Contents Introduction  ........................................................ 1 Table 1. Localities Eligible for $201 ($42 M&IE) Per Diem Amount Under the High-Low Substantiation Method  .............. 2 Table 2. Maximum Federal Per Diem Rates  .... 4 How To Get More Information  .......................... 21 Introduction This  publication  is  for  employers  who  pay  a  per  diem allowance to employees for business travel away from home on or after January 1, 2000, within the continental United  States  (CONUS). It  gives  the  maximum  per diem rate you can use without treating part of the per diem allowance as wages for tax purposes.   For a de- tailed  discussion  on  the  tax  treatment  of  a  per  diem allowance, see chapter 16 of Publication 535, Business Expenses,   or   Revenue   Procedure   2000–9,   2000–2 I.R.B. 1. High-low method.   Table 1, Localities Eligible for $201 ($42  M&IE)  Per  Diem  Amount  Under  the  High-Low Substantiation Method lists the localities that are treated under that method as high cost localities for 2000 or the part of the year shown in column 4. Table 1 is on pages 2 and 3. All other localities within CONUS are eligible for  $124  ($34  meals  and  incidental  expenses  (M&IE)) per diem under the high-low method. Regular  federal  per  diem  rate  method. Table  2, Maximum  Federal  Per  Diem  Rates,  gives  the  regular federal  per  diem  rate,  including  the  separate  rate  for meals and incidental expenses (M&IE) for each locality. Table  2  begins  on  page  4.  The  standard  rate  for  all locations within CONUS not specifically listed in Table 2 is $85 ($55 for lodging and $30 for M&IE). A federal agency can ask the General Services Administration to review  the  per  diem  rate  in  a  particular  locality.  The process is described in footnote 4 of the table. Travel  outside  CONUS. The  federal  per  diem  rates for localities outside CONUS, including Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto  Rico,  the  Northern  Mariana  Islands,  U.S.  pos- sessions,   and   all   foreign   localities,   are   published monthly. You can buy the per diem supplement, Maxi- mum  Travel  Per  Diem  Allowances  for  Foreign  Areas, from  the  U.S.  Government  Printing  Office.  Call  (202) 512–1800  (not  a  toll-free  number)  or  write:  U.S.  Gov- ernment  Printing  Office,  P.O.  Box  371954,  Pittsburgh, PA 15250–7974. Per diem rates on the internet.   You can access the federal per diem rates on the internet. • The rates for travel within CONUS are at: www.fss.gsa.gov • The rates for travel outside CONUS are at: www.state.gov or gopher://gopher.state.gov Department of the Treasury Internal Revenue Service Publication 1542 (Rev. April 2000) Cat. No. 12684I Per Diem Rates (For Travel Within the Continental United States)