Policy Notes: Reimbursable Business Expenses

On this page:

• General Information
• Specific Policy Pertaining to:
• All Reimbursements
  • Advances, Reconciling (Clearing)
  • Approving Expenses
  • Lost Receipts
  • Tips
  • When to Make Reimbursement Request
• Business Meals
• Conference Fees
• Dues and Subscriptions
• Foreign Receipts
• Foreign Visitors, Reimbursement Payments to
• Gifts
• Human Subjects
• Moving / House Hunting Expenses
• Travel
  • Air Travel
  • Car Rental
  • Lodging
  • Laundry
  • Meals During Business Travel
  • Personal Auto Use
  • Required Documentation
• Primary Policy Sources

 

General Information

• The University's policy is to reimburse employees and approved non-employees for necessary and reasonable expenses incurred for authorized University business.
• Reimbursements are to be consistent with federal regulations.
• Prices paid are to be economical; when the price paid by the individual is more than what would have been paid by the University, the lesser amount will be reimbursed.

Reimbursable expenses include:

• travel expenses, related to University business, including air fare, lodging, incidental expenses, use of personal auto, car rental, taxi fares and phone charges.
• miscellaneous purchases in support of University business, such as supplies, books and equipment costing less than $2,500 (purchases exceeding $2,500 should be ordered through University Procurement).
• payments to human subjects, made by an individual (Direct payment to human subjects from the University can be made by requesting a check through the Other Checks module in iOU.).
• cost of meals when there is a clear business purpose for the meal.
• conference registration and training course fees, when related to University business.
• dues & subscriptions for memberships to professional organizations and publications related to University business.
• moving & house hunting expenses incurred by a new employee when hired by Stanford.
• gifts (tangible personal property) related to University business.

 

Specific Policy

All Reimbursements

Specific Policy Pertaining to All Reimbursements

Category	Policy
Advances, Reconciling (Clearing)	If the business need for an outstanding advance ceases to exist, the funds advanced must be returned immediately to Travel and Reimbursements in the form of a check made out to Stanford University. Contact the Disbursements Office for details. Advances not cleared by expected clearing date will be cleared, whenever possible, from subsequent reimbursements for the same payee indicated on the advance. If an advance is not cleared within 60 days of the completion date of the trip or activity, the advance will be forced-cleared by Disbursements and the amount of the advance will be tax-reportable to the individual who received the funds, under IRS rules.
Approving Expenses	Employees cannot authorize/approve travel or expenses for themselves or for a person to whom they report either directly or indirectly.
Lost Receipts	Original receipts are required for expenses over $75. If an original receipt is not submitted as a backup document, a lost receipt memo along with proof of payment, such as a credit card statement, must be included.
Tips	Tips should not exceed 20% unless there is a mandatory charge for a large group.
When to Make Reimbursement Request	Within 10 days of incurring expense, or 10 days after completing travel Per federal regulation, reimbursement requests made after 60 days of incurring the expense (trip, meals, supplies, etc.), will be reported to the IRS as taxable income.

Business Meals

• Amounts paid should be “reasonable and necessary.”
• Reimbursement requests must state business purpose and reason for the meeting.
• Individual attendees must be listed on reimbursement request or backup documents unless a specific identifiable group is noted.
• Alcohol must be charged to unallowable expenditure type and unrestricted PTA including a portion of tax and tip.
• Spouses should be included only when appropriate, and always charged to unallowable expenditure type.

See also Expense Guidance for Business Meals.

Conference Fees

• Reimbursement requests for undergraduate and graduate students should include a certification letter signed by a faculty member; for post docs, include either the certification letter or a program showing the post doc as a speaker at the conference. If no certification (or program for post docs) is submitted, the expenses will be considered tax-reportable by the IRS. See Administrative Guide Memo 36.7 Section 11.
• Payments cannot include expenses for spouses, such as lodging, meals, or activities at the conference.

Dues and Subscriptions

• Voluntary contributions are not reimbursable.

Foreign Receipts

• Foreign receipts must be converted to US dollars. To convert foreign receipts, go to the Oanda web site.
  
  In the Oanda web site, enter date of receipt, or date the plane ticket was issued (not necessarily the travel date) to get proper conversion.

