Guide to Per Diem Travel at MIT

A per diem is the right choice when you and your DLC decide that:

When you travel on a per diem basis, you receive a flat sum per day to cover meals, lodging, and incidental expenses. You may not use the MIT travel card on the trip or submit charges or receipts for reimbursement.

How to get started with per diem travel varies depending on if you are traveling domestically or internationally.

You must first get approval from your department head, laboratory director, or project supervisor.  Once you have departmental approval, you must then submit your request to VPF Travel and Card Services for final approval.

This process is carried out by use of the Excel domestic per diem request form, found on VPF’s page for per diem expenses.

You must first get approval from your department head, laboratory director, or project supervisor; however, you do not need the above-listed form. An email to dmse-finance from the department head, laboratory director, or project supervisor is sufficient.

Expenses are submitted based on per diem rates.

For international travel, the rates are decided by the government and are based on the destination of the traveler. They are a combination of the meals and incidentals (M&IE) rate, and the lodging rate (hotel). You can claim below the number provided by the government. A list of government rates for international per diem travel can be found on the US Department of State’s website. Receipts are not necessary for international per diem travel reports.

For domestic travel, the rates can be found on the site of the General Services Administration and change each year on October 1.

This information should be kept on hand when submitting a travel report.

No, this is not possible. If you have special circumstances, please reach out to the travel office directly at travelsupport@mit.edu.

You can find more information on VPF’s page for per diem expenses or reach out to the travel office directly at travelsupport@mit.edu.