Arizona Per Diem Rates: Lodging, Mileage, and Meal Rules

Arizona per diem rates are not a single statewide number. The Arizona Department of Administration (ADOA) reimburses state travelers for actual lodging costs up to a location- and season-specific cap, plus a tiered daily allowance for meals and incidental expenses (M&IE). The current figures live in the State of Arizona Accounting Manual (SAAM), Topic 50, Section 95, published by the ADOA General Accounting Office at gao.az.gov. Because the caps shift by county, city, and month, check the SAAM in effect on your travel dates before you file.

Where the Rates Come From

Two statutes drive the system. A.R.S. 38-621 sets who qualifies: any public officer, deputy, or employee of the state traveling on official business away from their assigned duty post, including members of state boards and commissions.¹ A.R.S. 38-624 directs the ADOA Director to set the actual dollar limits for lodging and M&IE, based on federal guidelines or other reasonable benchmarks, with different maximums for different areas when costs vary. Rate changes require approval from the Joint Legislative Budget Committee (JLBC) before taking effect.²

Because the SAAM tracks the federal GSA structure, Arizona’s continental U.S. rate tables mirror the federal per diem schedule. The SAAM is the controlling document for state travelers, even where the numbers match GSA. Rates were most recently updated effective January 27, 2025.

Lodging Reimbursement

Lodging is paid at your actual room cost up to a nightly maximum, and you must submit receipts for every night. State and local taxes on the room are reimbursed separately and do not count against the cap.²

How much the cap moves by location and season is easiest to see with examples. The January 2023 SAAM rate table showed these seasonal maximums for common Arizona destinations:³

Phoenix and Scottsdale (Maricopa County): $103 to $205 per night, peaking in February and March.
Sedona city limits: $198 to $310 per night, peaking March through April.
Grand Canyon and Flagstaff (Coconino/Yavapai, excluding Sedona): $103 to $138 per night.
Tucson (Pima County): $104 to $145 per night, higher January through March.
Kayenta (Navajo County): $115 to $134 per night.

Locations not listed use the standard CONUS rate, which is typically the lowest tier. Those 2023 figures are illustrative; the 2025 update changed them, so pull the current SAAM 5095 for your actual travel dates.

Meals and Incidental Expenses

M&IE is a flat daily allowance covering all three meals, tips for service staff, and minor incidentals. Receipts are not required for meals. The rate is tiered by destination. In the January 2023 table, the full-day tiers for Arizona locations ran from $49 to $69:³

Sedona: $69 per day
Grand Canyon and Flagstaff: $64 per day
Phoenix and Scottsdale: $59 per day
Tucson and Kayenta: $54 per day

Each tier breaks down by meal, which matters when a meal is provided to you at no cost. At the $59 tier, breakfast is $12, lunch $15, and dinner $32. At the $54 tier, breakfast is $11, lunch $13, and dinner $30.³

Partial Days, Day Trips, and the 50-Mile Rule

To claim anything beyond mileage, your destination must be more than 50 miles from both your residence and your regular duty post. Inside that radius, you are not in travel status, and lodging and M&IE are off the table.

On overnight trips, the departure day and return day are paid at 75% of the full-day M&IE rate, regardless of what time you leave or return and regardless of how many meals you actually ate. Departure day uses the rate for where you will spend the night; return day uses the rate for where you stayed the previous night.⁴ At a $59 destination, that partial-day cap is $44.25.

When official business takes you past the 50-mile threshold but does not require an overnight stay, meal reimbursement drops into two lower tiers. In the January 2023 table, a single-day trip allowed up to $15 and an extended-day trip up to $27. Both tiers increased in the January 2025 update.³

Deductions for Provided Meals

When a meal is provided at no personal cost, you reduce your M&IE claim by the amount assigned to that meal at your destination’s tier. Common triggers include meals bundled into a conference registration fee, complimentary hotel breakfasts, meals served at a state institution, and meals included with airfare.⁴

The SAAM defines which meal a provided item counts as by time of day: 12:01 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. is breakfast, 10:01 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. is lunch, and 2:01 p.m. to midnight is dinner. The deduction applies on partial travel days too, so a conference lunch on your departure day reduces your already-capped 75% allowance.⁵

For travel to Alaska, Hawaii, or out-of-country destinations, the meal breakdown is percentage-based instead: 20% of the full-day rate for breakfast, 25% for lunch, and 55% for dinner.⁵

Private Vehicle Mileage

A.R.S. 38-623 requires the ADOA to set a per-mile rate for private vehicle use on state business, considering the IRS-accepted amounts, with JLBC approval for changes. As of the January 2025 SAAM update, the rate is 67 cents per mile. When more than one state traveler rides together, only one mileage reimbursement is paid for the trip. For out-of-state travel by private vehicle, reimbursement is capped at the lower of the per-mile total or the cost of air coach fare to the same destination.⁶

Out-of-State and Non-Contiguous Travel

For destinations elsewhere in the lower 48, use the SAAM’s continental U.S. rate table, which mirrors the federal per diem schedule.² For Alaska, Hawaii, or overseas, the ADOA travel page directs travelers to the Department of Defense per diem lookup tool for the applicable lodging and meal limits. The proportional meal and per diem calculations used inside the continental U.S. do not apply to those destinations.⁷

State contractors should note that SAAM rates apply to work performed under an Arizona state contract unless the contract explicitly says otherwise, even where the underlying numbers look identical to GSA.

What Is Not Reimbursable

The M&IE allowance covers meals, tips, and minor incidentals, and nothing else. Alcohol is not reimbursable with state funds. Personal expenses stay with the traveler: grooming, toiletries, gym fees, in-room movies, personal phone calls, and traffic or parking tickets. Childcare, pet care, and passport fees are excluded. Laundry and dry cleaning are treated as part of the incidental component already built into M&IE, so they cannot be claimed separately. Luxury accommodations, indirect routes, and avoidable delays that raise costs are not reimbursable.⁸

Assignments of 30 Days or More

Extended stays run on a different track. A.R.S. 38-624 directs the ADOA to set separate long-term subsistence policies, on the premise that day-to-day costs drop when you settle in for a month or longer. If housing or meals are provided at the temporary location, the allowance is reduced accordingly. Requests that exceed the standard long-term formula require approval from the State Comptroller.²

1
Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 38-621 – Persons Eligible to Receive Travel Expenses
2
Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 38-624 – Lodging Expenses; Meal and Incidental Expense Reimbursement and Long-Term Subsistence Allowance
3
State of Arizona Accounting Manual. Arizona State Accounting Manual – Topic 50 Travel – Section 95 Maximum Mileage, Lodging, Meal, Parking and Incidental Expense Reimbursement Rates
4
Arizona Department of Administration. State of Arizona Accounting Manual – Meals and Incidentals
5
Arizona Department of Administration. State of Arizona Accounting Manual – Meals and Incidentals
6
Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 38-623 – Transportation by Carriers or Private Conveyance
7
General Accounting Office. Travel Information
8
Arizona Department of Administration General Accounting Office. State of Arizona Accounting Manual – Topic 50 Section 05 General Travel Principles and Policies