Getting Reimbursed Domestic Travel

• Domestic Travel Reimbursements
• Personal Vehicle Use
• Reimbursable Travel Expenses
• Non-Reimbursable Travel Expenses

Domestic Travel Reimbursements

Upon return from your travel, please submit the following original receipts to your department travel planner as soon as possible:

1. Airline receipts and itinerary
2. Rental Car receipts
3. Gasoline receipts
4. Bus, Taxi, Train receipts
5. Lodging receipts
6. Registration receipts (if paid by the traveler)
7. Other miscellaneous business expenses (i.e., phone calls, internet access at hotel)

Meals are reimbursed based on the established per diem. Meals and lodging are not reimbursed without an overnight stay. Beginning 5/5/2014, the University will reimburse 75% of the total meal rate regardless of the departure or arrival time for the first and last day of travel.

Your department travel planner should create the appropriate travel reimbursement document in PeopleSoft for your review and certification. An electronic document will be routed to Accounts Payable for approval. The supporting documents should be sent to the Accounts Payable Travel section for review. Corrections and/or adjustments to your travel may delay final approval.

Per IRS Publications 463 and 535, reimbursement requests should be processed within a reasonable period of time in order to avoid becoming a taxable payment to the traveler. 60 days is the generally accepted standard recommended by the IRS.

Personal Vehicle Use

State guidelines allow for business use of a personal vehicle. The traveler may be reimbursed for either mileage using the state approved standard mileage rate or gasoline receipts.

Receipts may not exceed the product of the actual number of miles traveled for business and the maximum mileage reimbursement rate.

1. Please visit the State website to see the current state mileage reimbursement rate.
2. Mileage distances can be calculated using the mileage calculator on the State website or a travel website such as MapQuest.
3. Maintain a Mileage Reimbursement Log.

State guidelines require a "Constructive Airfare" quote for transportation using your personal car. Constructive Airfare quotes are used to determine the lesser cost of reimbursing mileage or airfare.

1. A constructive airfare quote is required for all mileage reimbursements, except for the following:
   1. Approved by a doctor or the American Disabilities Act
   2. No commercial airfare available
   3. Facilitate research projects
2. Constructive airfare quotes can be obtained by:
   1. Requesting a quote from one of the UT System Contracted Travel Agencies
   2. Printing screens from a "Preferred" online booking tool.

Please note: The University will reimburse you for the lesser of the constructive airfare or mileage.

Domestic Reimbursable Travel Expenses

The following are examples of the most common "reimbursable" travel expenses:

1. Lodging receipts (including certain taxes)
2. Rental car receipts (including gas)
3. Registration receipts (paid by the traveler)
4. Parking receipts
5. Taxi receipts

Maximum domestic per diem meal allowances vary throughout the continental United States. These can be accessed using the U.S. General Services Administration.

Please note: Meal and lodging expenses will not be reimbursed without an overnight stay.

Non-Reimbursable Travel Expenses

The following are examples of the most common "non-reimbursable" travel expenses:

1. Tips or gratuities
2. Alcoholic Beverages
3. Texas state occupancy taxes
4. Dry cleaning or laundry
5. Expenses not related to official state business
6. Additional rental car insurance purchased with state contracted rental car agencies

Please note: Other business supplies or merchandise purchased should not be included in your travel reimbursement. These may be submitted as a separate item for reimbursement.