When does FAR 31.205-46 apply?

Is travel being charged to a flexibly-priced or cost-reimbursable government contract? If yes, 31.205-46 governs. The FTR/JTR per-diem caps, the lodging-receipt requirement, and the airfare-class rules all apply on top of FAR 31.201-2. Does the contractor's travel policy meet or fall short of the FTR/JTR ceilings? A policy more generous than FTR/JTR is permissible for the contractor's commercial work but produces unallowable cost on government work. Cap excess must be excluded from contract charges and indirect pools. Is air travel booked at coach or the lowest customary class? If not, the premium portion is unallowable unless one of the enumerated exceptions (medical, flight length, no coach available) applies and is documented at the time of booking.

What are the most common contractor pitfalls under FAR 31.205-46?

Reimbursing actual lodging cost above per diem without disallowing the excess: Many contractors reimburse actuals to keep employees whole and forget to back out the cap excess on government billings. The excess flows into the contract or the pool and becomes a questioned cost. Premium-class airfare with no contemporaneous justification: Approving business class after the fact, or as a generic policy for executive travel, does not satisfy the 31.205-46 exceptions. The justification must be documented before or at the time of booking and tied to one of the listed exception categories. Missing lodging receipts: Lodging requires receipts. Lost or missing receipts produce unallowability for the lodging portion of the trip. Expense systems should hard-block submissions without lodging receipts. Mixing personal and business travel without splitting the cost: When a trip combines business and personal travel, only the business portion is allowable. Failing to allocate (e.g., charging the full airfare when the trip was extended for vacation) is a recurring DCAA finding. Contractor-aircraft costs charged without commercial-fare comparison: Contractor or executive-leased aircraft costs above comparable commercial airfare are unallowable absent specific justification. Documentation of the comparison, not just internal approval, is the test.

What audit-flag patterns are associated with FAR 31.205-46?

Auditors and contracting officers commonly flag: Lodging line items consistently above per-diem with no exception flag; M&IE charged at full daily rate on partial-day travel days (departure/return); Premium-class airfare with no contemporaneous justification document; Personal-vehicle mileage charged above the GSA mileage rate; Lodging without receipts in the expense backup; Trip dates extending well beyond the documented business purpose.

FAR

FAR 31.205-46 — Travel costs

Governs allowability of travel costs charged to federal contracts. Caps lodging, meals, and incidental expenses at the Federal Travel Regulation or Joint Travel Regulations per-diem ceilings, and requires receipts for lodging.

Citation: 48 C.F.R. § 31.205-46 · Live text on acquisition.gov · eCFR

What this clause does

FAR 31.205-46 is one of the most operationally consequential cost principles because it touches every contract with field work, customer travel, or training travel. The principle caps allowable costs for lodging, meals, and incidental expenses (M&IE) at the maximum per-diem rates in the Federal Travel Regulation (FTR) for civilian agencies, the Joint Travel Regulations (JTR) for DoD, or the Department of State Standardized Regulations for foreign travel. Costs above the per-diem ceiling are unallowable on the contract, even if the contractor's internal policy permits a higher rate.

Lodging requires receipts. Meals and incidental expenses do not require receipts unless the contractor's own policy demands them, but the per-diem cap still applies. Airfare is allowable at the lowest customary standard, coach, or equivalent class fare, with limited exceptions for documented business need (e.g., medical, length of flight). Premium-class airfare without one of the enumerated exceptions is unallowable above the coach rate.

The principle has additional teeth on contractor-owned aircraft, contractor-leased aircraft, and the use of personal vehicles. Personal-vehicle mileage is reimbursed at the GSA mileage rate as the ceiling. Contractor aircraft costs are allowable only at the lower of actual cost or the cost of comparable commercial airfare, absent specific written justification.

Does this clause apply to my contract?

Three tests resolve applicability. Read each in order; the first "no" usually means the clause does not flow.

1.Is travel being charged to a flexibly-priced or cost-reimbursable government contract?
If yes, 31.205-46 governs. The FTR/JTR per-diem caps, the lodging-receipt requirement, and the airfare-class rules all apply on top of FAR 31.201-2.
2.Does the contractor's travel policy meet or fall short of the FTR/JTR ceilings?
A policy more generous than FTR/JTR is permissible for the contractor's commercial work but produces unallowable cost on government work. Cap excess must be excluded from contract charges and indirect pools.
3.Is air travel booked at coach or the lowest customary class?
If not, the premium portion is unallowable unless one of the enumerated exceptions (medical, flight length, no coach available) applies and is documented at the time of booking.

Common contractor pitfalls

Patterns that produce questioned costs, back-wage liability, or False Claims Act exposure under this clause.

