking March through April.
Grand Canyon/Flagstaff (Coconino/Yavapai, excluding Sedona): $103 to $138 per night.
Tucson (Pima County): $104 to $145 per night, with higher rates January through March.
Kayenta (Navajo County): $115 to $134 per night.

Destinations not called out by name in the table fall to the standard CONUS rate, which is typically the lowest tier. These numbers were updated effective January 27, 2025, so pull the current SAAM 5095 rather than relying on older figures.

Meal and Incidental Expense Tiers

M&IE is a flat daily allowance covering all three meals, tips, and small incidentals. Receipts are not required for meals. The daily amount depends on destination. In the January 2023 rate table, in-state tiers ran from $49 to $69 for a full travel day:³

Sedona: $69 per day.
Grand Canyon/Flagstaff: $64 per day.
Phoenix/Scottsdale: $59 per day.
Tucson and Kayenta: $54 per day.

Each full-day tier breaks down by meal. At the $59 tier, breakfast is $12, lunch $15, and dinner $32. At the $54 tier, breakfast is $11, lunch $13, and dinner $30. Those per-meal amounts matter when a meal is provided at no cost to you.

Departure Days, Return Days, and Day Trips

On an overnight trip, you receive 75% of the full-day M&IE rate on the day you leave and the day you return. The departure-day rate uses the destination where you will spend the night; the return-day rate uses where you stayed the previous night. The 75% reduction applies no matter what time you leave or come back, and no matter how many meals you actually ate.⁴ At a $59 full-day rate, the partial-day cap is $44.25.

When official business takes you past the 50-mile threshold but does not require an overnight stay, meal reimbursement drops sharply. The SAAM sets two lower tiers for these situations. In the January 2023 table, a single-day trip under a defined hour threshold allowed up to $15, and an extended-day trip allowed up to $27. Both tiers rose in the January 2025 update, so check the current numbers before filing.³

Deductions When Meals Are Provided

If a meal is provided to you at no personal cost, you must reduce your M&IE claim by the amount tied to that meal. This commonly applies to meals bundled into a conference registration fee, complimentary hotel breakfasts, meals served at a state institution, and meals included with airfare.⁴

The SAAM defines which meal a provided item counts as by the time it is served: 12:01 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. is breakfast, 10:01 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. is lunch, and 2:01 p.m. to midnight is dinner. The deduction rule applies on partial travel days too. If a conference serves lunch on your departure day, you reduce the already-reduced 75% allowance by the lunch amount.⁵

For travel to Alaska, Hawaii, or out-of-country destinations, the SAAM uses percentages of the full-day rate instead of fixed meal amounts: 20% breakfast, 25% lunch, 55% dinner.⁵

Mileage for Private Vehicles

As of the January 2025 SAAM update, the private vehicle mileage rate is 67 cents per mile. When more than one state traveler rides in the same private vehicle, only one person claims mileage for the trip. If you drive your own vehicle out of state, reimbursement is capped at the lower of the per-mile amount or the equivalent air coach fare to the same destination.⁶

Out-of-State and Overseas Travel

For destinations in the lower 48, look up the city or county in the SAAM’s continental U.S. rate table, which mirrors the federal GSA per diem schedule.² For Alaska, Hawaii, and foreign destinations, the ADOA directs travelers to the Department of Defense per diem lookup tool for the applicable lodging and meal limits.⁷

What the Per Diem Does Not Cover

The M&IE allowance covers meals, tips, and minor incidentals, nothing more. Alcohol is not reimbursable with state funds. Personal expenses stay with the traveler: grooming, toiletries, gym fees, in-room movies, personal phone calls, and parking or traffic tickets. Childcare, pet care, and passport fees are also excluded. Laundry and dry cleaning are treated as part of the incidental component already built into the M&IE rate and cannot be claimed on top of it.

The SAAM’s general travel policy frames the standard this way: a traveler on state business should exercise the same judgment they would when spending their own money. Luxury accommodations, indirect routes, and avoidable delays that drive up costs are not reimbursable.⁸

Assignments of 30 Days or More

The standard per diem structure above is built for short trips. If your assignment keeps you away from home for 30 days or longer, a separate long-term subsistence allowance applies, which generally pays less per day because extended stays cost less to maintain. Housing or meals provided at the temporary location reduce the allowance further. Requests above the standard long-term formula need approval from the State Comptroller.²

1
Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 38-621 – Persons Eligible to Receive Travel Expenses
2
Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 38-624 – Lodging Expenses; Meal and Incidental Expense Reimbursement and Long-Term Subsistence Allowance
3
State of Arizona Accounting Manual. Arizona State Accounting Manual – Topic 50 Travel – Section 95 Maximum Mileage, Lodging, Meal, Parking and Incidental Expense Reimbursement Rates
4
Arizona Department of Administration. State of Arizona Accounting Manual – Meals and Incidentals
5
Arizona Department of Administration. State of Arizona Accounting Manual – Meals and Incidentals
6
Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 38-623 – Transportation by Carriers or Private Conveyance
7
General Accounting Office. Travel Information
8
Arizona Department of Administration General Accounting Office. State of Arizona Accounting Manual – Topic 50 Section 05 General Travel Principles and Policies