Handbook of Business Procedures

11.5.3. OTHER EXPENSES

A. Introduction

Some travel expenses other than transportation, meals, and lodging may be reimbursed. Both reimbursable and non-reimbursable expenses are listed.

B. Reimbursable Expenses

Following is a partial list of reimbursable expenses if they are incurred for an official state business reason:

• Admittance fees
• Airport boarding passes
• Books purchased for a seminar
• Copying charges
• Departure taxes
• Facsimile charges
• Foreign currency exchange charges
• Freight charges for state equipment
• Gasoline charges
• Global Entry Program fee - http://www.globalentry.gov/about.html (local non-26 accounts only)
• TSA Pre✓® Application Program fee - http://www.tsa.gov/tsa-precheckR-application-program (local non-26 accounts only)
• Hotel occupancy taxes
• Inoculations
• Mandatory lodging charges
• Mandatory service charges
• Money order charges
• Notary fees
• Parking (does not require receipts)
• Passport or visa charges
• Postage
• Registration fees
• Repair charges for state-owned vehicles
• Sales and use taxes if an exemption is not provided by law
• Telephone calls for business purpose (does not require receipts)
• Toll charges (does not require receipts)
• Traveler's check charges if the purchase is required

Voucher Requirements:

• Receipts are required, and expenses must be itemized.
• For telephone calls, the voucher must state that all the calls are business-related.

C. Non-Reimbursable Expenses

The following is a partial list of non-reimbursable expenses:

• Alcoholic beverages (Exception: When the travel reimbursement relates to incidental recruiting expenses and is reimbursed by a local account that allows alcohol purchases. Refer to the Entertainment and Official Occasions Expenditure Policy Chart for allowable local accounts.)
• Airline club dues
• Any expense not related to official state business
• Commuting expenses
• Dry cleaning or laundry
• Excess baggage charges for personal belongings
• Expenses related to the operation of a personally owned vehicle
• Hotel Gym
• Kennel expenses for a pet
• Locker rental for baggage storage
• Rental of videotapes for personal entertainment
• Sales and use taxes if the law provides an exemption
• Sauna Charges
• Tips or gratuities (state accounts only)
• Travel Insurance

D. Reimbursement for business-related tolls

An employee who pays cash for a business-related toll charge may be reimbursed for the toll as a miscellaneous incidental travel expense. If an employee chooses to purchase a toll tag, or TxTag, for added convenience when traveling, the employee may be reimbursed only for the portion of tolls incurred for business reasons. A department is not allowed to pay directly for a toll tag to be placed on an employee's personal vehicle because of the administrative difficulty in monitoring business versus personal toll expenses.

Departments may purchase toll tags for state-owned vehicles using the procurement card. Each department is responsible for ensuring its toll tags are not used for personal business. For more information see the Purchasing Procard Web site.

Purchasing

E. Reimbursement of Checked Baggage Fees

Some airlines have added fees for checked baggage. The State Comptroller's Office has now issued a statement about the reimbursement of those fees.

If an airline has a mandatory first bag fee for checked baggage, the expense is considered reimbursable as long as the bag meets airline weight requirements. Fees related to second bags are reimbursable only if the state agency or UT department verifies that the second bag is needed for business purposes and the bag meets weight requirements. If a second bag is used, documentation explaining why the baggage is necessary is required as part of travel approval.

For baggage fee reimbursements on both state and local accounts, the reimbursement voucher must contain a receipt for the baggage charge along with an explanation identifying the business purpose of any additional bags. Any reimbursement for overweight baggage must be accompanied by the additional explanation of the business purpose that required any weight overage.

Contact oa.travel@austin.utexas.edu for any questions.

Part 11. Travel - Table of Contents