Budget

Per diem

Also called Daily allowance, Out-station allowance

What is per diem in film production?

Per diem is a fixed daily amount paid to cast and crew working away from home to cover meals and incidental costs, on top of their wage. It is paid per day on location rather than per call, and is budgeted separately from pay so a location schedule shows its real cost.

Per diem overlaps with bata on Indian sets, and productions draw the line differently — some pay bata on every call and per diem only out of station, others fold the two together. What matters is that the rule is written down before the shoot, because it is paid to every person every day and small differences multiply.

Whether tax is withheld on allowances depends on how they are paid and on local rules. Treat any single answer as local and check it with whoever files your returns.

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Allowances on the day, bonuses on the settlement

Reviewed 2026-09-30

Related terms

Bata

Bata is the daily allowance paid on Indian film sets on top of a wage, originally for food and travel. Night bata is the extra allowance paid for working a night shoot. It is usually a fixed amount per person per day rather than a share of pay, and is budgeted separately from wages.

Cost report

A cost report is the periodic statement, usually weekly, comparing what a production has spent and committed against what it budgeted, account by account. It carries the Estimated Final Cost and the variance, and it is the document a financier or guarantor monitors the production through.

Shooting day

A shooting day is one scheduled day of principal photography, defined by its call time, its planned scenes and its wrap. It is the atomic unit of a production schedule: budgets, crew bookings and location agreements are all counted in days rather than hours.