What Are GSA Rates?
The General Services Administration publishes per diem rates for every county in the US — the maximum daily allowances the government pays its employees for lodging and meals while traveling. Travel therapy agencies use these as benchmarks for your non-taxable stipends.
Two Components
GSA per diem has two parts: a lodging rate (varies significantly by location and month) and a meals & incidentals rate (simpler, $68–$92/day, FY2026). The standard CONUS lodging rate is $110/day (FY2026) in every continental state; what varies is the per-city peak, up to $483/day. Alaska and Hawaii are outside the CONUS tables and are not benchmarked here.
Rates update annually on October 1. Always check current rates for your specific assignment location and dates at gsa.gov/perdiem.
How to Look Up Your Rate
Visit gsa.gov/perdiem, enter your assignment city and state plus your contract dates. You'll see the maximum lodging rate (by month) and M&IE rate. These numbers represent the maximum your agency should use as a basis for your stipends.
GSA Rate vs. Your Actual Stipend
Your stipend may not always match the full GSA rate. Legitimate reasons include: the total facility rate may not stretch that far after your taxable wage and agency costs, and IRS rules require a reasonable taxable wage for your discipline and market.
However, if your taxable hourly rate is high and your stipends are significantly below the GSA maximums, ask your recruiter whether the split can be adjusted. More dollars in stipends means more take-home pay for the same total package.
Using GSA Rates as Leverage
When comparing offers between agencies for the same assignment, knowing the GSA rate helps you do apples-to-apples comparisons. One agency might offer higher hourly but lower stipends; another might maximize stipends. The GSA rate tells you which structure puts more in your pocket after taxes. Modeling each offer in a travel therapy pay calculator makes those after-tax differences easy to compare.