Per Diems Per Day on Assignment or Per Shift?

[aamy]

I know there are probably hundreds of posts about per diems, but I do not have all day to sort through them, so here's my question... I am a new traveler, working on getting my first assignment. The recruiter is offering the per diems (meals and incidentals and housing stipend) PER SHIFT that I work, not PER DAY on assignment. From what I have read, it should be Per Day on assignment, is that correct? I checked the website that shows the max per diem per day by state and for this particular area, it is $77/day for housing and $46/day for M&I. The quote I am getting is less than half of these amounts.

[NedRN]

Basics: Agencies are paid an all inclusive bill rate based on the number of hours you work. The per diem rate you see quoted on government is the maximum allowed without charging you income taxes on those reimbursements. The government does not mandate that a private company pay their workers any untaxed reimbursements (and the IRS appreciates it when they don't).

Advanced: Agencies have to pay taxes on M&IE (none on housing), so very few max out government rates.

Most agencies will base reimbursements on hours worked either directly, or with a clawback (penalty) if you don't work the required number of hours. That is the easiest way to account for them, as agencies are paid based on the hours you work. For other industries, business travel is not usually related to billable hours.

Use something similar to PanTravelers calculator to figure out your total compensation. Then you can pick the best agency offer without sweating technical details.

[aamy]

Thanks for the info NedRN