I worked away from home and didn't receive reimbursement for lodging or meals. Can I use the combined irs per diem rate or do I need to figure lodging separately?

[bwa · Accepted solution]

There is no combined IRS lodging rate.  There is a per diem rate for meals.  Lodging must be based only on actual costs.

[confused_prepare]

The DOD publishes per diem rates for Alaska, Hawaii, etc.. It gives rates for 'Max Lodging, Local Meals, Proportioned Meals, Local Incidental and a Max Perdiem' which is the total of lodging, meals and incidentals. So are you saying that we cannot use the posted rate on our Federal Income tax return? I worked as a construction worker there for 2 months until the job was completed.