Foreign Visitors, Reimbursement Payments to

• Foreign visitors must include additional documentation with reimbursement request: completed LA-6 form and copies of the visitor’s passport and visa, and a copy of the I-94 Arrival/Departure card that is stapled into the passport upon entering the US and removed upon leaving the US.
• If the payee is a US citizen but is being reimbursed for expenses paid for a foreign visitor, such as airfare or lodging, the documents listed above must be included with the backup documents.
• The Fly America Act requires that travel for Stanford that is funded by government contract or grant must be on a US carrier. The Act applies to visitors traveling to Stanford from a foreign country.

Gifts

• Retirement and years of service gifts that comply with University policy are not tax-reportable. (See Administrative Guide Memo 23.8 Section 3) Other gifts (not retirement or years of service gifts) that are valued at more than $50 are tax-reportable, and reimbursement requests must include the payee’s social security number and home address for tax purposes.

Human Subjects

• If individual payments are $100 or more, or, if the recipient will receive payments totaling $600 or more in the calendar year, social security numbers and home addresses for the subjects are required when requesting reimbursement.

Moving / House Hunting Expenses

• Some expenses are subject to tax reporting and will be submitted to Payroll (see Administrative Guide Memo 36.8 for more information)

Travel

Specific Policy Pertaining to Travel

Category	Policy
Airfare	Travelers should book “lowest available airfare” – see Administrative Guide Memo 36.7 Section 3 for criteria. Amounts over lowest available fare should be charged to an unallowable expenditure type and unrestricted PTA. If airfare is charged to a government contract or grant, flights must be booked on a US carrier per the Fly America Act. Compliance with this Act takes precedence over booking the lowest available fare. Business class is allowed for flights over 8 hours, but any cost over the lowest available fare must be charged to unallowable expenditure type and unrestricted account (or 1/3 allowable, 2/3 unallowable).
Car Rental	Stanford carries blanket car rental insurance policy for travelers. Travelers should not accept any other insurance for car rental within the continental US. Outside of the continental US (including Hawaii and Alaska), traveler should accept insurance. Prorated cost of car rental during personal days must be deducted from reimbursable expenses.
Lodging	Travelers are expected to use lodging that is necessary and reasonable, selecting the lowest standard room rates available. No overnight stay is allowed when traveling 50 miles or less each way from Stanford or from home, whichever is farthest.
Laundry	Laundry is a reimbursable expense only if the business trip exceeds 6 days.
Meals During Business Travel	You may claim actual meal expenses or per diem based on city visited. If claiming actual expense reimbursement for meals, receipts for amounts over $75 are required. When claiming meal per diem and purchasing a business meal for a guest, only the guest’s meal may be claimed. Tips cannot exceed 20 percent unless there is a mandatory charge for a large group. When a meal(s) is provided by a conference, deduct partial per diem. See instructions at the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) web site. No meals or per diem may be claimed for one-day travel (when there is no overnight stay).
Personal Auto Use	Use shuttle instead of personal auto if two travelers are making the same two round trips to airport, or one traveler is making round trip plus parking for short trips. Auto mileage + parking should be comparable to shuttle costs. Mileage from home to airport may be claimed when traveling weekends or outside business hours: otherwise, mileage is the distance from Stanford to the airport. For local travel or errands, keep a log with date, odometer readings and destination. Driving in lieu of flying cannot exceed the cost of airfare plus ground transportation.
Required Documentation for Travel Reimbursement	An itinerary receipt for airfare, showing proof of payment, from a travel agency, airline, or online booking tool. Itemized hotel bill for lodging (if claiming actual expenses reimbursement). Receipts for meals and other miscellaneous expenses, i.e. taxis and shuttles, costing over $75. If no itemized receipt is submitted for a meal, traveler must indicate amount of alcohol included, or state that there was no alcohol included in the meal. Itemized car rental agreement for a car rental expense. Amount submitted for reimbursement should not include charges for insurance unless in Hawaii or a foreign country. Receipts should include proof of payment. A credit card statement is proof of payment but does not qualify as an itemized receipt.

Primary Policy Sources

Administrative Guide Memo 36.4, 36.6 and 36.7