UHCL Travel Office

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UHCL Travel Office

• Welcome!

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Agenda

• Travel Office Services
• IRS Regulations
• Basic Procedures
• Guidelines
• Travel Dos and Don'ts
• Reimbursement
• Required Paperwork
• How to Contact Us
• Online Resources
• Checklist
• Questions Answers

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Travel Office Services

• Process Travel Authorizations
• Prepare Travel Reimbursement Vouchers
• Give price quote information on air and per diem
  rates. This information is also located on our
  website
• Make air arrangements for employees, prospective
  employees and students traveling on behalf of UHCL

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IRS Regulations

• Personal and business domestic travel
• New IRS Regulation on domestic travel when
  combining personal travel with official business
  travel within the United States In accordance
  to IRS Publication 463, Treasury Regulations,
  Subchapter A, Sec. 1.162-2 When the number of
  days spent on business activities is less than
  or equal to the number of days spent on personal
  activities the cost of traveling to/from the
  destination (airfare, mileage to/from airport,
  airport parking, etc.) may not be directly
  charged to the university or reimbursed. Only
  expenses that are directly related to conducting
  university business may be charged to or
  reimbursed by the university, such as lodging and
  meals on days spent on business activities, and
  local transportation costs to/from business
  meetings.
• More details and examples may be found
  http//www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p463.pdf
• This does not apply to foreign travel.

• 60 Calendar Days Rule Reimbursed as Taxable
  Income
• Employees, prospective employees, and students
  must submit their travel request for
  reimbursement, including required documentation
  with original receipts, to the travel office no
  later than 60 calendar days after travel is
  completed. In accordance with Internal Revenue
  Service requirements for an accountable plan (IRS
  Publication 463), all reimbursement requests
  submitted to the Travel office after the 60
  calendar days will be treated as taxable income
  to the payee. This does not apply to local
  mileage.
• Non-overnight transportation is not taxable,
  regardless of destination.

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Basic Procedures

• Only the new Travel Authorization Forms and
  Expense Logs dated 12/22/2015 will be accepted.
  Shortcuts to these two documents may be saved to
  your desktop or bookmarked in your internet
  browser.
• Be sure new vendor set up and W-9 paperwork has
  been processed for new and prospective employees.
• Verify Accounts Payable Vendor ID is used, not
  PeopleSoft User ID.
• A T is issued after verifying all information.
  Incomplete TAs may be returned to the Business
  Coordinator.
• T notification is sent to Business Coordinator,
  Traveler and designees via email.

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Basic Procedures (contd)

• Domestic Travel Authorizations
• (U.S., Puerto Rico, Canada, Mexico)
• A regular TA is submitted
• Employee, Business Coordinator Supervisor sign
  the TA
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•  
•  
• Allow 3-5 business days for processing

Foreign Travel Authorizations A regular TA is
submitted along with the Foreign TA. Employee,
Business Coordinator, Supervisor President
sign Revisions to Foreign TA must be made and
signed by all parties on original form - no
emails will be accepted.   Allow 30 business days
for processing Submit the Export Controls
Embargo Form Submit the Fly America Waiver
Checklist Form if traveling on federal funds.
Please fill in the contact section at the bottom
of the travel authorization if anyone other than
the Business Coordinator and Traveler need to be
notified of T.
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Basic Procedures (contd)

• All travel arrangement requests (i.e. airline
  reservations, etc.) must be made via email to
  TravelOffice_at_uhcl.edu or included with the TA
  form (see below).
• You may attach your preferred flight arrangements
  and notate please book attached flights in the
  box labeled For Department Use.
• If the price has gone up significantly, we will
  email the traveler and business coordinator for
  approval.
• It is the travelers responsibility to review the
  itinerary after the tickets are purchased. Once
  the tickets are purchased, an email is sent to
  the traveler or designated contact.

