UHCL Travel OfficeWelcome!

Agenda Travel Office Services IRS Regulations Basic Procedures Guidelines Travel Do’s and Don'ts Reimbursement Required Paperwork How to Contact Us Online Resources Checklist Questions & Answers

Travel Office Services Process Travel Authorizations Prepare Travel Reimbursement Vouchers Give price quote information on air and per

diem rates. This information is also located on our website

Make air arrangements for employees, prospective employees and students traveling on behalf of UHCL

IRS Regulations Personal and business domestic travel:

♦ New IRS Regulation on domestic travel when combining personal travel with official business travel within the United States – In accordance to IRS Publication 463, Treasury Regulations, Subchapter A, Sec. 1.162-2 – When the number of “days spent on business activities” is less than or equal to the number of days spent on personal activities the cost of traveling to/from the destination (airfare, mileage to/from airport, airport parking, etc.) may not be directly charged to the university or reimbursed. Only expenses that are directly related to conducting university business may be charged to or reimbursed by the university, such as lodging and meals on “days spent on business activities,” and local transportation costs to/from business meetings. More details and examples may be found: http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p463.pdf

♦ This does not apply to foreign travel.

60 Calendar Days Rule – Reimbursed as Taxable Income:♦ Employees, prospective employees, and students must submit their travel request

for reimbursement, including required documentation with original receipts, to the travel office no later than 60 calendar days after travel is completed. In accordance with Internal Revenue Service requirements for an accountable plan (IRS Publication 463), all reimbursement requests submitted to the Travel office after the 60 calendar days will be treated as taxable income to the payee. This does not apply to local mileage.

♦ Non-overnight transportation is not taxable, regardless of destination.

Basic Procedures Effective 9/1/13, only the new Travel Authorization Forms and

Expense Logs will be accepted. Shortcuts to these two documents may be saved to your desktop or bookmarked in your internet browser.

Be sure new vendor set up and W-9 paperwork has been processed for new and prospective employees.

Verify Accounts Payable Vendor ID is used, not PeopleSoft User ID.

A T# is issued after verifying all information. Incomplete TA’s may be returned to the Business Coordinator.

T# notification is sent to Business Coordinator, Traveler and designees via email.

Basic Procedures (cont’d)Domestic Travel Authorizations

(U.S., Puerto Rico, Canada, Mexico)

A regular TA is submitted

Employee, Business Coordinator & Supervisor sign the TA

   

Allow 3-5 business days for processing

Foreign Travel Authorizations

A regular TA is submitted along with the Foreign TA.

Employee, Business Coordinator, Supervisor & President sign

*Revisions to Foreign TA must be made and signed by all parties on original form - no emails will be accepted. Allow 30 business days for processing

Submit the Export Controls & Embargo Form

Submit the Fly America Waiver Checklist Form if traveling on federal funds.

Please fill in the contact section at the bottom of the travel authorization if anyone other than the Business Coordinator and Traveler need to be notified of T#.

Basic Procedures (cont’d) All travel arrangement requests (i.e. airline reservations, etc.) must be

made via email to TravelOffice@uhcl.edu or included with the TA form (see below).

You may attach your preferred flight arrangements and notate “please book attached flights” in the box labeled “For Department Use”.

If the price has gone up significantly, we will email the traveler and business coordinator for approval.

It is the traveler’s responsibility to review the itinerary after the tickets are purchased. Once the tickets are purchased, an email is sent to the traveler or designated contact.

Basic Procedures (cont’d) Making an airline reservation:

♦ Reservations may be made by contacting the UHCL Travel Office via email at traveloffice@uhcl.edu or including a printed quote with your travel authorization. All airfare questions and bookings must be routed through the Travel Office. Currently, we do not require a same day quote when purchasing your own ticket.

♦ You may contact the travel agency directly at:Carlson Wagonlit Travel950 Corbindale suite 200Houston, TX 77024-2849Toll Free: (800) 795-9005Fax: (713) 369-1212(UHCL agent is Mr. Joe Zamora. In his absence, you may contact any agent that is available at Carlson Wagonlit Travel)

♦ You may request the UHCL Travel Office purchase an internet airline ticket. The internet ticket agreement form will need to be signed and submitted to the Travel Office before we can purchase.

Basic Procedures (cont’d) Car Rental:

♦ Rental car contracts are available for business-related travel. Loss Damage Waiver is included with rate, no additional insurance is reimbursable.

♦ A list of these contracts and additional information is available at: http://www.window.state.tx.us/procurement/prog/stmp/stmp-rental-car-contract/

♦ Reservations can be made online or by calling the rental car company directly.

Enterprise Rent-A-Car www.enterprise.com (888) 291-0359CD #: TX759 (3 letter code is UHC)

Avis Car Rental www.avis.com (800) 331-1212CD #: F999759

♦ Justification will need to be provided for renting a larger vehicle.

♦ Do not bypass the counter. The original receipt is required for reimbursement of the expense.

♦ Mileage cannot be claimed on rental vehicles.

Guidelines Meal Expenses:

♦ A traveler is entitled to be reimbursed for meal expenses incurred on overnight business travel, not to exceed per diem daily rate. Snacks, coffee, etc. should be included in one of the meals and not reported as miscellaneous or incidentals. **Departments may have their own rules. Please check with your Business Coordinator. **

♦ You should not seek reimbursement for expenses you did not incur.

Required Receipts:♦ Original receipts are required for mass transit, rental car, taxi,

limousine, bus, subway, or other mode of transportation.♦ Incidental expenses are reimbursable, such as parking, toll charges,

etc. ♦ Lodging receipts with a $0.00 balance.♦ Please check with your business coordinator regarding meal

receipts.♦ Airline receipt with form of payment must be included.

