Division of Financial Services
Travel
Terms apply to sabbatical reimbursements because the IRS presumes these provide a personal, not an institutional, benefit. As a result, documentation for certain travel expenses, including long-term lodging, meals, or daily transportation expenses, must substantiate whether sabbatical or academic leaves are business-related or personal.
Before Cornell can reimburse sabbatical expenses, the dean’s office and the department chair must approve in advance the fully justified expenses in a sabbatical plan.
You must provide documentation for all payments as required elsewhere in this policy. In addition, where long-term housing is provided on a non-taxable basis, you must attest that at least 75% of the days are devoted to Cornell business. You bear the risk of substantiating this for the IRS, if necessary.
The costs of traveling to and from the sabbatical site will generally be covered based on available funds. At the discretion of the unit or as provided by a sponsored award, you may be reimbursed for lodging and other expenses incurred at the sabbatical location. As defined in the table below, certain allowances must be processed through the payroll system and will be taxable income to you, the traveler.
Cornell will reimburse you for a reasonable number of short-term business trips for research, conferences, and meetings during the sabbatical leave if they are necessary and directly related to your area of study or undertaken to perform a study or research that you cannot do elsewhere.
If you travel beyond one year, all payments are taxable and must be reported to Payroll for taxation. If you don’t complete the post-sabbatical service requirement for other than health-related reasons (for example, by leaving to accept a position at another university), you must return the travel reimbursement to the university. This requirement cannot be waived.
The following table shows the types of sabbatical expenditures that are allowable. This table assumes that all travel is for one year or less.
| Does Cornell Allow? | Can Sponsor Override? | Does Cornell Allow Dependent Costs? | Can Sponsor Override? | Taxable? | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Transportation to Sabbatical Site | Yes, based on available funds. | N/A | Only for medical needs or pursuant to the dependent care program. | Yes. | No for employee. Yes, for any dependent travel. |
| Housing at Sabbatical Site | At the college’s discretion. | Yes. | Only for medical needs or pursuant to the dependent care program. | Yes. | Housing for the employee is not taxable. Additional costs for dependents, if permitted, is taxable. |
| Food (per diem or reimbursed) | No. | Yes, not to exceed 50% of prevailing per diem rates. | No. | No. | Yes. |
| Shipping of Personal Goods | No. | Yes. | No. | No. | Yes. |
| Personal Car (rental or shipping) | No. | Yes. However, personal use of a vehicle may not be reimbursed. | N/A | N/A | The reimbursed cost of driving a personal car to a sabbatical is not taxable. Shipping a car is taxable to the employee. Use of a vehicle for business purposes, including travel to the worksite is not taxable. |
| Personal Items (e.g. furniture, clothing, luggage, backpacks) | No. | No. | No. | No. | N/A |
| Special Conditions (need to be driven by business need) | Contact the SSC, which will coordinate with DFS to determine permissibility. | N/A | N/A | N/A | Contact the SSC, which will coordinate with DFS to determine taxability. |