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Basic Procedures (contd)

• Making an airline reservation
• Reservations may be made by contacting the UHCL
  Travel Office via email at traveloffice_at_uhcl.edu
  or including a printed quote with your travel
  authorization. All airfare questions and bookings
  must be routed through the Travel Office.
  Currently, we do not require a same day quote
  when purchasing your own ticket.
• You may contact the travel agency directly at
• Carlson Wagonlit Travel
• 950 Corbindale suite 200
• Houston, TX 77024-2849
• Toll Free [phone]
• Fax [phone]
• You may request the UHCL Travel Office purchase
  an internet airline ticket. The internet ticket
  agreement form will need to be signed and
  submitted to the Travel Office before we can
  purchase.

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Basic Procedures (contd)

• Car Rental
• Rental car contracts are available for
  business-related travel. Loss Damage Waiver is
  included with rate, no additional insurance is
  reimbursable.
• A list of these contracts and additional
  information is available at http//www.window.sta
  te.tx.us/procurement/prog/stmp/stmp-rental-car-con
  tract/
• Reservations can be made online or by calling the
  rental car company directly.
• Enterprise Rent-A-Car www.enterprise.com
  [phone]
• CD TX759 (3 letter code is UHC)
• Avis Car Rental www.avis.com [phone]
• CD F999759
• Justification will need to be provided for
  renting a larger vehicle.
• Do not bypass the counter. The original receipt
  is required for reimbursement of the expense.
• Mileage cannot be claimed on rental vehicles.

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Guidelines

• Meal Expenses
• A traveler is entitled to be reimbursed for meal
  expenses incurred on overnight business travel,
  not to exceed per diem daily rate. Snacks,
  coffee, etc. should be included in one of the
  meals and not reported as miscellaneous or
  incidentals. Departments may have their own
  rules. Please check with your Business
  Coordinator.
• You should not seek reimbursement for expenses
  you did not incur.
• Required Receipts
• Original receipts are required for mass transit,
  rental car, taxi, limousine, bus, subway, or
  other mode of transportation.
• Incidental expenses are reimbursable, such as
  parking, toll charges, etc.
• Lodging receipts with a 0.00 balance.
• Please check with your business coordinator
  regarding meal receipts.
• Airline receipt with form of payment must be
  included.

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Guidelines (contd)

• Lodging
• A traveler is entitled to be reimbursed for
  lodging expenses incurred on business travel, not
  to exceed per diem daily rate, unless otherwise
  approved by your business coordinator.
• Study Abroad
• All study abroad programs must have the Office of
  International Admissions and Programs (OIAP)
  approval before submitting any travel
  authorization forms to the Travel Office. For
  more information, please contact Dr. Sameer
  Pande at internationalinitiatives_at_uhcl.edu or
  [phone].

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Reimbursement

• Please input the date, time of departure/return
  and address of the location in the
  item description on travel expense log.
• Any changes in dates to the trip will need
  approval from the business coordinator and the
  travelers supervisor.
• Always include airfare or hotel charges pre-paid
  by UHCL on your expense log. These are part of
  your expenses. You will then deduct these charges
  on your expense log under Less Amounts Paid by
  University.
• List hotel room rate and taxes on a per day basis
  in appropriate columns.
• Travelers are responsible for following up if
  they have not received their reimbursement. It
  takes approximately 10 business days to process
  the reimbursement, once received in the travel
  office.
• Blanket Mileage - Requests for mileage
  reimbursement (local funds only) must be
  submitted to the travel office no more than once
  a fiscal quarter after the date of the first
  mileage expense incurred. This is to facilitate
  the cost effective reimbursement process by
  allowing employees to accumulate enough mileage
  expenses. The current mileage reimbursement rate
  is 0.54 per mile.

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Travel Dos and Donts

• Do
• Obtain separate bills with each travelers name
  on them when sharing lodging or have the hotel
  document two forms of payment.
• Be sure any receipt submitted shows the form of
  payment used. Hotel receipt must have a 0.00
  balance.
• For Hotel cards email travel office at least five
  business days prior to travel. You may also
  request the travel card on the Travel
  Authorization form. Please denote request in the
  For Department Use and the dollar amount of
  lodging expense.

