|
 Travel
Policy
Direct Deposit - Reimbursements
Faculty
Research Travel
Travel Advances
Study
Away/ Group Travel
|
Travel Reimbursement Policy
Policy:
An IRS accountable plan is used to reimburse its employees for
travel expenses incurred in the course of College business. By using
this method, the College meets the IRS definition of an accountable plan
and therefore, reimbursements do not have to be reported as income to
the employee.
Under an accountable plan, reimbursable expenses need to
meet the following requirements:
- Travelers must provide a statement substantiating
the amount, time, use and business purpose of expenses within
a reasonable time (not to
exceed 60 days) after the expenses are incurred.
- Employees must return any advance amounts in excess of substantiated
expenses within fifteen days after the completion of the trip.
All travel reimbursement must be approved by an authorized
individual other than the traveler and
include original receipts for all expenditures over
$15. If travel expenses are to be charged to
a grant or contract provided by a sponsor
external to the College, the reimbursement must also be approved
by the Associate Controller of Sponsored Research and the
requirements of the sponsor prevail
if they are more restrictive than the College's travel policies.
This policy applies to all travel including non-overnight travel except
for faculty traveling abroad on long-term research projects. Please see
separate policy on long-term faculty
travel.
A cash advance may be issued for travel where payments must be made
prior to the actual travel, i.e. airline tickets and hotel reservations.
Please see separate policy on Travel
Advance.
The College will reimburse use of a personal vehicle for business
travel. The reimbursement rate per mile is set at the beginning of
each fiscal year, July 1st, using the IRS standard mileage rate. The
current rate is $.485 per mile.
Procedure:
Employees should report travel expenditures on a Travel
Expense Report form within 60 days from the travel completion date and forward to Accounts
Payable for processing. Please allow 7-10 business days for processing.
Please see the Purchasing Office website for detail Travel Policies.
The following provisions shall apply:
1. Reimbursement of expenses include transportation, meals
and lodging.
- Sample expenses not considered reimbursable are laundry, cleaning
and pressing, personal telephone calls, personal entertainment
and travel accident insurance. (The College provides $100,000
business travel accidental death coverage for its faculty and administrative
employees).
2. Reimbursement for public transportation will be based on
actual receipts (see provision #3).
- When the most efficient travel is by air, reimbursement will be
limited to coach fare.
- Personal vehicle travel shall be reimbursed at the current mileage
rates established by the College, plus parking and tolls.
- Reimbursement should not exceed the cost of commercial transportation,
where available.
- For two or more persons traveling together in the same vehicle,
only one person will be reimbursed for mileage.
- Rental car reimbursable costs include the daily rental fee
of a compact car for a single person or a midsize vehicle
for two
or more
travelers,
mileage fees, gasoline charges, parking expenses, and
tolls.
3. Original hotel, travel and other receipts must be attached
to the Travel Expense Report to support reimbursable expenses.
- In the case of airline tickets, this is the last page of the ticket
showing itinerary and costs (usually called the "passenger receipt").
- If the employee used the College's Travel Purchase Order system
(PT) to purchase airline tickets, the passenger receipt should be
forwarded
to Purchasing and the PT# assigned to its purchase should be
noted in the space provided on the Travel Expense Report (Line B).
- If meal expenses include the costs of a business meeting, IRS regulations
require that the date and purpose of the meeting, and the names
and professional affiliation of the attendees be noted.
- A detailed itemization is preferred for
all meal charges. If the restaurant does not provide a copy of an
itemized bill, you may submit the credit card charge receipt and
state the dollar amount for alcohol. All alcohol purchases should be reported on Account 7848 regardless of the fund that is being charged. If no alcohol was included in
the charge, simply state no alcohol on the receipt. In addition,
if the charge covers meals for others, please specify the
business
purpose
and
the names
of
the guest(s).
4. With the increase of online purchasing, there may be instances
where an original receipt is not available. When this occurs, acceptable
forms of documentation would be an itemization of the charges and proof
of
payment.
- Itemization of charges includes an online printout.
- Proof of payment includes credit card statements, front and back
copy of check, non-itemized cash receipt or online order
confirmation indicating
credit card payment.
5. All business telephone calls will be reimbursed except
for those made with a personal cell phone which is under a “free” minute
plan.
- If you require a cell phone while traveling, please
contact the Telecommunications department for obtaining a “loaner” cell
phone.
- Personal phone calls to maintain reasonable contact with family
will also be reimbursed (e.g., safe arrival, change in itinerary).
Return to Home Page
|
