GAP 200.022, Travel Expenses - Employees and Students

Procedure:
GAP 200.022, Travel Expenses - Employees and Students

Related Materials:
Corporate Card Manual
Travel Forms

Effective Date:
October 1997

Review/Revision History:
March 2002
August 2003
May 2004
November 2004
September 2005
December 2005
April 2008
July 2010
August 2010
October 2010

  1. General
  2. Using the Corporate Card
  3. Completing the Travel Expense Form
  4. Receipts and Documentation
  5. Relocation Expenses
  6. Travel Policy

 

 

I. GENERAL

Within budgetary constraints, Duke will reimburse necessary and reasonable expenses incurred during properly authorized travel for employees and students. For the reimbursement of other individuals, complete an Accounts Payable Check Request in accordance with GAP 200.136, Accounts Payable Check Request.

Employee and student travel costs can be paid three ways:

  • The traveler can use his/her corporate card to pay for travel expenses.
  • The traveler can pay for expenses out-of-pocket and be reimbursed after the completion of the trip by submitting the Travel Expense Form.
  • Students may request a travel advance for Duke related business trips. In limited circumstances, employees may be eligible to request a travel advance. Refer to GAP 200.023, Travel Advance.

Employees who submit reimbursement requests on a regular basis (i.e. at least once per quarter) should accumulate their expenses until the sum of the amount owed to the employee equals $25 or more before submitting a reimbursement request.

 

II. USING THE CORPORATE CARD

If the traveler has a corporate card with travel privileges, the corporate card should be used to pay for travel related expenses. Certain travel related expenses paid with the corporate card require itemized receipts. These receipts (refer to Section IV below) must be sent to the department’s WORKS Administrator, noting:

  • Traveler’s name
  • Departure date and time
  • Return date and time
  • Destination
  • Business purpose
  • G/L account code to be charged

The WORKS Administrator must note this information in the corporate card software application (WORKS).

If all the charges for a particular trip are paid via corporate card, a travel expense form must be completed, approved, and submitted to Employee Travel & Reimbursement.

For further information on corporate card procedures, refer to GAP 200.024, Corporate Card or the Corporate Card Manual.

 

III. COMPLETING THE TRAVEL EXPENSE FORM

The Travel Expense Form and instructions are available to be downloaded.

For assistance with completing the Travel Expense Form, please contact Employee Travel & Reimbursement by email at EmployeeTravel at duke.edu or by phone at 681-0208.

A. GENERAL INFORMATION

The General information area of the form contains the information about the payee and the nature of the trip. The following are general guidelines for completing the form.

The Duke Unique ID
The Duke Unique ID is required. For assistance in determining an individual’s Duke Unique ID, see https://directory.duke.edu/dsgw/bin/search?context=dsgw on the Duke Website.

Departure Time/Return Time
The departure and return time should be when the payee leaves/returns to home or work. This, in general, is not the departure time/return time of a flight or other ticketed travel. Use military time to indicate departure/return time on the form.

Trip Type 
The trip type determines the general ledger account (G/L account) that will be charged for most trip expenses (i.e. lodging, meals, transportation, incidental living expenses, registration fees, etc.).  Below are the various Trip Types and the corresponding G/L accounts to which expenses will be charged.

  • Domestic Travel – 698600
  • International Travel – 698700
  • Development Domestic Travel – 699000
  • Development International Travel - 699100

Domestic and International Trip Types should be used for travel costs associated with Education, Research and/or Patient Care functions of Duke.

Development Trip Types should be used for travel costs associated with Development, Fund Raising, Alumni Meetings, Student Recruitment and Public Relations. 

Direct Deposit
Employees and student employees receiving payroll payments via direct deposit will receive travel reimbursements via direct deposit. They will receive an e-mail notification when the funds will be deposited or transferred to their bank or credit union account.

Check Pick Up
Employee and student checks may be picked up at the University Cashiers Office, located in the Smith Warehouse, 114 S. Buchanan Blvd., Bay 8, Room B103. .  Employees and student employees will receive an email notification when checks are available for pick up.  The individual picking  up the check must present a valid Duke Identification.

B. DISTRIBUTION OF CHARGES

This section identifies the Cost Object(s) that are charged as travel expenses. For each Cost Object to be charged, include:

  • Cost Object
  • Distribution percentage
  • Cost Indicator (C for Cost Center, and W for WBS element)
  • Company Code (four digits)

The total must be split by percentage rather than by specific dollar amounts. If specific charges are to be posted to cost objects different than those listed in Section B, indicate so in the optional (grey) portion of Section D - Misc. Daily Expenses.