Reimbursing actual lodging cost above per diem without disallowing the excess
Many contractors reimburse actuals to keep employees whole and forget to back out the cap excess on government billings. The excess flows into the contract or the pool and becomes a questioned cost.
Premium-class airfare with no contemporaneous justification
Approving business class after the fact, or as a generic policy for executive travel, does not satisfy the 31.205-46 exceptions. The justification must be documented before or at the time of booking and tied to one of the listed exception categories.
Missing lodging receipts
Lodging requires receipts. Lost or missing receipts produce unallowability for the lodging portion of the trip. Expense systems should hard-block submissions without lodging receipts.
Mixing personal and business travel without splitting the cost
When a trip combines business and personal travel, only the business portion is allowable. Failing to allocate (e.g., charging the full airfare when the trip was extended for vacation) is a recurring DCAA finding.
Contractor-aircraft costs charged without commercial-fare comparison
Contractor or executive-leased aircraft costs above comparable commercial airfare are unallowable absent specific justification. Documentation of the comparison, not just internal approval, is the test.

Audit-flag patterns

Specific signals that contracting officers, DCAA, and agency IGs use to surface noncompliance.

Lodging line items consistently above per-diem with no exception flag
M&IE charged at full daily rate on partial-day travel days (departure/return)
Premium-class airfare with no contemporaneous justification document
Personal-vehicle mileage charged above the GSA mileage rate
Lodging without receipts in the expense backup
Trip dates extending well beyond the documented business purpose

How FieldLedger helps

FieldLedger's expense capture applies FTR/JTR per-diem ceilings at entry and flags excess at the line level. Lodging-receipt enforcement is built in. The audit-ready expense package matches contract billing without manual reconciliation.

DCAA compliance →Indirect Rate Engine →DCAA readiness check →

Related clauses

Clauses that flow alongside or interact with FAR 31.205-46.

Frequently asked

What does FAR 31.205-46 require?: Governs allowability of travel costs charged to federal contracts. Caps lodging, meals, and incidental expenses at the Federal Travel Regulation or Joint Travel Regulations per-diem ceilings, and requires receipts for lodging.
When does FAR 31.205-46 apply?: Is travel being charged to a flexibly-priced or cost-reimbursable government contract? If yes, 31.205-46 governs. The FTR/JTR per-diem caps, the lodging-receipt requirement, and the airfare-class rules all apply on top of FAR 31.201-2. Does the contractor's travel policy meet or fall short of the FTR/JTR ceilings? A policy more generous than FTR/JTR is permissible for the contractor's commercial work but produces unallowable cost on government work. Cap excess must be excluded from contract charges and indirect pools. Is air travel booked at coach or the lowest customary class? If not, the premium portion is unallowable unless one of the enumerated exceptions (medical, flight length, no coach available) applies and is documented at the time of booking.
What are the most common contractor pitfalls under FAR 31.205-46?: Reimbursing actual lodging cost above per diem without disallowing the excess: Many contractors reimburse actuals to keep employees whole and forget to back out the cap excess on government billings. The excess flows into the contract or the pool and becomes a questioned cost. Premium-class airfare with no contemporaneous justification: Approving business class after the fact, or as a generic policy for executive travel, does not satisfy the 31.205-46 exceptions. The justification must be documented before or at the time of booking and tied to one of the listed exception categories. Missing lodging receipts: Lodging requires receipts. Lost or missing receipts produce unallowability for the lodging portion of the trip. Expense systems should hard-block submissions without lodging receipts. Mixing personal and business travel without splitting the cost: When a trip combines business and personal travel, only the business portion is allowable. Failing to allocate (e.g., charging the full airfare when the trip was extended for vacation) is a recurring DCAA finding. Contractor-aircraft costs charged without commercial-fare comparison: Contractor or executive-leased aircraft costs above comparable commercial airfare are unallowable absent specific justification. Documentation of the comparison, not just internal approval, is the test.
What audit-flag patterns are associated with FAR 31.205-46?: Auditors and contracting officers commonly flag: Lodging line items consistently above per-diem with no exception flag; M&IE charged at full daily rate on partial-day travel days (departure/return); Premium-class airfare with no contemporaneous justification document; Personal-vehicle mileage charged above the GSA mileage rate; Lodging without receipts in the expense backup; Trip dates extending well beyond the documented business purpose.
How does FieldLedger help with FAR 31.205-46?: FieldLedger's expense capture applies FTR/JTR per-diem ceilings at entry and flags excess at the line level. Lodging-receipt enforcement is built in. The audit-ready expense package matches contract billing without manual reconciliation.

Sources

FAR clause text — acquisition.gov/far/31.205-46
Live regulatory text — eCFR (Title 48)
DCAA Contract Audit Manual — dcaa.mil/Guidance/CAM
Plain-English methodology — FieldLedger methodology

Snapshot date: 2026-05-08. Clause text is binding only as of the version incorporated into your specific contract — check acquisition.gov for the live regulatory text.