• Don't
• Claim meals for non-overnight stay. These are not
  reimbursable.
• Submit expenses for someone elses meal. You may
  only get reimbursed for your expenses through
  travel. If you have a business meal, contact your
  business coordinator for possible reimbursement.
• Allow any other charges on hotel card except
  lodging and taxes. Please review your hotel bill
  prior to check out. Pay for any incidentals
  separately.

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Travel Dos and Donts

• Do (contd)
• Obtain a state sales tax exemption certificate if
  lodging in Texas, available through Travels
  website.
• Please call to make an appointment if you need to
  sit with a travel staff member for travel
  assistance.
• Have the travel office obtain a written airfare
  quote prior to travel when claiming mileage out
  of state. Reimbursement is limited to the airfare
  quote.
• Submit your expense reports within 60 calendar
  days after travel is completed.
• If a trip is cancelled or changes need to be
  made, please email the travel office.

• Dont (contd)
• Ask the Travel Office to make personal travel
  arrangements or gather information for personal
  travel. This includes making reservations for
  family members when the employee is traveling on
  business.
• Request the travel office call the traveler to
  make arrangements.
• Submit a Travel Authorization for registration
  (conference, class, etc.) only.
• Submit loose receipts. Please tape them to a
  sheet of paper. Try to avoid taping over the
  printed areas.
• Email or call the travel assistants directly. If
  you email someone directly and they are out or on
  vacation, we may not be able to assist you in a
  timely manner. Use TravelOffice_at_uhcl.edu and
  x2270.
• Lastly, dont assume anythingcall us first.

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Contact Information

• Travel Assistants are
• Amanda Solis, Joyce Vetrano and Rita Sills
• We are all able to provide the same information
  and services explained here today.
• Phone [phone]
• Email traveloffice_at_uhcl.edu
• It is important that calls and emails be directed
  to the main number/group email address so that we
  can distribute our work effectively and
  efficiently. This helps us to respond in an
  effective and timely manner.

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Online Resources

• GSC Travel Management Program Online
• http//www.window.state.tx.us/procurement/prog/s
  tmp/
• Contract airfare, lodging and rental car vendor
  lists.
• Out of State Meals and Lodging Rates FY15
• http//www.gsa.gov/portal/content/104877?utm_sour
  ceOCMutm_mediumprint-radioutm_termHP_01_Reque
  sted_perdiemutm_campaignshortcuts
• Contains links by state to the lodging and meal
  per diem rates of cities inside and outside of
  Texas.
• Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts
• http//www.window.state.tx.us/services/
• May be used to find hotels with per diem rates
  based on the city.
• https//fmx.cpa.state.tx.us/fmx/travel/textravel/
  index.php
• Additional information on Texas travel.

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Checklist

• Always check the weather in case of delays
• Proper documentation (Passport, Visa, Drivers
  License, Boarding Passes, etc.)
• Airports airlines change their processes and
  procedures often for security reasons, so be
  alert.
• Restricted carry-on material.

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Q A

• When completing a Travel Authorization for a
  foreign trip, the President is not available to
  sign your form.  You can still submit the foreign
  form by having the Provost sign for the
  President.
• False
• For an upcoming business trip to Orlando, FL, you
  may email the Travel Office to book your
  childrens airline tickets as well, as long as
  you provide a personal credit card.
• False
• You rent a vehicle to drive to Dallas for a
  conference.  You are taking three additional
  co-workers going to the same conference. You
  decide to upgrade the vehicle because the vehicle
  you originally rented is too small.  The upgrade
  fee is reimbursable.
• True

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Q A

• When completing your TA, you indicate that you
  will be flying to Washington, D.C. Sunday night
  for a conference beginning Monday morning and
  ending Wednesday afternoon. Instead of flying
  home Wednesday evening, you plan to fly home
  Sunday.  Because your personal days are equal to
  the number of business days, you will not be
  reimbursed for airfare, mileage to the airport,
  nor airport parking costs.
• True Sunday-Wednesday count as 4 business days.
  Thursday-Sunday count as 4 personal days.
• Employees can call the Travel Office to make
  airline reservations. 
• False

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