TAX FILE: IRS updates meal allowances

The Internal Revenue Service has published per diem rates for 2005. Revenue Procedure 2004-60 keeps in place the $41-per-day limit for meals and incidental expenses that companies can pay drivers in the “lower 48” states and the $46 limit for Alaska, Hawaii, Canada and Mexico. But there are changes in the list of localities designated as “high cost.” That list can be useful for companies that pay a per diem based on each locality an employee travels to.