C. REGISTRATION AND TRANSPORTATION EXPENSES

Expense Types:
Travel Expense Types are used to identify the types of expenses incurred during a trip (i.e. lodging, meals, transportation, incidental living expenses, registration fees, etc.).  The Trip Type selected in Section A will determine the G/L account to be charged for most Expense Types selected for a trip.    There are a limited number of Expense Types that may be used to charge other types of expenses incurred during a trip (i.e. business meetings, social/entertainment expenses, recruitment expenses, etc.) to different g/l accounts.  Please refer to the Travel Expense Form – Trip Types and Expense Types document for a detail listing of the Expense Types and the corresponding G/L accounts.  It is important that care is used when determining the proper expense type. For expenses paid with the corporate card, the Expense Type ends with a P, indicating the amount was prepaid.

Mileage Reimbursement:
For mileage reimbursement, an expense type is not indicated. The system will default to the appropriate travel G/L account, based on the trip activity type indicated in section A - General Information.

The two vehicle types are:

  • P – Personal
  • C – Courtesy (Athletic Department use only)

Note: Personal vehicle expenses are reimbursed at the current IRS mileage rate that covers all expenses, except parking fees and toll charges. Total miles allowed for travel to the airport on workdays is 32 miles round trip if parking at the airport during the trip or 64 miles (two round trips) if not parking. On Weekends/holidays, mileage is computed from your home to the airport. These calculations are based on IRS regulations.

D. MISC. DAILY EXPENSES

Across the top of each column, indicate the dates of the trip. If the trip was more than seven days, complete and attach an additional form. All forms completed should be stapled together with the receipts and submitted as one to Employee Travel & Reimbursement.

In the Expense Type & Description Column, enter:

  • The appropriate expense type and a brief description.
  • Indicate the incurred expense type for each day. (Meals that include alcohol must be coded to expense type ENT or ENTP Entertainment/Social Expense.)

Specific Expensing of Individual Items
For items to be specifically expensed to a cost object(s) other than that indicated in section B - Distribution of Charges, enter:

  • A receipt number associated with the specific amount.
  • In section C - Registration and Transportation Expenses, enter the receipt number in the small box to the right of the amount.
  • In section D - Misc. Daily Expenses, enter the receipt number in the field indicated.
  • In the Optional section (grey), indicate the receipt number, distribution percentage, cost object to be charged, cost indicator (C for Cost Center or W for WBS element) and company code.

Foreign Travel Per Diem
For foreign travel, a per diem may be used in lieu of documentation. If the foreign per diem option is chosen, complete the Foreign Travel Per Diem line. The Foreign Per Diem line requires a rate for meals and incidentals and a separate rate for lodging. It also requires a number of days for meals and incidentals and a number of days for lodging. The meals and incidentals number of days must take into consideration the departure and return times per the following guidelines, the days must be adjusted accordingly:

Day of Departure:

  • Depart after 8:30 a.m. – 80% of total
  • Depart after 1 p.m. – 50 % of total
  • Depart after 7 p.m. – 0% of total

Day of Return:

  • Return prior to 6 a.m. – 0% of total
  • Return prior to 11 a.m. – 20 % of total
  • Return prior to 5:30 p.m. – 50% of total

The foreign travel per diem rates and actual expenses may not be interchanged. One option should be chosen for the duration of the trip. Students are not eligible to use the foreign travel per diem.

The Foreign Travel Per Diem rates used are the current federal rates.

Entertaining/Business Meetings
Entertainment and Business Meetings (expense types ENT, ENTP, BM, and BMP) require additional information. List the names of persons attending, their business relationship to Duke and the Duke related business purpose in the space provided.  Receipts are required for all entertainment and business meeting expenses, regardless of the amount.

Note: In order for a meeting to be considered "business related," the meeting must be properly planned with a specific agenda and defined business objectives. Meals or refreshments that are incidental to and a continuation of the business purpose of the meeting are allowable charges to expense type BM or BMP. These costs are not allowable in support of federally sponsored projects unless they have been specifically approved by the funding agency.

E. TOTAL EXPENSES

TOTAL Column
The TOTAL column is formula driven and will pick up the total of all expenses listed. At the bottom of the TOTAL column is the total expenses box. It is also formula driven and adds all the amounts in the TOTAL column.

If the form is being filled out as a paper document and not an Excel document, indicate the total for each row of sections C and D in the TOTAL column and calculate the total expenses in the TOTAL column.

Less Prepaid Charges
Enter the total amount of expenses charged to a corporate card (all expense types ending in P).

Less excess departmental allocation
Enter the amount of expenses that will not be covered (example: amounts reimbursed by non-Duke sources or amounts not authorized by the department).

Total Reimbursable Expenses
If completing the form in Excel, this formula subtracts corporate card charges and other expenses that will not be reimbursed from Total Expenses. If completing the form as a paper document, calculate the total reimbursable expenses.


F. REIMBURSEMENT AMOUNT

Less Travel Advance
In the total column, enter the amount of the travel advance.

