In Rev. Proc. 2010-39, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released updated per diem rates for 2011 and made some minor changes to list of high-cost areas.

Per Diem Rates Decrease for High-Cost and Other Localities

In §5.02, the IRS announced that per diem rate for high-cost localities is $233 (down from $258 in 2010) and the per diem rate for other localities is $160 (down from $163 in 2010).

Meal Rates and Incidental Rates Remain the Same for 2010

In §5.02, the IRS announced that meal rate for high-cost localities is $65 and the meal rate for other localities is $52. These rates are unchanged from 2010. Also unchanged is the incidental expenses rate. In §4.05, the IRS announced that the incidental rate is $5 for 2011.

High-Cost Localities Announced

In §5.03, the IRS announced the localities that “are high-cost localities for all of the calendar year or the portion of the calendar year specified in parentheses under the key city name.”

Additions to and Deletions from the High-Cost List

In §5.04, the IRS announced the localities that have been added to the list of high-cost localities. They are:

• Yosemite National Park, California;
• Silverthorne/Breckenridge, Colorado;
• New Orleans, Louisiana;
• Falmouth, Massachusetts;
• Riverhead/Ronkonkoma/Melville, New York;
• Kill Devil, North Carolina;
• Stowe, Vermont; and
• Virginia Beach, Virginia.

In §5.04, the IRS announced the localities that have had the portion of the year for which they are considered high-cost localities changed from 2010. They are:

• South Lake Tahoe, California;
• Aspen, Colorado;
• Telluride, Colorado;
• Vail, Colorado;
• Fort Lauderdale, Florida;
• Miami, Florida; and
• Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts.

In §5.04, the IRS also announced that Hershey, Pennsylvania has been removed from the list of high-cost localities.

New Per Diem Rates Effective October 1, 2010 or January 1, 2011

The new per diem rates are effective October 1, 2010 for taxpayers using the fiscal year period for reimbursements and January 1, 2011 for those using the calendar year period for reimbursements.

Contact Vision Payroll if you have any questions on Rev. Proc. 2010-39.