Originally Posted by
Kooky
Has anyone compared the numbers to paying the Pro Diem guys to calculate it for $50 or whatever they charge now. Is there a big enough difference in the daily rates Fedex shows vs pro diems
Yes, I just did this. My per diem company (I'll leave the name out to emphasize I have no agenda) beat FedEx by enough to warrant the cost.
The other thing I found out (looking at 2013 data I paid for and all my 2013 per diem recaps) is that many of the city per diem rates FedEx uses are wrong. I assume this is an international problem since those fluctuate more frequently than the domestic rates. Many common international cities (NRT, TPE, SIN, CAN, CGN to name a few) were flat out wrong on my per diem recaps when I compared them to those listed on the government website.
Perhaps that's why the column is not totaled, I don't know. I don't think FedEx is under any obligation to provide us with accurate per diem calculations for our taxes. Using their numbers doesn't alleviate our responsibility for putting accurate data on our returns.
Bottom line: I will continue to pay for my per diem data to save me valuable time, money and ensure what I sent the IRS is accurate.