Texas Per Diem Allowance

Calculate Texas’s per diem rate based on GSA guidelines to simplify your business travels.

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Navigating business travel expenses in Texas presents a unique set of challenges and opportunities. From the sprawling urban centers of Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, and Austin to the state's vast rural landscapes, travel costs can vary significantly. 

Per diem, the system of providing a fixed daily allowance for lodging, meals, and incidental expenses, is a widely used method for managing these costs efficiently. This guide is designed for employees, managers, and finance teams, offering a clear overview of per diem rates applicable in Texas, key state-specific legal considerations,

Texas Per Diem Rates

For federal travel and as a common benchmark for many private businesses, per diem rates in Texas are set by the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA). These rates are tailored to reflect the local economy of different areas within the state.

  • Varying Rates by Location: Major metropolitan areas and key business or tourist destinations in Texas, such as Houston, Dallas, or San Antonio, are often designated as Non-Standard Areas (NSAs). These locations have higher, specific per diem rates to cover the higher cost of lodging and meals.
  • Standard CONUS Rate for Other Areas: A vast number of counties in Texas are not individually listed as NSAs. For any location not specifically named, the standard CONUS (Continental United States) rate applies. For FY 2025 (October 1, 2024 - September 30, 2025), this standard rate is $178 ($110 for lodging and $68 for M&IE).
  • Rate Composition: Every per diem rate is composed of two main elements: a maximum lodging allowance and a Meals and Incidental Expenses (M&IE) rate. The lodging amount is the nightly cap for accommodation (excluding taxes), and the M&IE rate is for food and incidentals (including tips).
  • Seasonal Adjustments: In certain Texas locations, lodging per diem rates may fluctuate with the seasons to account for periods of high or low demand.

Texas Per Diem Rate Calculator

Our Texas Per Diem Rate Calculator is designed to give you precise and current allowance information for your business travel, removing the complexity of looking up rates manually.

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Your per diem allowance

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Lodging (L)
Meals & Incidentals (M&IE)
Total (L + M&IE)
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Lodging (L)
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Meals & Incidentals (M&IE)
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Total (L + M&IE)
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*For the first and last day of travel, M&lE spend is limited to 75% of its normal, daily allowance.

Texas GSA Lodging Rates

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Texas Meals and Incidental Rates

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Some Important Texas Per Diem Laws

The legal framework for employee expense reimbursement in Texas is different from that in many other states. It's crucial for both employers and employees to understand these distinctions.

  • No State Mandate for Reimbursement: Texas law does not require private employers to reimburse employees for business-related expenses, including mileage or per diem. There is no state equivalent to laws in other states that mandate full reimbursement for all necessary business costs.
  • The Importance of Company Policy: Because there is no state mandate, the employer's own written policy is paramount. If a company has a policy or an employment agreement that promises to reimburse expenses (either via per diem or by tracking actual costs), that policy creates a contractual obligation. While the Texas Payday Law does not generally consider expense reimbursements "wages" that can be claimed through the Texas Workforce Commission, an employer's failure to adhere to its own written policy could be grounds for a breach of contract lawsuit.
  • Federal FLSA as a Safeguard: The primary legal protection for employees comes from the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). An employer cannot require an employee to pay for business expenses if doing so would cause the employee's effective earnings to fall below the federal minimum wage.
  • Strict Rules on Wage Deductions: The Texas Payday Law is very clear about deductions from employee wages. An employer cannot withhold or divert any part of an employee's wages unless ordered by a court, authorized by law (like taxes), or the employer has explicit written authorization from the employee for a lawful purpose. This means an employer cannot unilaterally deduct the cost of a business expense from a paycheck without a valid, pre-existing written agreement.

Texas Per Diem Laws vs Federal Law

The approach to per diem in Texas for private employees is fundamentally different from the GSA's system for federal employees. Understanding this distinction is key to compliance.

Primary Applicability

  • Federal Law (GSA): Directly applies to and is mandatory for all U.S. federal government employees traveling on official business to or within Texas.
  • Texas Law: Texas law does not set per diem rates. Its labor laws, like the Texas Payday Law, focus on enforcing employment agreements. Federal law (FLSA) provides a minimum wage floor.

Mandate and Rate Setting

  • Federal Law (GSA): The GSA sets specific, non-negotiable per diem rates for different locations in Texas that federal agencies must follow.
  • Texas Law: Texas does not set any rates. Private employers have the flexibility to create their own reimbursement policies (or to have none at all, provided minimum wage laws are not violated). The use of GSA rates is a common business practice for fairness and convenience, not a legal requirement.

Legal Focus

  • Federal Law (GSA): Aims to create a standardized, uniform system for reimbursing federal travel expenses in a cost-effective manner.
  • Texas Law: Focuses on contract law and wage payment rules. The emphasis is on whether an employer is following its own established, written policies and agreements with its employees.

How Fyle Can Automate Per Diem and Expense Tracking

In a state as large and economically diverse as Texas, managing travel expenses consistently—whether for trips to Houston, a conference in Austin, or client visits in the Permian Basin—requires a robust and automated system. This is especially true where company policy, not state law, dictates the rules.

Fyle provides the perfect platform to create, enforce, and manage your Texas travel expense policy with precision:

  • Codify Your Company Policy: Fyle’s powerful policy engine allows you to build your specific Texas reimbursement rules directly into the system. Whether you use GSA per diem rates, custom rates, or actual expense tracking, Fyle enforces your policy automatically.
  • Automated Rate Calculation: Eliminate manual lookups. Fyle can be configured to automatically apply the correct per diem rates based on the travel location within Texas and the trip's duration, including the 75% M&IE rule for travel days.
  • Effortless Reporting for Traveling Employees: Your team can submit expenses from anywhere in Texas with a single click. Fyle's integrations with Gmail, Outlook, and its top-rated mobile app mean employees can capture receipts and create reports instantly, without the hassle.
  • Real-Time Policy Checks: Fyle acts as a pre-submission auditor, checking every expense against your set policies in real-time. This prevents out-of-policy submissions and frees up your finance team from tedious manual reviews.
  • Accurate Mileage Tracking: With employees often driving long distances across Texas, Fyle’s Google Maps-powered mileage tracker provides an easy and accurate way to log trips, ensuring compliant and fair reimbursement.
  • Direct Accounting Integration: Fyle syncs seamlessly with major accounting platforms like NetSuite, QuickBooks, Xero, and Sage Intacct, ensuring all approved travel data flows directly into your financial records, error-free.

With Fyle, Texas-based businesses or those with employees traveling to the state can create a clear, compliant, and efficient expense management system that works for everyone.

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The content on this page is for informational use. As legal standards and per diem rates are subject to change, users should verify current details with official GSA or government resources. This information does not serve as financial or legal counsel.