Multi-city layovers: assigning per diem by day
How to assign each calendar day of a trip to the correct layover city for GSA M&IE when you overnight in DFW, LAX, and other hubs on the same rotation.
Why multi-city trips matter
A single rotation might overnight in DFW, then PHX, then SEA. Each calendar day should use the M&IE rate for the city you were in that day—not one rate for the whole trip. Getting that wrong skews your annual GSA total.
How days are assigned
A common crew convention (mirrored in our tool):
- Each layover leg has arrival and departure dates.
- A calendar day counts toward the leg you are on, including the departure day from that city.
- The first and last day of the overall trip may still use the 75% rule on GSA totals when applicable.
Using the calculator
On /calculator/crew/, open Advanced options and enable Multiple layover cities, or upload a schedule (CSV, paste, or AI) to pre-fill legs. Review the preview before adding to your log.
Layover hub reference
See published M&IE for busy hubs on pages like DFW layover per diem and LAX layover per diem, then log the full trip in the calculator.
More background: crew per diem tax basics.
More for airline crew
Planning aid only · Not tax, payroll, or legal advice · GSA methodology