Traveling on University Business Rates

Domestic Travel

Domestic Lodging

Domestic lodging rates are expected to be the least costly rate that meets the scheduling and business needs. Travelers are expected to pay a reasonable rate for lodging. For conference travel, the lodging rate which has been pre-negotiated by the conference is considered reasonable.

For non-conference travel, the University employs a formula, using the US Government General Services Administration (GSA) lodging per diem rates (www.gsa.gov), to determine 'reasonableness' of rates. The University has established a guideline of 150% of the GSA rate (excluding applicable taxes) as reasonable. For example, the GSA rate for Atlanta, Georgia is $115. 150% of the GSA rate is $173. This means that rooms that are less than $173 (excluding applicable taxes) for Atlanta would be within the guideline. The GSA site shows multiple rates for some destinations, due to pricing fluctuations based on the time of the year.

For non-conference travel, if the lodging rate will exceed the guideline, pre-approval from a supervisor/manager who is at least one level higher in authority than the traveler or the appropriate designee must be obtained. If a request for reimbursement is made for non-conference lodging, which exceeds the guideline and was not pre-approved, the supervisor/manager may deduct the overage from the reimbursement request.

These guidelines exclude conference travel, where the traveler is paying a pre-negotiated rate that is offered by the conference.

Travel Meals

Employees in travel status (travel requiring an overnight stay), on University business will be reimbursed a flat per diem rate for travel related meal expenses. Receipts are not required (under any circumstances), to be reimbursed for travel meals when using the appropriate per diem amount. Reimbursements will be made in accordance with the Federal State Department Per Diem daily amounts as published on the GSA website. Per Diem rates vary by county and city. Travelers will not be reimbursed for meal expenses exceeding the maximum meal rate for the city/county where their meals were purchased. For a listing of current federal Domestic Per Diem Rates, refer to the GSA Website for Domestic Travel and select the appropriate year and state. To find the County a city is located within see the National Association of Counties Website (NACo).

• Maximum meal rates include taxes and tips.
• Travel begins when the employee leaves their home/office for their trip destination. If the employee's first and/or last travel days are less than a full day, the per diem for those days is pro-rated according to the following table:

  Time Intervals	Departure	Return
  Before 11 a.m.	Full Day	Breakfast Only
  11 a.m. to 3 p.m.	Lunch and Dinner	Breakfast and Lunch
  3 p.m. to 8 p.m.	Dinner Only	Full Day
  After 8 p.m.	Incidental Amount Only	Full Day

• The breakdown of the meal per diems can be found by clicking the "Meals and Incidental Expense Breakdown" link found at the GSA website on the left side of the screen.
• Employees are not required to deduct the incidental amount included in the per diem rate when determining the maximum meal per diem rates.
• The full incidental amount is allowed for each day of travel whether it is a partial day of travel (typically the 1st and last day of travel) or a full day of travel.
• Incidental expenses include tips given to baggage carriers, bellhops, hotel maids, and for laundry and dry cleaning expenses.
• When meals are charged to sponsored funds, if the Sponsor has more restrictive policies, the Sponsor's policies must be followed.
• Expenditures for alcoholic beverages are generally not reimbursable; see Administrative Policy: Hospitality and Special Expenses.
• For meals in conjunction with business entertainment see Administrative Policy: Hospitality and Special Expenses.

Extended Day Travel Meals

The University will reimburse employees (faculty and staff) for dinner expenses only, if incurred during extended day travel business trips. For purposes of this policy, extended day travel is at least twelve hours in duration and does not require an overnight stay. According to federal statutes regarding traveling away from home on business, there cannot be any tax-free reimbursements for meals relating to extended day travel.

The University will reimburse employees for dinner expenses only incurred during extended day travel if all three of the following conditions apply:

• The extended day is at least 12 hours, causes the employee to be away from home during the evening dinner meal time, and does not require an overnight stay. (For example, an employee of UMD who departs Duluth at 7:00 a.m. for a meeting in the Twin Cities and returns home at 7:00 p.m. is considered in "extended day" status.)

