Division of Financial Services
Travel
Travel exceeding 30 consecutive days is generally considered long-term travel. Individual colleges and units may use discretion according to the facts and circumstances to determine if a period of less than 30 days should be considered long-term travel.
If you expect to be traveling for one year or more (or for an indefinite period), your reimbursements for expenses, including travel, lodging, and meals, are taxable and must be reported to Payroll for taxation. When a reimbursement is taxable, units must not increase the net amount reimbursed to include deductions, such as taxes, that the receiver of the reimbursement would normally incur.
Reimbursement limits apply for the entire trip, not just the portion of the trip greater than 30 days. The dean or unit head must pre-approve any exceptions to these reimbursement limits before the trip begins.
If international travel exceeds one week, the IRS may require you to produce evidence that business activities made up 75 percent of your total days away from home. You should keep logs of daily business activities in your personal files. See International Travel for further requirements.
When research or other business requires you to live in a distant location for over 30 days, you are expected to find less expensive accommodations. For example, renting an apartment may cost less than a hotel. You will only be reimbursed for publicly accessible residences/places of lodging.
If you choose accommodations to allow family members to stay with you, only the cost of your own required accommodations is reimbursable. You must provide comparable lodging documentation to be reimbursed for the entire amount requested.
See Sabbatical and Similar Leaves and Hotels and Lodging for more details.
Travel meals and incidental expenses incurred during long-term travel will be reimbursed using per diem for the location as follows:
See also Sabbatical and Similar Leaves and Meals for more details.
