The GSA table is the benchmark
For crew who aren't covered by a union per diem, the rate is a negotiation. The most useful reference point is the federal per diem schedule the GSA publishes for government travelers, for two reasons: it's set city by city, and IRS Publication 463 treats per diem paid under an accountable plan at or below the federal rate as substantiated, while amounts above it are reported as wages. A production that pays at or under the GSA meals rate for real travel keeps per diem out of payroll.
The GSA rates run on the federal fiscal year. FY2027 rates take effect October 1, 2026, so a shoot starting this fall should budget from the FY2027 table, not the one in effect today. From the GSA per diem API:
| Location | FY2026 meals and incidentals | FY2027 meals and incidentals | FY2027 lodging |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard continental US rate | $68 | $68 | $113 (FY2026: $110) |
| Albuquerque, NM | $80 | $80 | $208 Oct to Mar, $154 Apr to Sep |
| New Orleans, LA | $80 | $80 | $162 Oct to Jan, $188 Feb to May, $138 Jun to Aug, $162 Sep |
| Atlanta, GA (Fulton and DeKalb) | $86 | $86 | $188 Oct to Dec, $207 Jan to Mar, $188 Apr to Sep |
| New York City | $92 | $92 | $358 Sep to Dec, $189 Jan to Feb, $296 Mar to Jun, $250 Jul to Aug |
Lodging swings by season in many cities. Albuquerque's rate for a November shoot is $208; the same hotel line in May is $154.
How the meal rate breaks down
The GSA splits each meals-and-incidentals tier into breakfast, lunch, dinner, and a $5 incidentals amount, and sets the first and last day of travel at 75% of the daily rate:
| Daily rate | Breakfast | Lunch | Dinner | Incidentals | First and last day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $68 | $16 | $19 | $28 | $5 | $51.00 |
| $74 | $18 | $20 | $31 | $5 | $55.50 |
| $80 | $20 | $22 | $33 | $5 | $60.00 |
| $86 | $22 | $23 | $36 | $5 | $64.50 |
| $92 | $23 | $26 | $38 | $5 | $69.00 |
The breakdown matters when production feeds the crew. If catering serves lunch on shoot days and the deal memo allows a deduction, the lunch figure for the tier is what you take off.
Budgeting a 4-week distant location
A fictional feature sends 22 crew to Albuquerque in November 2026. They fly out Sunday, November 1 and home Saturday, November 28: 28 days away, 27 hotel nights, and 20 catered shoot days. Everything except the GSA rates is an example.
Per person meals and incidentals at the $80 tier:
| Line | Math | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Travel days | 2 x $60 | $120 |
| Full days | 26 x $80 | $2,080 |
| Per diem before deductions | $2,200 | |
| Catered lunch deduction, if the deal memo allows | 20 x $22 | ($440) |
| Per diem after deductions | $1,760 |
For the whole crew, that's 22 x $2,200 = $48,400 with no deduction, or 22 x $1,760 = $38,720 with the lunch deduction. The $9,680 difference is real money on a small feature, and it's entirely a deal memo decision. Decide before crew are hired, write it in the memo, and don't change it on location.
Lodging is booked by production and paid to the hotel, so it isn't per diem, but the GSA lodging rate makes a useful ceiling:
| Line | Math | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Negotiated hotel block | 22 rooms x 27 nights x $140 | $83,160 |
| GSA lodging rate as a ceiling | 22 rooms x 27 nights x $208 | $123,552 |
| Savings from the block rate | $40,392 |
A travel coordinator who locks a block early earns their fee on this line alone. Put both numbers in the budget notes so the difference isn't quietly spent elsewhere.
Paying more than the federal rate
Some crew will ask for $100 a day in a city where the GSA rate is $80. You can agree to it, but IRS Publication 463 treats the amount above the federal rate as wages. On the Albuquerque trip, that's $15 over on each travel day ($75 against $60) and $20 over on each full day:
- Excess per person: (2 x $15) + (26 x $20) = $550
- Excess for 22 crew: 22 x $550 = $12,100
- Employer payroll taxes and fees on the excess at an example 15.15%: $12,100 x 0.1515 = $1,833.15
So the raise costs $12,100 in per diem plus about $1,833 in payroll costs, and the excess has to run through payroll rather than an envelope. Your payroll company will confirm which taxes apply. If the real goal is more money for the crew, an equivalent rate increase carries the same payroll taxes and is simpler to administer.
Union per diem
Union agreements set their own per diem minimums for members. Under the 2026 SAG-AFTRA TV/Theatrical Memorandum of Agreement, a new per diem section for background actors on overnight locations sets meal minimums of $16 for breakfast, $22 for lunch, and $37 for dinner, $75 in total, rising to $17, $24, and $39 ($80) on July 1, 2028. The agreement lets the producer deduct the amount for each meal it furnishes, and the first major meal served is deducted at the lunch rate regardless of call time. The same agreement increases performer per diem amounts by $5 on July 1, 2028. Those are minimums; the MOA notes producers will adjust upward where reasonable meal costs are higher.
For IATSE, Teamster, and DGA crew, per diem and travel terms are in each agreement or local's contract. Pull them before you budget a distant location, because they can differ from the non-union deal memo.
Who gets it and who doesn't
Per diem is for people working away from home. Three situations cause problems:
- Local hires. A crew member who lives in Albuquerque and sleeps at home isn't traveling. Paying them per diem makes it taxable wages and invites the rest of the local crew to ask for the same.
- Travel days. Someone who flies Sunday to shoot Monday is owed per diem for Sunday. Count travel days in the budget as well as shoot days.
- Days off on location. The crew is still away from home on the Saturday off and still eating, so write per diem for days off into the deal memo and budget it.
Paying it and keeping records
Pay per diem weekly in advance, by direct deposit outside payroll or by check, so nobody is covering meals out of pocket. On remote locations, some pay cash from a petty cash float, which needs a signed receipt for every payment; the petty cash log has columns for it. SAG-AFTRA's help center says per diem for performers on overnight locations is issued to day performers before each work day and to weekly performers before each workweek.
Keep the per diem schedule in the cash flow schedule too. The first week of per diem for 22 people goes out before the first shoot day. Per diem lines sit in each department's travel and living account or a single travel account, and the film budget template has both layouts. For a documentary crew on shorter trips, how to budget a documentary prices per diem trip by trip.