The university pays directly or reimburses individuals for expenses that are necessary and appropriate to conduct university business. Key considerations and associated processes are found in Business and Travel Expenses. The university outlines its core responsibility, guiding principles and IRS regulations with regard to Business and Travel Expense policy in Administrative Guide Memo 5.4.2.
Definition
A travel meal is defined as an ordinary and necessary meal that occurs while traveling on university business. The primary purpose for reimbursing a travel meal is to defray the cost of meal expenses when traveling. Unlike a business meal, no additional business justification is needed for a travel meal as long as the meal occurs within the business travel period, because it is covered by the business purpose of that trip. The university does not pay for the cost of meals related to an employee’s commute.
The cost of the travel meal must still be deemed reasonable under university and department guidelines, including the university's established maximums for travel meal reimbursement.
Travel Period
For guidance related to travel period, including long-term travel (trips of 30 days or longer), visit Business and Travel Expenses.
Group Travel Meals
A group travel meal is when a group of Stanford employees, affiliates or colleagues who are travelling together or attending the same conference share an ordinary and necessary meal. In this example, the meal must be classified as a travel meal, unless it meets the additional requirements of a business meal with a clearly documented business purpose.
Group travel meals cannot be reimbursed through the per diem method, so group travel meals should adhere to the per person single travel meal limits. The meal would be expensed by one participant and the travel meal cost would be deducted from each of the attendees' expense reports accordingly. The Deducting Provided Meals section on this page provides reasonable guidance for individual meals.
In the Expense Requests System, include the names of employees that participated in the group travel meal. The attendee list can be entered by listing them directly in the transaction or by attaching the list as a supporting document.
Roles and Responsibilities
It is the responsibility of the individual incurring the travel meal and those involved in the preparation and approval of the reimbursement request or financial transaction to exercise good stewardship of university funds and to adhere to university policies. The individual incurring the expense and the appropriate administrator must ensure that all costs are in compliance with university travel and business expense policies prior to purchasing. These roles and responsibilities are outlined in Reimbursements & Expense Requests.
To support administrative efficiency, the Stanford Travel Card (TCard) is the preferred payment method for travel costs unless the traveler will choose the per diem reimbursement method, in which case the TCard should not be used for those costs (e.g., meals that will be reimbursed to the traveler at the per diem rate). Alternatively, personal funds may be used and a request for reimbursement can be submitted after the trip. When personal funds are used, there are different reimbursement options available depending on who is traveling and the funding source, described further in the sections below.
The per diem reimbursement method uses a fixed daily rate (set amount) which varies by specific location as established by the United States (U.S.) government. The per diem rates are used to reimburse eligible travelers for their incurred travel expenses. Read more about per diem rates, documentation, and system entry on Business and Travel Expenses.
The daily maximum method allows eligible Stanford travelers who are traveling on non-sponsored funds to be reimbursed for their actual expenses up to a daily maximum described below. Stanford travelers are not required to attach receipts in the Expense Requests System unless there is an individual expense of $75 or more, although schools and units may require all receipts to be attached at their local discretion.
For more information on visitor travel payment and reimbursement methods, visit Business and Travel Expenses.
The maximums cover the actual per person cost for the meal (inclusive of food, alcohol, sales tax, and tip).
The maximums do not include Living Wage (Cost of Living) fees. These fees are automatically added to dining bills by some restaurants to compensate for high labor costs, ongoing labor shortages and increasing food costs. They may be listed on a receipt as Wellness fees, Dining-in fees, or Health care fees.
| Travel Type | Daily Maximum Per Person As of January 16, 2025 |
|---|---|
| Domestic travel (as well as the rates for Alaska, Hawaii, U.S. territories and possessions) | Total actuals up to $110, based on these per-meal maximums:
|
| Foreign travel | Total actuals up to $160, based on these per-meal maximums:
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When a meal is provided as part of a conference, included in a hotel rate, transportation fare, or is part of an event or meeting where another party pays for the cost, a deduction must be made from the applicable reimbursement method. This includes when a business meal occurs while traveling.
Deducting from Per Diem Method
When reporting travel meal per diem expenses in the Expense Requests System, checkboxes are available to deduct a provided meal. The system will automatically deduct the portion of the applicable per diem rate. The deductible amount varies based on the rate for the applicable city and may be found at the GSA website.
Deducting from Daily Maximum Method
When reporting expenses with the travel meals daily maximum option, use the per-meal maximum shown in the Daily Maximum (Actuals) Method section above.