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Printable Version of Sections 300-10 through 300-26
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Policy and Procedure ManualChapter 300, Travel and Transportation Responsible Department: Accounting & Financial Services See Section 300-10, Travel Policy Overview, for forms, quick links, and references. Prepaid expenses such as transportation tickets and conference fees may be billed directly to the University. However, except as provided in Sections 300-19, (group subsistence expenses), 300-25 (prospective employees), and 300-24, (students), travelers are prohibited from charging travel-related lodging, meals, or miscellaneous expenses directly to the University. These expenses must be paid by the traveler when they are incurred, and a claim for reimbursement submitted at the conclusion of the trip. A. Employees who travel on official University business may be issued a corporate travel card. B. The corporate travel card is to be used for official University business only. C. Any traveler issued such a corporate travel card is required to use the card to pay for all expenses related to official University business, including lodging and subsistence, except where the card is not accepted and as provided in III below. D. The cardholder will be billed directly for all expenses charged to the corporate travel card. The cardholder is personally responsible for paying all charges on the corporate travel card and for keeping the card current. The University will not reimburse or pay late fee charges incurred in connection with the corporate travel card. Corporate travel card payment delinquencies may result in the cancellation of the traveler's card or other corrective action. E. University employees who travel on behalf of the University may apply for a card by completing the US Bank Visa Corporate Card Application (http://accounting.ucdavis.edu/forms/). F. The corporate travel card is valid only while an individual is employed with the University, may be canceled at the discretion of the University, and must be relinquished to the employee's department upon termination from employment. Travel and cash advances should be handled via the US Bank Central Travel System (CTS) account for advance airfare purchases and/or the US Bank Visa Corporate Card. (CTS is a central campus account available to departments to charge airfare. Departments may apply for a CTS account by completing the CTS Application, available at http://accounting.ucdavis.edu/forms/). A. Purchase of transportation tickets Transportation tickets should be procured in advance in order to obtain any discounts offered by the carrier. Tickets should be purchased from the appropriate transportation service or through local travel agencies and billed directly to the traveler's departmental CTS account. B. Cash advances 1. Use of corporate travel card Travelers are required to use their corporate travel card to obtain cash advances, unless they have been granted an exception. Reasonable fees charged for obtaining a cash advance using the corporate travel card are eligible for reimbursement. a. Cash advances using the corporate travel card can be obtained at Visa Member Bank locations and/or at any of the PLUS and VISA ATMs. There is a 2.5% or $2 minimum/$10 maximum fee for each cash advance. Reimbursable cash advance fees will be limited to two fees within 7 days. It is recommended that ATM cash withdrawals be at least $80 so that no more than the 2.5% effective rate is absorbed. b. The original receipt(s) should accompany the advance requests of travelers who have incurred credit card expenses that must be paid before the trip is completed. A copy of the advance request must be retained for submission with the Travel Expense Voucher. Accounts Payable Request for Corporate Card Advance Payment is available on the web at http://travel.ucdavis.edu/forms.cfm. 2. Eligibility a. Travelers who cannot obtain a cash advance through a corporate travel card may request a cash advance under the following circumstances:
b. The traveler must forward a written request (Accounts Payable Request for Document Action form, http://accounting.ucdavis.edu/Forms/) that must include the justification reason for the advance, the inclusive dates of the trip, a reasonable estimate of the out-of-pocket expenses to be incurred during the trip, and the DaFIS Direct Charge document number initiated for the payment. 3. Issuance Cash advances must be issued within 30 days of when an expense is to be paid or incurred in order to satisfy IRS regulations and to meet the University's cash management objectives. Travel advances are for payment of travel expenses in connection with official University business when such expenses, exclusive of transportation costs, are expected to be $50 or more. The amount requested shall not exceed the estimated out-of-pocket expenses to be incurred on the trip. 4. Denial of cash advance Cash advances should not be authorized under the following circumstances:
Since a traveler should have only one outstanding cash advance at a time per trip, each advance should be accounted for before another advance is granted. C. Canceled or postponed trips 1. When it is determined that reservations will not be used, it is the traveler's responsibility to cancel them in compliance with the cancellation terms established by the hotel, airline, conference, and so forth. The traveler must return any refundable deposits to the University. 2. A nonrefundable ticket associated with a canceled trip must be used for the employee's next trip. 3. Charges or lost refunds resulting from failure to cancel reservations shall not be reimbursed unless the traveler can show that such failure resulted from circumstances beyond the traveler's control. D. Completed trips The traveler must account for the total amount of all expenses and advances by submitting a Travel Expense Voucher within 21 days of completion of the trip. If the amount advanced is less than the expenses reported on the voucher, the traveler will be paid the difference. If the advance exceeds the reimbursable expenses, the traveler shall submit with the Travel Expense Voucher a check for the excess, payable to "UC Regents." The traveler must submit a Travel Expense Voucher even if he or she is not owed any additional reimbursement to document the business purpose for which the advance was issued. E. Delinquent travel advances Sixty days after a trip is completed, Accounting & Financial Services will initiate action to recover any outstanding cash advances. Any advances that cannot be recovered from the traveler will be charged to the account indicated on the Accounts Payable Request for Document Action form originally submitted for the advance. 1. Action to recover Recovery may be initiated through the use of a collection agency or, when the employee has agreed in writing, by deduction from wages or other amounts due the traveler. 2. Tax considerations a. Cash advances If the employee fails to substantiate expenses and to return any unused cash advance amounts within 120 days after the completion of a trip, the University is obligated under IRS regulations to consider such amounts as income to the employee. The amount of unsubstantiated expenses and unrecovered advances will be reported through the payroll system as additional wages to the employee no later than the first payroll period following the end of the 120-day period. The income and applicable employment taxes on the additional wages are to be withheld from the employee's regular earnings. No refund of such taxes or adjustment to gross income shall be made with respect to any substantiation or reimbursement received from the employee after the 120-day period. b. Non-cash advances Travel payments, such as registration fees or airline tickets, made to a vendor on behalf of an employee who has not submitted a Travel Expense Voucher within the 120-day period are not reportable as income to the employee provided the expenses are ordinary and necessary business expenses. This requirement will be satisfied if the payment procedures (e.g., Accounts Payable Request for Document Action form) substantiate the time, place, and business purpose of the trip. Copyright © 2006 The Regents of the
University of California, Davis Campus. All Rights Reserved. |
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