DOD raises per diem rates for civilian employees traveling to Guam

By Jayvee Vallejera

The Department of Defense has raised the daily allowance rates for civilian employees traveling to Guam for official business.

The revised daily meal rate has increased to $111—up $12 from the previous level—while the incidental expenses rate has increased by $2 to $27.

With lodging remaining fixed at $179, the total daily rate for meals and incidental expenses, which is reviewed every three years, now stands at $317 across all military installations on Guam.

The rates went into effect on Sept. 1

The rate updates reflect steady adjustments in accordance with standard DOD procedures.

In 2022, daily caps sat at $159 for lodging, $77 for meals and $19 for incidentals. Lodging crept up to $159 in early 2024 and then $179 in 2025, but the latest round focuses specifically on bringing meals and incidental expenses up to speed.

The per diem rate policy update, published in the Federal Register, also applies in the Northern Mariana Islands and American Samoa.

The bulletin also prescribes the per diem rate for civilian DOD personnel on official travel to Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands. Midway Islands and Wake Island.

The new rates translate to a $12 increase for meal allowance and a $2 increase for incidental expenses of DOD personnel on official travel to Guam.

The M&IE changes came about after the 2026 lodging rate review for Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands and American Samoa.

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In terms of total daily reimbursement caps—the combined total for lodging, meals and incidental expenses—four sites in Hawaii command the highest per diem rate. The island of Kauai, the Kekaha Pacific Missile Range and Lihue max out at $515 per day, with Maui close behind at $507.

The Midway Islands has the lowest per diem rate of $206.

For the contiguous United States, the standard DOD allowance for incidental expenses on base is $3.50 per day.

Actual per diem payouts are also governed by other factors, such as the maximum allowed lodging allowance, whether meals are provided by the government, whether meals are provided at no cost during travel, whether lodging includes a meal, whether incidental expenses were incurred on- or off-base, etc.

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