Guidelines (cont’d) Lodging:

♦ A traveler is entitled to be reimbursed for lodging expenses incurred on business travel, not to exceed per diem daily rate, unless otherwise approved by your business coordinator.

Study Abroad:

♦ All study abroad programs must have the Office of International Admissions and Programs (OIAP) approval before submitting any travel authorization forms to the Travel Office. For more information, please contact: Dr. Sameer Pande at internationalinitiatives@uhcl.edu or (281) 283-3972.

Reimbursement Please input the date, time of departure/return and address

of the location in the item description on travel expense log. Any changes in dates to the trip will need approval from the

business coordinator and the traveler’s supervisor. Always include airfare or hotel charges pre-paid by UHCL on your

expense log. These are part of your expenses. You will then deduct these charges on your expense log under “Less Amounts Paid by University”.

List hotel room rate and taxes on a per day basis in appropriate columns.

Travelers are responsible for following up if they have not received their reimbursement. It takes approximately 10 business days to process the reimbursement, once received in the travel office.

Blanket Mileage - Requests for mileage reimbursement (local funds only) must be submitted to the travel office no more than once a fiscal quarter after the date of the first mileage expense incurred. This is to facilitate the cost effective reimbursement process by allowing employees to accumulate enough mileage expenses. The current mileage reimbursement rate is $0.575 per mile.

Travel Do’s and Don’tsDoObtain separate bills with each traveler’s name on them when sharing lodging or have the hotel document two forms of payment.Be sure any receipt submitted shows the form of payment used. Hotel receipt must have a $0.00 balance.For Hotel cards email travel office at least five business days prior to travel. You may also request the travel card on the Travel Authorization form. Please denote request in the “For Department Use” and the dollar amount of lodging expense.

Don'tClaim meals for non-overnight stay. These are not reimbursable.Submit expenses for someone else’s meal. You may only get reimbursed for your expenses through travel. If you have a business meal, contact your business coordinator for possible reimbursement.Allow any other charges on hotel card except lodging and taxes. Please review your hotel bill prior to check out. Pay for any incidentals separately.

Travel Do’s and Don’tsDo (cont’d)Obtain a state sales tax exemption certificate if lodging in Texas, available through Travel’s website.Please call to make an appointment if you need to sit with a travel staff member for travel assistance. Obtain a written airfare quote prior to travel when claiming mileage out of state. Reimbursement is limited to the airfare quote.Submit your expense reports within 60 calendar days after travel is completed.If a trip is cancelled or changes need to be made, please email the travel office.

Don’t (cont’d)Ask the Travel Office to make personal travel arrangements or gather information for personal travel. This includes making reservations for family members when the employee is traveling on business.Request the travel office call the traveler to make arrangements.Submit a Travel Authorization for registration (conference, class, etc.) only.Submit loose receipts. Please tape them to a sheet of paper. Try to avoid taping over the printed areas.Email or call the travel assistants directly. If you email someone directly and they are out or on vacation, we may not be able to assist you in a timely manner. Use TravelOffice@uhcl.edu and x2270.

Lastly, don’t assume anything—call us first.

Contact Information: Travel Assistants are:

Laura Wilder and Joyce Vetrano We are all able to provide the same information and

services explained here today. Phone: 281-283-2270 Email: traveloffice@uhcl.edu It is important that calls and emails be directed to the main

number/group email address so that we can distribute our work effectively and efficiently. This helps us to respond in an effective and timely manner.

Online Resources GSC Travel Management Program Online

http://www.window.state.tx.us/procurement/prog/stmp/ Contract airfare, lodging and rental car vendor lists.

Out of State Meals and Lodging Rates FY15http://www.gsa.gov/portal/content/104877?utm_source=OCM&utm_medium=print-radio&utm_term=HP_01_Requested_perdiem&utm_campaign=shortcuts

Contains links by state to the lodging and meal per diem rates of cities inside and outside of Texas.

Texas Comptroller of Public Accountshttp://www.window.state.tx.us/services/May be used to find hotels with per diem rates based on the city.https://fmx.cpa.state.tx.us/fmx/travel/textravel/index.phpAdditional information on Texas travel.

Checklist

Always check the weather in case of delays Proper documentation (Passport, Visa, Driver’s License,

Boarding Passes, etc.) Airports & airlines change their processes and procedures

often for security reasons, so be alert. Restricted carry-on material.

Q & AWhen completing a Travel Authorization for a foreign trip, the President is not available to sign your form.  You can still submit the foreign form by having the Provost sign for the President.

False

For an upcoming business trip to Orlando, FL, you may email the Travel Office to book your children’s airline tickets as well, as long as you provide a personal credit card.

False

You rent a vehicle to drive to Dallas for a conference.  You are taking three additional co-workers going to the same conference. You decide to upgrade the vehicle because the vehicle you originally rented is too small.  The upgrade fee is reimbursable.

True

Q & AWhen completing your TA, you indicate that you will be flying to Washington, D.C. Sunday night for a conference beginning Monday morning and ending Wednesday afternoon. Instead of flying home Wednesday evening, you plan to fly home Sunday.  Because your personal days are equal to the number of business days, you will not be reimbursed for airfare, mileage to the airport, nor airport parking costs.

True Sunday-Wednesday count as 4 “business” days. Thursday-Sunday count as 4 “personal” days.

Employees can call the Travel Office to make airline reservations. 

False

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