I. University Travel Policy
The University of Texas at Dallas travel policy is intended to provide for the reasonable needs of travelers, control travel expenditures and comply with UT System Policies, as well as state and federal rules and regulations.
All travel reimbursements must be for actual, reasonable and necessary expenses, incurred for official University business and authorized by the appropriate supervisor.
Travel must be authorized in writing prior to incurring any travel-related expenses. Airfare arrangements must be booked through one of the contracted travel agencies. Information on travel agencies as well as The University of Texas at Dallas travel reimbursement policy, procedures and guidelines, including the current travel agents and car rental agents, can be found on the Travel Management webpage. Some sources of institutional funds (such as gifts or grants) may impose additional restrictions and approvals on travelers
Employee travel must be planned and conducted to achieve economy and efficiency considering all relevant circumstances while complying with this policy and related guidelines or procedures. Travel expenses must be reasonable, appropriately documented and properly authorized.
Guidelines for Travel Expenses
Lodging:
- Conference hotel expenses will be paid or reimbursed at the standard conference rate. Non-conference hotel expenses should be reasonable but may not exceed the GSA lodging allowance without approval from the traveler’s fiscal officer, dean or vice president.
Meals:
- Employees in travel status overnight will be reimbursed the lesser of the actual cost of meals or the GSA meals allowance. Travelers who do not incur an overnight stay are not eligible for meal reimbursement.
- Meal receipts are required for all student travel.
- Faculty and staff may claim per diem for meals.
Transportation:
- JSOM does not reimburse car rentals unless it is determined to be the cheaper option.
- Prior approval should be obtained from the vice dean/senior fiscal officer (SFO) for car rental during business trips.
- Mileage reimbursement shall be based on the shortest, most cost-effective and reasonably safe route using supporting documentation from MapQuest, Google or a similar tool.
University faculty or staff may only be reimbursed for actual expenses incurred. Travelers may be required to submit a supplemental explanation or other documentation to substantiate charges that exceed established guidelines. UTDBP3104 Policy on Travel Expenses
II. Area Travel Requirements
Faculty, staff and students must provide proper notification by submitting an internal Travel Authorization Form (Find Travel Forms on the University Office of Legal Affairs website) for SFO approval prior to travel (at least three weeks for domestic travel and six weeks for international travel).
III. Travel System
- Airfare can be arranged and purchased through the Concur Online Booking Tool by administrative support personnel for faculty, staff and students.
- Coach class is required for domestic and international travel. (Each area, such as Accounting, Finance and Managerial Economics, and so on, needs to maintain all the backup documentation for charges that post to cost centers in a digital form. This is proper best practice for accounting and audit purposes.)
- Digital records of travel documents should be maintained by administrative support personnel.
- Files stored in the eProcurement online system include: Travel Vouchers, Receipts and Independent Contractor Forms.
- Files stored in JSOM in the respective areas: completed Travel Authorization Forms, other approvals via email, and additional documentation.
IV. Travel Procedures
A Travel Authorization Form is an internal form that must be completed electronically for each UTD and non-UTD traveler when planning a trip. This should be submitted to the SFO for approval via Box.com.
Summary of Travel Process:
- Prepare electronic Travel Authorization Form (Find Travel Forms on the University Office of Legal Affairs website) and submit to Box.com for approval.
- Student Information Form and the B14-F Form to be completed for students.
- Verify information is complete and budget is available in the cost center.
- Book the trip through Concur Travel or contracted agency.
- Get travel authorization and route your paperwork to the proper offices to obtain approval (at least four weeks prior to trip).
- Communicate to the traveler regarding daily meal per diems.
- Travel occurs and receipts are received
- Complete and submit the online Travel Reimbursement, along with receipts, in eProcurement (lodging receipts must be itemized in the traveler’s name).
- Verify that the reimbursement has been paid.
Any reimbursement submitted after 60 days from travel will be reported to Payroll as income. The IRS requires employee business expenses to be submitted for reimbursement “within 60 days after the expense is incurred or the trip ends.”
“If not submitted within 60 days, the reimbursement becomes taxable [to the employee] for federal, state, FICA and Medicare; and withholding tax must be taken.”
V. Reconciliation
Travel and reimbursement transactions are reconciled by the designated reconciler in PeopleSoft with the Gemini Financials Account Reconciliation Application.
The reconciler will gather required source documentation digital records to merge and file as PDFs in their online storage area.