Louisiana Per Diem Rates: Lodging Caps, Mileage, and Filing

Louisiana per diem rates for state employees on official travel are set by tying the state’s lodging and meal-and-incidental (M&IE) reimbursement limits to the federal General Services Administration (GSA) schedule for the destination. The controlling policy is Policy and Procedure Memorandum 49 (PPM 49), codified at Louisiana Administrative Code Title 4, Part V, and refreshed each fiscal year by the Division of Administration.¹ Because the state adopts GSA rates rather than publishing its own dollar figures, what you receive depends on where you travel and when.

How the Rates Are Set

For travel within the 48 contiguous states, both the lodging ceiling and the M&IE allowance follow the GSA per diem rate for the traveler’s destination.¹ GSA publishes new rates every October for the coming federal fiscal year, so Louisiana’s limits shift annually without PPM 49 needing to list new numbers.

For travel to Alaska, Hawaii, or U.S. territories, PPM 49 sets a flat lodging rate of $225 per night and uses its own meal breakdown rather than the GSA tables. Rural parishes generally fall under the standard CONUS rate, while destinations like New Orleans carry higher lodging caps, especially in peak season. You look up your destination on the GSA per diem tool at gsa.gov, and that figure is the ceiling the state will reimburse.

What You Get: New Orleans as a Worked Example

For FY 2026 (October 2025 through September 2026), the GSA lodging rate for Orleans and Jefferson Parishes runs from $133 per night in summer to $179 per night from February through May.² The M&IE total for New Orleans is $80 per day, allocated as:

Breakfast: $20
Lunch: $22
Dinner: $33
Incidentals: $5

Most parishes outside New Orleans fall under the standard CONUS rate, which is lower. The GSA lookup tool gives the exact figure for any Louisiana parish or out-of-state city.²

First Day, Last Day, and Same-Day Trips

You do not receive the full M&IE rate on every travel day. On the first and last day of the trip, the reimbursement drops to 75 percent of the applicable M&IE rate.¹ For New Orleans, that means $60 on departure and return days instead of $80. PPM 49’s M&IE table shows the reduced amount for each location, so you don’t have to calculate it.

Single-day travel with no overnight stay is treated more strictly. Meals are generally not reimbursable at all. A department head can authorize meal reimbursement case by case, but only when the traveler was in travel status for more than 12 hours, and the reimbursement cannot exceed 75 percent of the location’s M&IE rate. When a department head does approve same-day meals, the agency must report the payment as taxable wages.

Mileage in a Personal Vehicle

When you drive your personal vehicle on state business, Louisiana reimburses at the GSA mileage rate, which tracks the IRS standard rate. For 2026 that rate is 72.5 cents per mile.³ Trips over 99 miles require prior approval from your department head before you use a personal vehicle.¹ Distances should come from odometer readings or a mileage calculator, not estimates.

Motorcycles, bicycles, mopeds, and motorized scooters (including e-scooters) cannot be used for official state travel.

Lodging Caps and Exceptions

The GSA rate for your destination is the lodging ceiling, and original itemized receipts are required for every overnight stay.¹ If nothing is available at or below that rate, a department head can approve actual costs up to 50 percent above the published cap. In parishes where the Governor has declared an emergency, that ceiling rises to 75 percent above the GSA rate.

Conference travel has its own rules. When you stay at a designated conference hotel, your department head can approve the actual conference room rate even if it exceeds the normal cap, provided the conference organizers document the rate. If the conference hotel is full, a nearby hotel at or below the conference rate can be approved instead.

Sales Tax Exemption on Hotel Rooms

Louisiana state employees on official business are exempt from state and local sales taxes on the room charge itself, along with Louisiana Stadium and Exposition District and New Orleans Exhibition Hall Authority occupancy taxes.⁴ The exemption does not extend to meals, laundry, parking, or other hotel purchases, and it does not cover local hotel occupancy taxes outside the state’s exemption. Present a completed exemption certificate at check-in.

Fees the State Won’t Cover

Early check-in fees, additional-guest charges, mini-bar purchases, gym fees, and spa charges are non-reimbursable.¹ Tax recovery charges and booking fees from third-party reservation sites, other than the state’s contracted travel agency, are also excluded.

Other Expenses the State Won’t Reimburse

PPM 49 draws a hard line between legitimate travel costs and personal spending. The most common categories to watch:

Alcoholic beverages, in any amount.
Premium rideshare tiers (Uber Black, Black XL, Premier; Lyft Lux, Lux Black, Lux Black XL). Standard rideshare is fine.
Rental car insurance add-ons and pre-paid fuel options from the rental company without prior justification.
Tours, dances, golf tournaments, and other social events not tied to conference business.
Any meal already included in a conference registration or agenda.
Personal use of a state-rented vehicle.

These limits apply even when your total spending stays under the per diem cap. Money saved on lodging does not translate into money you can spend on prohibited items.

Filing for Reimbursement

Claims go on the Travel Expense Account form (BA-12), which records travel dates, departure and arrival times, territory covered, and business purpose.⁵ The Division of Administration hosts the current form and the full PPM 49 guide.⁶

Meal reimbursement does not require individual meal receipts. You receive the flat GSA rate for your destination without proving what you spent. Lodging is the opposite: original itemized receipts are required for every night, showing the hotel name, location, dates, and nightly rate so a reviewer can confirm the charge fell within the GSA cap.

The 30-Day Deadline

Travelers should submit claims within 30 days of returning.¹ If a claim totals less than $25, PPM 49 suggests holding it until you have at least $25 to submit, unless no further travel is scheduled. Department heads can make the 30-day window mandatory for their agency, so check your internal policy before assuming it’s a soft target.

When Per Diem Becomes Taxable

Per diem paid under an accountable plan at or below the federal GSA rate is not taxable income. The IRS conditions for an accountable plan are a business connection, accounting for the expense within a reasonable time (generally 60 days), and return of any excess within 120 days.⁷ PPM 49’s structure satisfies those conditions for standard travel, so most Louisiana state per diem stays off the W-2.

Two situations flip that outcome. Single-day meal reimbursement authorized by a department head must be reported as taxable wages. And any per diem paid above the federal rate is taxable compensation to the employee for the excess portion, regardless of the reason.⁸

Private Employers

PPM 49 binds state employees and contractors doing business with Louisiana agencies. Private employers in Louisiana are not covered by it, though many use the same GSA rates as their internal benchmark. A private employer reimbursing at or below the federal per diem rate under an accountable plan can treat those payments as nontaxable; anything above the federal rate is taxable compensation to the employee.⁷

1
Louisiana Division of Administration. Louisiana Travel Policy 2025-2026
2
General Services Administration. FY 2026 Per Diem Rates for New Orleans, Louisiana
3
Internal Revenue Service. IRS Sets 2026 Business Standard Mileage Rate at 72.5 Cents Per Mile
4
Louisiana Division of Administration. Governmental Employees Travel Sales/Use Tax Exemption Certificate
5
Louisiana Secretary of State. Travel Expense Account BA-12
6
Louisiana Division of Administration. PPM 49 – Travel Guide
7
Internal Revenue Service. Publication 463 (2025), Travel, Gift, and Car Expenses
8
Internal Revenue Service. Per Diem Payments Frequently Asked Questions