Huntsville, AL per diem rates for FY2027

For fiscal year 2027 (October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2027), the federal per diem rate for Huntsville and Madison County, Alabama is $146 a night for lodging and $74 a day for meals and incidental expenses (M&IE), the same in every month of the year.^[1,2] That's a maximum of $220 a day before lodging taxes.

Last checked October 26, 2026 against GSA's FY 2027 per diem data. GSA sets the rates for the continental U.S. and can revise them mid-year, so confirm on the GSA per diem lookup or the DTMO per diem lookup before you travel. Your orders and travel office have the final say.

FY2027 per diem rates for Huntsville

GSA breaks the $74 M&IE rate into breakfast $18, lunch $20, dinner $31 and incidentals $5. Use those amounts to deduct meals the government provides or that are included in a conference fee.^[3]

Huntsville is one of GSA's non-standard areas, and its rate covers Madison County. Places that aren't listed get the standard CONUS rate.^[4,2] When we checked, GSA's ZIP code lookup returned the Huntsville rate for Redstone Arsenal (35898) and downtown Huntsville (35801), but the standard rate for some ZIP codes that cross county lines, such as 35758 (Madison). If your lodging is in Madison, Athens or Decatur, look the location up by city and county and ask your travel office which rate applies.^[2,4]

Who uses the Huntsville per diem rate

• TDY travelers coming to Redstone Arsenal, NASA Marshall Space Flight Center or another federal office in Huntsville. Civilian federal employees follow the Federal Travel Regulation, and service members and Department of War civilians follow the Joint Travel Regulations (JTR). For the continental U.S., GSA sets the rates both use.^[4,5]
• Military families on a PCS move who stay in temporary lodging near Redstone. Temporary Lodging Expense (TLE) is figured from the local per diem rate (see TLE below).^[6]
• Federal civilians on a house-hunting trip before a transfer, with an important catch: a regular CONUS house-hunting trip is paid at the standard CONUS rate, not Huntsville's rate (see house hunting below).^[7]
• Contractors on government travel. Many defense contracts reimburse travel costs up to the federal per diem rates. Whether yours does depends on your contract and company travel policy, so check with your employer.

The 75% rule for the first and last day

On the day you leave and the day you return, you get 75% of the M&IE rate, no matter what time you leave or get back. Full days in between are paid at 100%. For a trip of more than 12 but less than 24 hours, you get 75% for each day.^[8,5] For Huntsville, 75% of $74 is $55.50.^[3]

DTMO says the first-day rate is the M&IE rate of the TDY location, and the last-day rate is the rate of the last TDY location.^[5]

Example (our arithmetic, not an official calculation): a three-night TDY to Huntsville, Monday to Thursday, pays up to 3 × $146 = $438 for lodging, plus $55.50 + $74 + $74 + $55.50 = $259 in M&IE, before lodging taxes and any meal deductions.

TLE on a PCS move to Redstone Arsenal

Temporary Lodging Expense partly repays lodging and meals while a service member or family stays in temporary lodging during a CONUS PCS move.^[9] The CONUS limit is 21 days, up from 14 as of November 27, 2024.^[10] You can't get TLE and PCS travel per diem on the same day, and TLE isn't paid for house hunting.^[9,6]

The daily amount is a percentage of the local lodging plus M&IE rate, based on who is in temporary lodging, and it can't exceed $290 a day:^[6]

Our arithmetic with Huntsville's FY2027 rate ($146 + $74 = $220): a member and spouse come to 100% of $220, or up to $220 a day. A member, spouse and two children under 12 come to 150%, or $330, which is above the cap, so the limit is $290 a day. Your finance office calculates the actual amount from your receipts.^[6]

Need a place to stay? See temporary lodging on and near Redstone Arsenal, including the on-post Candlewood Suites, where PCS and TDY travelers have priority.^[11]

House-hunting trips

• Federal civilian transfers: if your agency authorizes a house-hunting trip, it lasts up to 10 days. Subsistence is either a per diem at the standard CONUS rate (the employee gets 100% and a spouse 75%) or, if the agency offers it, a lump sum of the locality rate times 5 (one traveler) or 6.25 (both).^[7]
• Service members: house hunting is usually done on permissive TDY, which is at your own expense. The JTR provides no per diem for permissive travel.^[12] Our Redstone Arsenal housing guide covers the permissive TDY paperwork.

Planning where to look? Compare towns, rents and drive times in neighborhoods near Redstone Arsenal, and check how BAH works for Huntsville once you're settled. If you're coming TDY, read how to get onto Redstone Arsenal and the gate hours before your first morning.