FY2027 GSA Per Diem Rates for Bloomington, Indiana
These are the federal per diem rates for Bloomington for fiscal year 2027 (1 October 2026 – 30 September 2027). They set the ceiling on how much of your pay package an agency can pay as a tax-free housing and meal stipend rather than as taxable wages.
Lodging (peak month)
$154/night
Weekly housing ceiling: $1,078/week Low season: $847/week
Meals & Incidentals (M&IE)
$74/day
Weekly meals ceiling: $518/week Already includes incidentals — nothing to add on top.
Combined ceiling
$1,596/week
The most a compliant stipend package can total in Bloomington, for a traveller with a qualifying tax home.
Bloomington lodging changes by 2 seasons — a $231/week difference
GSA does not set one rate per city. It sets a rate per month, and in Bloomington the difference between the highest and lowest month is $33/night — $231/week in how much of your package can legally be tax-free. A stipend that is compliant in sep–apr may exceed the ceiling in may–aug.
| Months | Lodging / night | Housing ceiling / week | + M&IE = total / week |
|---|---|---|---|
| May–Aug peak | $154 | $1,078 | $1,596 |
| Sep–Apr lowest | $121 | $847 | $1,365 |
What to do with this: check the months your contract actually runs, not the headline rate. A 13-week assignment starting in May is governed by a different ceiling than the same contract starting in Sep. If a recruiter quotes a stipend near the top of this table, confirm which months it applies to before you sign.
How travel nurse stipends use these caps
Agencies normally split a package into a lower taxable hourly rate plus tax-free stipends for housing and meals. The IRS expects those stipends to stay within the per diem limits for the assignment location. Pay above the ceiling does not become illegal — it becomes taxable wages, and it is your return that has to account for it.
In Bloomington the ceiling is $1,078/week for housing at peak, and $847/week in the lowest months , plus $518/week for meals and incidentals.
Two things travellers most often get wrong about this number. First, it is a maximum, not a target — a package paying well under it is common and not necessarily a bad offer, but a package paying over it has a tax consequence nobody may have mentioned. Second, the stipend is only tax-free if you genuinely maintain a tax home you are duplicating expenses for; without one, the whole stipend is taxable regardless of what GSA publishes.
One detail that catches people out: the first and last day of travel are reimbursed at 75% of the M&IE rate, not the full day rate. On a 13-week contract that is a rounding error; on a string of short assignments it adds up.
Find housing for this stipend
See whether the stipend actually covers furnished housing in Bloomington. If it does not, you are subsidising the assignment out of pocket.
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Where these numbers come from
Published by the U.S. General Services Administration for fiscal year 2027, retrieved 2026-09-28. Rates change each 1 October. Always confirm against GSA.gov. This page is an educational tool, not tax advice — see our methodology.