|
Comptroller's Office
Guidelines For Travel Advances And
Substantiation Of Travel Expenses
TRAVEL ADVANCES
A travel advance will be issued in an amount up to the estimated
out-of-pocket reimbursable expenses upon receipt of a properly executed
travel voucher. To obtain a travel advance, a travel voucher must be
completed through item 3.G., signed by both the traveler and by an
individual authorized for the general ledger account being charged, and
forwarded to Pre-Audit. The travel voucher must be received at least two
weeks prior to the scheduled departure from Syracuse.
A travel advance will not be issued more than two weeks before an
employee's travel departure date. Within four weeks after the conclusion
of a trip, the completed travel voucher including the detail of daily
expenditures and receipts are required to be submitted to the Comptroller's
Office for settlement of actual travel costs. If actual costs exceed the
advance, the traveler will be issued a check for the difference. If the
actual costs are less than the advance, the traveler will remit the
difference, by check (no cash please), to the University along with the
completed travel voucher.
A researcher who will be conducting research outside of the United
States may request an advance of cash
to support the research expenditures as well as the travel expenditures.
To obtain this type of advance, an employee expense voucher must be
submitted to Sponsored Accounting at least two weeks prior to the
scheduled departure from Syracuse.
Although the normal requirement is that all advances be substantiated
within 4 weeks of the conclusion of the travel, for ongoing projects
requiring extended periods of travel, Sponsored Accounting will work with
you to arrange a mutually agreeable schedule for submitting receipts and
worksheets during the course of the project.
Travel advance requests received for individuals having existing advances
that are overdue (not settled within four weeks after the conclusion of a
trip) will be denied. Repeated overdue settlement may also result in the
denial of advances.
SUBSTANTIATION OF TRAVEL EXPENSES
All travel expenses submitted in support of business travel for
the University should be on a University travel voucher and include:
- Individual(s)
- Date
- Place
- Amount
- Business Purpose
- In accordance with
recent Internal Revenue Service rulings receipts must be
obtained for the following:
- Hotel/Lodging - detailed
hotel folio is required
- Any other
business/travel expenditure for $75.00 or more
- Expenditures for
less than $75.00, though not requiring receipts, do require
substantiation of business purpose.
In addition, certain Sponsored Accounts,
may have their own specific receipt requirements, based on the
sponsor guidelines or the sponsor award document.
It is preferred that receipts be taped to 8 1/2 x 11 sheets of
paper, sorted in day order, and stapled to the travel voucher.
The University does not reimburse
travelers via a per diem rate. The University's policy is one of
full reimbursement for reasonable business travel costs.
When sponsored awards limit reimbursement to set per diem rates, a
statement appears on the project brief/sponsor regulation form
indicating that a per diem rate limitation is applicable. The
University still requires the traveler to submit receipts. Questions
regarding specific sponsored accounts can be addressed to Sponsored
Accounting at x2059.
AIRLINES
In order to reduce the traveler's out-of-pocket expense for
airfare, it is recommended that the University be billed directly by
the travel agency or airline. This is accomplished by completing a
travel voucher through item number 3.A., indicating that the airline
tickets are to be charged to the University via the designated
travel agency, and faxing (sending) the form to Pre-Audit (x2094).
You will be contacted with a travel order number for you to give to
the travel agent when ordering the ticket. You should also enter this
number on your travel voucher.
Reimbursement is made for less than first class accommodations only.
Prior approval is required for a foreign-flag air carrier when
travel is charged to a sponsored account. Contact the
Office of Sponsored Programs at x2807 to request sponsor approval.
An explanation is required for airline routing to cities that are
not a part of the regular routing or business purpose of the trip or
for dates of travel beyond the time frame of the business travel.
The explanation should include a quote of the cost (identifying the
source of the quote) for a direct flight to the business
destination.
FOREIGN CURRENCY EXCHANGE
When receipted travel costs are in a foreign currency, the
following additional information is required for each receipt:
- Date of payment
- Description of
expense (hotel, dinner, toll, etc.)
- Amount in the
foreign currency and the U.S. dollar equivalent amount
- Rate of exchange
- Source of rate of
exchange
The format in which the information is
submitted can vary, depending on the length of the trip and the
number of foreign currencies involved. It is preferred that a
worksheet be provided for trips with more than twenty receipts.
Absent specific documentation, such as a copy of a credit card
statement showing the actual converted amount, or receipts from the
currency exchanger, you can use Oanda Currency Converter, accessible
on the Internet at http://www.oanda.com/convert/classic
to convert each receipt for the dates that expenses were incurred.
It is recommended that you document with a receipt the exchange of
all your funds into the local currency, since the published rate may
represent a less favorable rate than you actually received.
If you have questions please call x2484.
TAXATION
The Internal Revenue Service requires that travel expenses
for which an advance has been received or which has been directly
paid for by the employer must be substantiated within a reasonable time
after the expenses are incurred. By law, expenses that are not
substantiated timely must be included in the employee's current
taxable income, subject to tax withholding, and must be reported on
the employee's Form W-2 as taxable income. The University policy of a 4 calendar week substantiation, will generally
prevent this occurrence.
Internal Revenue Service regulations also state that only temporary
travel reimbursements are not taxable. The reimbursement of
indefinite travel is taxable to the traveler. The following examples
highlight possible situations:
TEMPORARY TRAVEL - NON TAXABLE
If a person's employment away from home in a single location
for a period is realistically expected to last one year or
less and in fact does last for that period, then the employment is
generally considered temporary.
INDEFINITE TRAVEL - TAXABLE
If a person's employment away from home in a single location
is realistically expected to last for more than one year, or
there is no expectation that the employment will last one year or
less, then the employment is indefinite, regardless of the
fact that the actual travel may not exceed one year.
If a person's employment away from home in a single location is
realistically expected to last for one year or less, but at some
later date the expectation becomes more than one year, the
employment will generally be treated as temporary until the date
the taxpayer's realistic expectations change.
FORM INFORMATION
The Travel Voucher form (stock #
CS07-0001) may be obtained from Central Stores.
Contact Information:
- Questions regarding advance,
reimbursement checks and non-sponsored accounts
Syracuse University
Disbursements Processing
E-mail: disburse@syr.edu
Phone: 443-2484 Fax: 443-2094
- Questions
regarding sponsored accounts
Syracuse University
Sponsored Accounting
E-mail: contacct@syr.edu
Phone: 443-2059 Fax: 443-2094
|