Amount Due Duke
If the travel advance exceeds the "Total Reimbursable Expenses," enter the amount owed to Duke. Include a check for this amount with the Travel Expense Form, or a Bursar's receipt if the amount has already been deposited at the University Cashiers Office. Do not send cash with your Travel Expense Form - cash is accepted only at the University Cashiers Office. When depositing at the University Cashiers Office, make sure to deposit against your advance, not your department's account.

Amount Due Payee
If the "Total Reimbursable Expenses" exceeds the travel advance (or there is no advance), enter the amount owed to the payee.

G. APPROVALS

  • Payee Signature: The payee must sign the certification statement. Enter the payee's department and date signed. In the rare situation when a payee is unavailable, someone with first hand knowledge of the expenses incurred may sign.
  • Approved By:The Travel Expense Form must be approved and signed by the person to whom the traveler reports or, for grants, the principal investigator. The form cannot be approved by the Payee or a person who reports to the Payee.
  • Prepared by: Print or type the name and telephone number of the person to contact in case there are any questions.

FORM DISTRIBUTION

Send the completed form with required receipts (Do not send corporate card receipts) to Employee Travel & Reimbursement, Box 104144 Durham, NC 27708.

If the expense is charged to a 3xx WBS element (except 36x and 39x), send a duplicate copy of the form and retain a copy for your department records.

 

IV. RECEIPTS AND DOCUMENTATION

For domestic travel, travelers may be reimbursed for actual expenses only. When using the corporate card, travelers are to retain receipts for the following expenses incurred during a trip:

  • Airfare/rail/bus
  • Lodging
  • Registration fees
  • Business meetings/meals
  • Social/entertainment expenses
  • Recruiting meals with applicants
  • Any other travel related expenses with a cost of  $50 or more

Receipts for corporate card transactions should not be turned in with the Travel Expense Form. The departmental WORKS administrator is responsible for keeping all required corporate card receipts.

Receipts are required for all travel expenses paid with personal funds.

GROUP TRAVEL - For group travel the following information is required for each traveler:

  • Name (if traveler is not a Duke employee, provide name of related Duke employee)
  • Business purpose for each traveler
  • Amount of directly attributable expenses

The Group Travel form may be used for this purpose. Adequate supporting documentation is required for each individual participating in a group travel event just as is the case for individual travel.

The following list indicates the type of backup that should be submitted with the Travel Expense Form.

  • Air/rail/bus - original ticket stub/passenger receipt coupon or airline receipt if ticketless travel
  • Rental car - original itemized receipt/contract
  • Hotel/motel - original detailed folio
  • Registration fees - receipt, cancelled check or registration form stating fee. Employees may be reimbursed for registration fees prior to attending the conference.
  • Traveler’s meals - original itemized receipt for meals purchased with personal funds or for meals purchased with the corporate card costing $50 or more. Original, itemized receipts are required for business meals, recruiting meals, and entertainment expenses, regardless of the amount or the method of payment.
  • Other travel expenses - original receipt for expenses paid with personal funds or for expenses purchased with the corporate card costing $50 or more.

Lost Receipts
If a receipt is lost, or for the rare occasions when it is not possible to obtain a required receipt , the payee should complete a Lost Receipt Form. The use of this form is expected to be on an exception basis and not a common occurrence.

 

V. RELOCATION EXPENSES

With appropriate approvals, employees may be reimbursed for relocation expenses. Reimbursement requests, using the Travel Expense Form, should be sent to Employee Travel & Reimbursement. On the Travel Expense Form, indicate activity type R – Relocation. Payment is issued by Corporate Payroll Services in the employee’s next regularly scheduled payroll payment. New employees must be set up on payroll in order to receive reimbursement for relocation expenses.

Per 1/1/94 IRS (Internal Revenue Service) regulations, the following costs are "qualified moving expenses" and are not taxable:

  • Reasonable costs of moving household goods and personal items from former to new residence (i.e., cost of a moving van).
  • Reasonable costs of travel and lodging from old location to new. If traveling by car, the actual costs (gas, tolls) can be reimbursed, or the IRS relocation mileage rate. The first night's lodging at the new location (i.e., Durham) is also allowed.
  • Storage for household goods before the actual move (up to 30 days).

The following costs are "non-qualified moving expenses" and are taxable to the individual if they are reimbursed. Federal and state income taxes and FICA will be withheld from these relocation expenses:

  • Meals
  • Temporary living expenses at new location
  • Pre-move house hunting trips
  • House selling or purchase costs
  • Any payment not substantiated by receipts or invoices
  • Storage for household goods over 30 days
  • All other expenses not listed as "qualified" by the IRS

VI. TRAVEL POLICY

For more detail please refer to the Travel policy on the Employee Travel website.