  AND 

• Reimbursements are made to the employee on an occasional basis, which means that tracking the frequency of the reimbursements is not administratively practicable.

  AND

• The employee may be reimbursed the applicable per diem rate for dinner only. Breakfast and lunch are never reimbursable expenses.

*Note: Some employees have unique circumstances (such as an outstate location) that require frequent travel (more than on an occasional basis); depending on the length of the trips, these employees may not be in either extended day travel or overnight travel status. If those circumstances exist frequently and cause a financial hardship to the employee, managers are encouraged to provide additional, incremental compensation to those employees (salary augmentation). Consult the University Tax Department for additional guidance on taxable meal allowances, at (612) 624-1053 or kdf@umn.edu. Contact Payroll Services for the applicable paycode.

Business Mileage

55 cents per mile - Rate for travel occurring on or after 1/1/09
58.5 cents per mile - Rate for travel occurring between 7/1/2008 and 12/31/2008
50.5 cents per mile - Rate for travel occurring between 01/01/2008 and 6/30/08

The mileage rate includes gas, vehicle maintenance, insurance, and other personal vehicle related costs. Reimbursement (mileage and en-route expenses) must not exceed the lowest cost of comparable coach airfare (e.g. advanced booking, Saturday stay over).

Mileage Claim on a Workday

Employees traveling off site on a typical workday, during their normal business hours, can be reimbursed the mileage difference from their home or office to their destination.

• Example: An employee, who commutes to work at the Minneapolis campus from their Cambridge, MN home Monday through Friday, is leaving on a business trip. Their flight leaves at 11a.m., Wednesday from the Minneapolis airport. The employee is only eligible to claim reimbursement for mileage from their office location to the airport. They are not eligible for mileage from Cambridge to the Minneapolis airport because the distance from their home to their office is considered part of their daily commute and thus personal mileage. If the employee returns to the airport on a nonworking day they are eligible to claim mileage reimbursement for travel from the airport to their home.

Fleet Services Vehicle Rentals

Fleet services vehicle rental rates are posted for the Twin Cities and coordinate campuses in Administrative Policy: Using Automotive Vehicles for University Business.

International Travel

Travel Meals

International travelers may be reimbursed up to the U.S. Department of State's maximum meal per diem amount in effect at the time of travel. Rates are adjusted monthly to seasonal pricing and monetary exchange rate fluctuations. Maximum reimbursement rates are designed to provide consistency with IRS requirements. For a listing of the maximum allowable foreign rates refer to the U.S. Department of State's website for Foreign Travel and select the appropriate year, then month. Maximum meal rates are posted in a combined total of Meals and Incidental Expenses (M&IE). Travelers must claim only the meal portion of this amount; the incidental expenses must be subtracted from the M&IE rate. If the traveler does incur allowable incidental expenses (e.g. baggage handling fees, laundry/dry cleaning, etc) the expense must be itemized on the Employee Expense Worksheet (UM 1612). Refer to the U.S. Department of State's website for the M&IE breakdown.

• Maximum meal rates include tax and tip. Suggested server tip cannot exceed 20% of the bill.
• If the maximum rates are not reached on any day the remaining amount does not accrue and cannot be applied to other expenses.
• Expenditures for alcoholic beverages are generally not reimbursable; see Administrative Policy: Hospitality and Special Expenses.
• For meals in conjunction with business entertainment see Administrative Policy: Hospitality and Special Expenses.

Vehicle Rental

When renting a commercial vehicle, confirm whether an international driver's license is needed. The traveler should accept the optional insurance coverage such as Collision Damage Waiver (CDW). Vehicle insurance expenses are reimbursed to international travelers.

Currency Exchange

Foreign expenses must be submitted in U.S. dollars using the exchange rate in effect during the dates of travel. Include documentation indicating what exchange rate was used to make the conversions. Currency exchange rates can be found at OANDA. If purchases were made via credit card, use the exchange rate provided by the credit card company.