Federal Travel · Washington, D.C. Locality · FY2026

GSA per-diem & federal lodging rates near the Pentagon

Arlington, Crystal City, and Pentagon City fall under the GSA Washington, D.C. per-diem locality — not a separate Virginia rate. For FY2026 the D.C. lodging cap is $276/night from March through June, $275 in September and October, $196 from November through February, and $183 in July and August, with a $92/day meals & incidentals allowance. Federal per diem reimburses your actual lodging cost up to that cap. Below is the verified month-by-month table, how reimbursement works, and a calculator that uses the exact cap for your travel dates.

Check the cap for your dates Request a per-diem quote

Verified against the live GSA FY2026 schedule on . Re-verified at each site update; GSA republishes annually each October.

Check it for your month

Does a stay fit your per-diem?

The D.C. cap moves with the season, so a blanket “under per-diem” claim breaks in a winter month. Pick your travel month below — the check pulls the month-correct cap from the dated FY2026 schedule, lets you override it if your travel authority uses a different figure, and shows where a furnished CHG stay lands. It’s a check, not a claim: we confirm the exact number in writing.

Built editable and dated on purpose. No hardcoded “clears per-diem” number lives anywhere on this site.

Per-diem fit check · FY2026

Pick your travel month. We show the month-correct D.C.-locality lodging cap and where a furnished CHG stay lands against it — reimbursed at actuals up to the cap, never a spread you keep.

Fits within cap

A 2BR from $250/night sits about $26/night under the March cap of $276 — before the lower monthly rate even applies.

Verified June 14, 2026 against the live GSA FY2026 D.C. schedule · Arlington / Crystal City / Pentagon City fall under the D.C. locality · we confirm your exact figure in writing.

Confirm it for my dates See the full rate table
The verified schedule

FY2026 D.C.-locality lodging caps, month by month

These are the verified FY2026 monthly lodging maximums for the Washington, D.C. locality, which covers Arlington / Crystal City / Pentagon City. The fiscal year runs October 2025 through September 2026. We hardcode the exact figures — not a two-band approximation — because the summer dip and the spring peak are easy to get wrong by $80–90/night.

FY2026 GSA Washington, D.C. locality monthly lodging caps
Month Lodging cap / night Band
October 2025 $275 Peak season
November 2025 $196 Winter
December 2025 $196 Winter
January 2026 $196 Winter
February 2026 $196 Winter
March 2026 $276 Peak season
April 2026 $276 Peak season
May 2026 $276 Peak season
June 2026 $276 Peak season
July 2026 $183 Summer dip
August 2026 $183 Summer dip
September 2026 $275 Peak season

Two corrections that matter for a TDY traveler: March is in the peak band ($276), not winter, and July–August dip to $183. A calculator that uses a flat average instead of the exact month would overstate a summer traveler’s cap by roughly $80–90/night. Source: the GSA FY2026 Washington, D.C. / Virginia per-diem schedule.

Meals & incidentals: $92/day

The D.C.-locality M&IE allowance is $92/day, handled separately from lodging. On the first and last travel day it’s reimbursed at 75% — $69.

Breakfast$23
Lunch$26
Dinner$38
Incidentals$5
Full day total$92
First / last travel day (75%)$69

A full kitchen lets a traveler self-cater within the $92/day allowance instead of expensing every meal — worth factoring in over a long assignment. This is context, not a “savings” figure.

If your trip isn’t in the D.C. locality

Most travel to a CHG stay in National Landing falls under the D.C. locality above. For reference, the standard CONUS fallback rate — used when a location has no specific locality rate — is:

$178Total per-diem / day
$110Lodging
$68M&IE

For a stay in Crystal City, Pentagon City, or National Landing, use the D.C.-locality lodging caps in the table above — not the CONUS fallback.

How it works

Per-diem is reimbursed at actuals — up to the cap

01

Lodging is an actuals-up-to-cap reimbursement

You’re reimbursed for what you actually pay for lodging, up to the locality cap for that month — not a flat allowance you pocket. If a furnished apartment costs less than the cap, you’re reimbursed the lower actual amount.

02

The cap changes by month

The D.C. locality cap moves with the season — $276 in spring, $196 in winter, $183 mid-summer. So the figure that governs your stay depends on your travel dates, which is why we confirm the month-correct number in your proposal.

03

Lodging tax is usually separate

For most federal travelers, D.C. lodging tax is reimbursed separately from the lodging cap rather than counted against it — but your travel authority and agency policy make the final call. Confirm tax treatment with your travel office.

Our honest framing: Our monthly rates are structured to work within GSA per-diem — but because the cap dips in low-cap winter months, we don’t advertise a blanket “under per-diem” claim across the whole year. Instead, we confirm the exact cap for your travel dates and show you where a stay lands. Request a quote for your dates and we’ll lay it out.

Model it

See how a CHG stay sits against your month’s cap

The cost calculator uses the exact D.C. lodging cap for your move-in month — not an average — and shows whether a furnished CHG stay fits within it. It’s built for a contracting officer or travel manager who needs a number to put in a justification.

Open the per-diem calculator Request a per-diem quote
Federal-traveler questions

What travelers ask about per-diem here

Does Arlington have its own GSA per-diem rate?

No — Arlington, Crystal City, and Pentagon City fall under the GSA Washington, D.C. per-diem locality, not a separate Virginia rate. This is a common point of confusion. The District of Columbia locality lodging cap is what applies to a stay in National Landing, and it changes month to month across the fiscal year.

What is the GSA lodging cap near the Pentagon right now?

For FY2026, the Washington, D.C. locality lodging cap is $276/night for March through June 2026, $275 in September and October, $196 from November 2025 through February 2026, and $183 in July and August 2026. Because it changes by month, the figure that applies depends on your travel dates — use the cost calculator with your move-in month to see the exact cap.

How does federal per-diem reimbursement actually work?

Federal per diem reimburses your actual lodging cost up to the locality cap — it is not a flat allowance or a spread you keep. If a furnished apartment costs less than the cap, you are reimbursed the lower actual amount; if it exceeds the cap, the overage generally isn’t reimbursed unless your travel authority approves an exception. Meals and incidentals (M&IE) are handled separately at $92/day for the D.C. locality.

Is D.C. lodging tax included in the per-diem cap?

Generally no. For most federal travelers, lodging taxes are reimbursed separately from the lodging per-diem cap rather than counted against it, but the exact treatment is set by your travel authority and agency policy. We confirm how the numbers sit against your cap in your proposal, and recommend verifying tax treatment with your travel office.

Can CHG’s monthly rates work within federal per diem?

Our monthly rates are structured to work within the GSA D.C. lodging cap for most of the year. Because the cap dips in winter and mid-summer, fit depends on your exact dates and the apartment — so rather than advertise a blanket “under per-diem” claim, we confirm the month-correct figure for your travel window in your proposal. Request a quote with your dates and we’ll show you where it lands.

For federal travelers

Book a stay that fits your per-diem

Tell us your travel dates and we’ll confirm how a furnished CHG home in National Landing sits against the GSA D.C. cap for those exact months — the cap changes month to month, so the dates matter.

Request a per-diem quote Open the calculator