ARRA Travel
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ARRA Travel |
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Regardless of the funding source or sources, employees must adhere to the following guidelines. The Travel Reimbursement Form for Federal Funds is available at Travel Reimbursement Form-Federal Funds 9-1-09. 1. Double occupancy of rooms should be utilized whenever possible and/or feasible (i.e., two individuals of the same sex traveling to the same destination), in the interest of conserving District funds. When sharing a room please state on the Employee Travel Reimbursement whom you shared a room with. 2. Unallowable expenses include the following: a. Dry cleaning and laundry charges b. Alcoholic beverage charges c. In-room movies d. Any and all spouses-related expenses, including transportation, meals, additional lodging, etc. 3. Credit Card receipts are not acceptable substitutes for actual, itemized hotel/motel bills. Always include the actual hotel bill as support for such expenses. Please include the entire bill, not just the last page with the totals on it. 4. Each employee incurring travel expenses should fill out a separate Employee Travel Reimbursement form. The Business Office will not accept one report for several employees. If you have any questions pertaining to employee travel or other employee expenses, do not hesitate to contact the Business office. Travel Using Grant Funds Traveling using Grant/Federal Funds requires prior approval from the following offices: Special Programs – Gloria Gallegos Vocational – Sara Wrobleski
Associate Superintendent for C & I – Karen Hickman It is recommended that teachers discuss with their principal their travel plans and costs associated with the trip. Also, the lodging responsibility statement must accompany the travel reimbursement form indicating the employee does not expect to be reimbursed for lodging overages if indeed they do occur. Hotel/Motel Expenses - Actual lodging costs up to $85.00 per day will be reimbursed by PISD when work for the district prohibits returning home for the night. PISD is tax exempt from hotel/motel occupancy and sales taxes. An itemized original receipt for all lodging reimbursements is required by Accounts Payable · State Tax Exemption – Some states will honor the exemption. The Texas Hotel Occupancy Tax Exemption form should be completed and submitted to the hotel/motel at the time of check-in. (available at: http://www.pasadenaisd.org/Finance/Forms/Hotel.pdf). In the event that the hotel/motel will not remove the charges, indicate the amount charged under “incidental expenses” for reimbursement. Prudent use of district funds is encouraged. · City Hotel Occupancy Taxes - PISD is not exempt from paying for city hotel occupancy taxes. The district will reimburse this expense. Itemize this expenditure under “incidental expenses”. Meals/Tips - Meal expenses for overnight travel up to $36 per day with receipts required to be reimbursed. This reimbursement is not necessarily to cover the total cost of meals while the employee is traveling, but to reimburse reasonable incremental costs of meals the employee may incur by virtue of such business travel. The following chart indicates departure and arrival times from and back to Pasadena to calculate meal eligibility. To Be Eligible for You Must Leave Before or Return After
If a meal is provided in a function being attended, such as a banquet included in conference registration, that meal will not be eligible for reimbursement. For example, if the lunch were paid for in conjunction with the registration, the maximum amount eligible for reimbursement for that day would be $24 (Breakfast and Dinner). The amount paid for the lunch is irrelevant. Meal reimbursement for trips where overnight travel is not required will be based on the following criteria and will be reported as taxable income as per IRS rules: · An employee must clear a 50-mile radius from their work location. · Requires the signature of Superintendent. · Receipts are required. · Reimbursement rules will be the same as overnight travel. Personal Telephone Calls - When overnight travel is required, personal phone calls will be reimbursed up to $5.00 per day if they are charged to the hotel/motel bill. Business Calls - All business calls will be reimbursed provided appropriate documentation (hotel bill, cell phone bill & etc.) is attached. Calling cards do not provide documentation to be able to be reimbursed. Receipts Required! Mileage - When a personal vehicle is used for district business travel, mileage will be reimbursed at a rate of 55.5˘ per mile effective July 1, 2011. Travel between January 1, 2011 and June 30, 2011 will be reimbursed at 51˘. Travel between January 1, 2010 and December 31, 2010 will be reimbursed at 50˘. The mileage reimbursed will be limited to the map mileage between the points of origin and destination according to the state mileage tables. Whenever possible, budget managers should coordinate the travel of personnel by carpool when more than one person travels to the same destination in the same length of time, even if they are not necessarily attending the same function. A list of cities that tend to be the most common destination for PISD travelers has been added indicating the mileage that will be reimbursed. The list has calculated the mileage from Pasadena to the indicated cities, with no in-town travel reimbursed. Rental Vehicles - Costs of rental vehicles shall be reimbursed under incidental expenses with receipts required (including gasoline tickets.) The use of rental vehicles should be exercised very judiciously and only in situations where the cost of using a taxi would exceed the cost of the rental vehicle. The district now covers all insurance associated with rental on the vehicle. Do not purchase any additional insurance for vehicle rentals. Any additional insurance purchased will not be reimbursed. To avoid higher gas rates charged by the rental companies, fill the gas tank before returning the rental car. Also, be sure to examine the invoice for accuracy before leaving the rental office. Reimbursement for rental car expenses will occur when expenses are listed on the Employee Travel Reimbursement form. Airfare - All air travel must be tourist class/coach when class/coach is available. Due to ever changing technology advances, Internet usage has increased. Many employees have begun to use the Internet to place air travel reservations. If airfare is purchased over the Internet, accounting will require the sheet received with the confirmation # that shows that the employee paid for the ticket on their charge card. Reimbursement for repayment of airfare made through the Internet should be placed on the Employee Travel Reimbursement form. Original receipts are required. Taxi Fares, Parking and Tolls - Taxi fares, parking and toll fees will be reimbursed at actual costs including gratuity. Original receipts are required. Supplies/Materials - Supplies or materials purchased while an employee is traveling on PISD business cannot be submitted for reimbursement on the travel reimbursement form. These purchases will be reimbursed using a requisition designated to Accounts Payable for check writing. Since the district is tax exempt, the district encourages prudence when paying for purchases without providing the tax ID number. However, taxes will be reimbursed if charged. Supplies or materials paid for by PISD through this reimbursement process becomes the property of PISD and must be retained by the district. Tax Exempt forms are available at http://www.pasadenaisd.org/Finance/Forms/Sales_Tax.pdf. Out of State Employee Travel Expenditure Reimbursement Rules Out of State Travel - All out of state travel requires the approval of Cabinet. The appropriate Cabinet member will communicate all out of state trips to Cabinet. Important: This approval process applies for all funding sources. Out of State travel rates vary depending on the city and state. Information is available on the State Government BBS web site: http://www.window.state.tx.us/comptrol/san/travel_mesage02.html Out of Country Employee Travel Expenditure Reimbursement Rules Out of Country Travel – All out of country travel will be reimbursed actual receipt amounts. For procedures on PISD Travel Cards, go to http://www.pasadenaisd.org/finance/pisd_travel_cards.htm.
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