Domestic Travel

As of August 01, 2023 employees who travel on official University business will be reimbursed for the following expenses.  

Lodging

Actual expenses for lodging, not to exceed single occupancy rates, are allowable. When more than one University employee is staying in the same room, the names of all occupants must be listed on the travel expense report. In this case, double occupancy will be reimbursed. If the traveler occupies a double room with family/friends, the University will reimburse at the single occupancy rate. The single occupancy rate must be claimed on the travel expense report. It is expected that employees will obtain reasonably priced accommodations. A zero balance receipt that shows the method of payment, including the last 4 of any Visa credit card used, is required to be submitted with the travel reimbursement.

Receipts are required for reimbursement. A detailed hotel bill is considered a receipt. It should include: name, address and telephone number of the hotel; dates and the daily charge for the room; and number of occupants. Credit card receipts alone are not acceptable.

Meals

*New* Meal Policy for travel occurring on or after 11/18/2024

Effective 11/18/2024 the University’s travel policy, as it pertains to meal reimbursement, will be updated as follows. This update is applicable to travel occurring on or after 11/18/2024. Travel that occurred prior to 11/18/2024 will follow the policy in place at the time of travel.

Overnight Travel Employees:

Meals and incidental expenses (M&IE) will be reimbursed for University employees during overnight travel using the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) per diem method. The reimbursement amount will be determined based on the days of travel and the travel destination according to GSA (M&IE) rates. On the first and last travel days, travelers are eligible for only 75 percent of the total GSA (M&IE) rate for the travel destination. Receipts are not required for M&IE.

Day Travel Employees:

When an employee’s official travel does not require an overnight stay, the University will reimburse that employee for meals depending upon the length of the employee’s travel.

• No travel meal allowance shall be paid for a trip of less than six hours duration. 
• For travel of more than six hours up to 12 hours outside of the traveler’s base area the traveler will be                    reimbursed a meal allowance of $20. 
• For travel greater than 12 hours outside of traveler’s base area which does not include an overnight stay, the          University will reimburse that employee for a meal allowance according to the current GSA rates rules (75% of      full travel allowance for the destination of travel). 

Meal allowances for travel not requiring an overnight stay will be treated as taxable income per IRS rulings (Revenue Rulings 75-170 and 75-432). Tax withholding will be deducted from a subsequent payroll check.

Non-University employees:

Meal and incidental expenses for non-University employees for overnight travel will be reimbursed based on actual expenses including gratuities up to the established GSA rate for the Continental United States (CONUS). Meal expenses for non-University employees for partial day trips will be reimbursed based on actual expenses including gratuities up to the applicable GSA rate depending upon the length of travel. Length of travel must be greater than six hours.

Meals and Incidentals (M&IE) Details:

Incidental expenses covered by the M&IE per diem include fees and tips given to porters, baggage carriers, hotel staff, and staff on ships.

• The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) establishes per diem rates for destinations within the Continental United States (CONUS). GSA rates can be found on the GSA website at www.gsa.gov/perdiem. If the city or county of the travel destination is not listed, then the standard CONUS M&IE rate applies.
• The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) establishes per diem rates for overseas non-foreign areas such as Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and Guam. The DOD rates can be found on the DOD’s Per Diem, Travel, and Transportation Allowance website at www.defensetravel.dod.mil.
• The U.S. State Department establishes per diem rates for the foreign overseas locations (for example, Canada, Aruba, Bahamas, Europe, etc.). The State Department rates can be found on State Department’s website at https://aoprals.state.gov by selecting the country of the travel destination and searching for the appropriate city or region of travel.
   

Note all per diem rates are housed in Concur.

The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) per diem method provides a breakout of each per diem rate into separate amounts for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and incidental expenses. If a traveler’s trip includes meals that are already paid for by the University or by a third party (such as through a registration fee for a conference), the traveler should use the GSA meal amounts to deduct those meals from the per diem.

Meals while in travel status are not allowable on the P-Card. Meals that are classified as business entertainment with a documented business purpose are allowed on the P-Card subject to the conditions regarding business entertainment included in the University’s Entertainment Policy.

Meal Policy for travel that occurred prior to 11/18/2024

The traveler will be reimbursed for actual expenses for meals (excluding alcoholic beverages) up to a maximum amount of $55.00 per day for each day of travel. Tips related to meals should be included in the meal costs reported. If a conference registration fee was paid that included payment for one or more meals, the traveler is required to NOT claim any reimbursement for the meal(s) included in the conference registration fees.

Federal and State tax regulations consider reimbursement for meal expenses incurred during out-of-state travel not requiring an overnight stay to be taxable income. The University will report the meal reimbursement on IRS Form W-2 Wage and Tax Statement as earnings, and appropriate taxes will be deducted from the traveler's paycheck. Taxable travel should be charged to account code 730100.

Other Allowable Expenses

The Internal Revenue Service requires that receipts be provided for all expenditures that cost $75.00 or more. This requirement is in addition to the receipts required below:

Non-Allowable Expenses (Not All-Inclusive)

There are certain expenditures that are considered personal expenses and will not be reimbursed as a part of the employee's travel reimbursement. These include, but are not limited to:

• Alcoholic beverages
• Valet parking if self service is available and laundry services
• Recreational/personal activities (in-room movies, exercise room fees). This applies to recreational activities even when they are a part of a conference.
• Hotel safe charges
• Passports
• Personal telephone calls
• In-flight airline phone usage
• Frequent flyer upgrades
• Fees such as costs for failure to cancel room reservations, annual credit card fees, airline club room fee
• Seating upgrades on air travel
• Any insurance other than damage waiver

Travel Reimbursement

Requests for reimbursement of authorized out-of-state travel expenses should be submitted in Concur for all University employees. Requests for reimbursement for guests and students should be submitted on the official University travel reimbursement form (Click here to access the University travel reimbursement form) and must have the traveler's signature in the certification space. All requests for reimbursement must be approved by the department head and appropriate dean or administrator and must indicate the specific purpose of the trip and all applicable receipts should be attached. The dates and hours of departure and return, length of stay documentation, points of travel, mode of transportation, mileage (if by private automobile), cost of meals and lodging, and other allowable expenses should be listed.

Other

See the General Travel Information section for additional information concerning out-of-state travel.