Worked planning examples
Five hypothetical cases show the math—and what the math cannot decide.
These examples are original planning exercises, not copied vouchers and not promises of reimbursement. Each one states its inputs, performs visible arithmetic, and identifies excluded facts that still belong in the authorization, DTS, the JTR, or a servicing-office review. Dollar amounts are rounded to cents.
1. Four-day standard-rate CONUS TDY with current POV mileage
Assumptions: four calendar days, three lodging nights at an actual $105 per night, a $110 lodging ceiling, $68 M&IE, 240 authorized automobile miles, and $42 of authorized parking and tolls. No meals are furnished.
Arithmetic: lodging is 3 × min($105 actual, $110 ceiling) = $315. First- and last-day M&IE is 2 × (75% × $68) = $102. The two full days are 2 × $68 = $136. Mileage for travel on or after July 1, 2026 is 240 × $0.76 = $182.40. The planning total is $315 + $102 + $136 + $182.40 + $42 = $777.40.
Still verify: the authorized locality, official miles, lodging taxes, parking and toll authorization, government lodging, meals, and any constructed-travel limit.
2. A lodging ceiling limits reimbursement—it does not create a flat payment
Assumptions: a two-day trip with one night costing $124, a $110 lodging ceiling, and standard $68 M&IE. No separately reimbursable taxes or transportation are included.
Arithmetic: allowed lodging is min($124 actual, $110 ceiling) = $110. Both dates are travel days, so M&IE is 2 × (75% × $68) = $102. The visible subtotal is $212, not $226. Paying above the ceiling does not make the extra $14 automatically reimbursable.
Still verify: actual-expense approval, contracted lodging requirements, tax treatment, and whether the selected locality and month are correct.
3. A 1,200-mile PCS worksheet separates travel days, MALT, lodging, and party M&IE
Assumptions: 1,200 official miles by one authorized POV, $180 total daily party M&IE entered from the applicable traveler categories, and $130 party lodging for each required night.
Arithmetic: dividing 1,200 by 350 gives 3 whole days with a 150-mile remainder; because the remainder is at least 51 miles, the estimate is four authorized travel days and three nights. Current MALT is 1,200 × $0.235 = $282. Party M&IE is 4 × $180 = $720, and lodging is 3 × $130 = $390. The worksheet total is $1,392.
Still verify: the official distance, each traveler’s category and authorized percentage, lodging entitlement, separate authorized vehicles, mixed transportation, leave, and the actual orders. MALT is one payment for the authorized travelers in that vehicle; it is not multiplied by occupants.
4. The same 600 miles produce different TDY and PCS mileage amounts
Assumptions: 600 authorized official miles traveled on or after July 1, 2026. Compare a TDY automobile with PCS MALT only to show why the category matters.
Arithmetic: TDY automobile mileage is 600 × $0.76 = $456. PCS MALT is 600 × $0.235 = $141. The $315 difference is not a calculator inconsistency: the allowances have different purposes and rules.
Still verify: which travel category the orders authorize, whether POV use is advantageous to the Government or for personal convenience, and any constructed-cost comparison.
5. A July 1 midyear rate change must be split by travel date
Assumptions: compare 400 TDY automobile miles driven entirely on June 30, 2026 with the same miles driven entirely on July 1, 2026.
Arithmetic: June 30 uses the January rate: 400 × $0.725 = $290. July 1 uses the new rate: 400 × $0.76 = $304. A trip spanning the boundary should apply the older rate to miles through June 30 and the newer rate to miles on and after July 1; it should not apply one rate to every mile merely because the voucher was filed later.
Still verify: the actual mileage dates, official distance, travel category, and any amendment needed for a previously submitted voucher.
How to audit or adapt an example
- Replace the scenario inputs with the authorized locality, dates, official distance, traveler categories, and actual costs.
- Open the current primary source and confirm that each time-sensitive rate was effective on the travel date.
- Recalculate one category at a time so lodging, M&IE, mileage, transportation, and other expenses are not double-counted.
- Write down exclusions such as furnished meals, taxes, leave, dual lodging, actual-expense approval, or constructed travel instead of silently assuming them away.
- Resolve differences in the official workflow; this page explains a planning model but cannot change an authorization or entitlement decision.
GSA FY 2026 CONUS bulletin, DTMO mileage and PCS travel-day guidance, and current JTR.