Do You Get Per Diem on Weekends During TDY?

An ordinary weekend in the middle of an authorized TDY does not automatically stop per diem. The important questions are whether you remain in an eligible travel status, where you spend the days, whether they are classified as leave, and which lodging and meal rules apply. A day without class is not automatically a leave day. JTR 010203-A, 020301, 020315-N and 033301-C

This guide concerns service members on ordinary TDY. Civilian leave rules differ, and deployment, field-duty or other special arrangements can change allowances.

Staying at the TDY location between class weeks

If your authorized trip continues through the weekend and you remain at the TDY location without entering leave or another excluded status, use the lodging and M&IE rules applicable to that stay. You do not switch to the 75% travel-day rule simply because it is Saturday. That rule concerns qualifying first and last travel days. JTR 020301, 020304 and 020309

For example, consider a two-week course with no instruction on the intervening Saturday and Sunday. If those days remain part of the authorized TDY, do not remove them solely because the training calendar is blank. Separately verify the meal status and eligible lodging costs for those dates.

The meal rate still needs checking

The locality M&IE amount is not always the payable amount for every TDY day. Government meal availability and other applicable arrangements affect meal treatment. If dining availability changes over a weekend, ask the travel office how that change should be reflected and documented. Do not assume either full locality M&IE or the weekday meal treatment without checking. JTR 020304 and Table 2-17

A useful question is: “My authorization reflects this meal arrangement, but the facility is unavailable on these dates. What documentation and update are needed?”

Taking leave changes the answer

For service members, per diem is not authorized for a day classified as leave or administrative absence, or a day outside travel status. A personal extension before or after the TDY therefore cannot simply be counted as more official TDY days. Long-term lodging can involve a separate cost-allocation rule that your travel office should apply. JTR 033301-C1 and 033302

Use your approved duty and leave status rather than deciding for yourself that a day was “just a weekend.” Whether leave is charged is a personnel matter; the travel document needs to reflect the resulting status accurately.

Visiting somewhere else on a nonworkday

The JTR allows per diem for a personal nonworkday trip away from the TDY site to a location other than your residence or permanent duty station (PDS), limited to what you would have received at the TDY site. Transportation costs for that personal trip are not authorized. Leave or administrative-absence rules still apply. JTR 020315-N

This is not an allowance for an extra holiday after the assignment ends. Confirm permission to travel and any local restrictions through your chain of command. Keep the personal transportation cost separate from official trip expenses.

Returning home needs a different review

Do not treat a return to your PDS or commuting residence like an ordinary outing to another city. Paragraph 020312 distinguishes authorized and voluntary returns during long-term TDY, defined there as continuous travel of 31 days or more other than deployment. No per diem is payable while at the PDS; transportation comparisons and retained-lodging provisions depend on the return type. JTR 020312

Before buying a ticket home, ask how the return affects both travel reimbursement and the room you might retain at the TDY location. This article does not calculate that separate entitlement.

Check these facts before submitting your voucher

TDY Spy is being built to help members attending the same class connect before arrival. Discussing weekend dining and local logistics can help classmates prepare. Your command and travel office resolve permission, leave status and reimbursement.