Do you reimburse employees for travel and meal expenses? Reduce paperwork and substantiation requirements through the use of a per diem reimbursement. By using a per diem that does not exceed the applicable federal per diem rate for the area of travel, the amount of the expenses need not be substantiated although the employee must still substantiate time, place, and business purpose. There are two parts to the per diem allowance: the lodging portion and the meals and incidental expenses portion. Employees who incur expenses less than the per diem allowance are not required to return the excess amounts. Furthermore, ten percent or more owners and their relatives are ineligible to use the per diem method. Contact Vision Payroll if you have questions on per diem reimbursements.