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June 2026 Special Edition Newsletter Content Overview
- Payments and Procurement
- New Policy: Submitting Expenses for Reimbursement
- 60-Day Expense Policy FAQs
- HR/Payroll
- Upcoming Restricted Entry Period
- Reappointment deadline: June 30, 2026
- Looking Ahead
- Reminder: FY2026 Deadlines
PAYMENTS AND PROCUREMENT
New Policy: Submitting Expenses for Reimbursement
The University of Washington is making a significant change to how employees (including student employees) are reimbursed for travel and non-travel purchases.
Effective July 6, 2026, the UW will adopt Rule 2 of the IRS Accountable Plan (also referenced in SAAM 10.80.70.b). Under this policy, expenses incurred by employees (including student employees) must be substantiated within a reasonable time period.
If the expense reimbursement isn’t submitted within the reasonable time period, the expense will be treated as taxable income. The reimbursement will still be processed but it will be processed via payroll to ensure the applicable payroll withholding taxes are applied from the employee’s next semi-monthly earnings.
For purposes of this policy, as stated in the Safe Harbor established in IRS Section 1.62-2(g)(2)(i), the UW will define a “reasonable period” as 60 days. The 60-day clock starts:
- From the date the trip ends for travel expenses (last day of the trip, including personal time)
- From the date of purchase for non-travel expenses
Expenses substantiated on an expense report within this 60-day period will satisfy the reasonable time period requirement and will not be considered income. Expenses substantiated after the 60-day period and don’t qualify for exceptions outlined below will still be reimbursed, but included in the employee’s payroll as described above.
There are allowable exceptions to this policy; any exception will require documentation. The allowable exceptions include:
- The employee was on an approved extended leave of absence.
- Documentation requirement: Department confirmation of extended leave of absence.
- The employee was on business travel status for over 60 days.
- Documentation requirement: Trip pre-approval, documentation substantiating continuous 60-day travel.
- The delayed submission of the expense report was caused by the Shared Environment and/or department personnel other than the employee seeking reimbursement.
- Documentation requirement: Shared Environment Director (for AST delay) or Department Chair with Divisional Dean co-signature explanation and approval.
60-Day Expense Policy FAQs
AST has compiled the following frequently asked questions (FAQs) regarding the new 60-day expense policy. If you have any questions that were not answered, please contact AST and we will address them in an upcoming newsletter.
Question: What transaction timeline does this policy apply to?
Answer: Any transaction submitted after July 6. Examples include:
| Type and date of transaction | Date submitted for processing | Appliable policy |
|---|---|---|
| Travel from 6/1/2026—6/15/2026 | Submitted on 6/20/2026 | Current 90 day policy applies |
| Purchase on 6/1/2026 | Submitted on 6/5/2026 | Current 90 day policy applies |
| Travel from 4/1/2026—4/10/2026 | Submitted on 6/20/2026 | Current 90 day policy applies |
| Travel from 2/1/2026—2/5/2026 | Submitted on 6/10/2026 | Current 90 day policy applies |
| Travel from 6/15/2026—6/29/2026 | Submitted on 7/7/2026 | New 60 day policy applies |
| Purchase on 1/31/2026 | Submitted on 7/6/2026 | New 60 day policy applies |
| Purchase on 7/1/2026 | Submitted on 9/9/2026 | New 60 day policy applies |
Question: What if the payment needed to be reissued after 60 days of the initial submission?
Answer: There is no impact if payment needs to be reissued. The payment will be reissued with no change to the taxability status of the payment.
Question: The employee delayed submission due to a funding source issue—is this an allowable exception?
Answer: Yes. Please attach an explanation of the delay and, if approved, processed as an approved exception as a delay caused by a department.
Question: Will there be any grace period as the College adapts to this change?
Answer: No. Only reimbursements which are included in the allowable exceptions list will be granted an exemption.
Question: What if my conference registration is paid in advance of the conference? Will this expense be reimbursable as part of the travel expense?
Answer: Conference registration can either be part of the travel expense or paid separately. If it is included with the travel, the last day of travel will be the date used to calculate the application of the 60-day expense policy across all associated travel expenses. If it submitted separately, the day the expense is paid will be the date used to calculate the application of the 60-day expense policy.
Each department manages conference registration differently, and each conference has a different cadence and requirement. Note the following advantages and disadvantages to each reimbursement option:
- If submitted as part of travel: The conference registration can be included in the set of receipts submitted at the end of travel, even if the expense occurs well in advance. UW Travel had validated that this option will not need an exemption from the new policy as long as the travel expenses are submitted within 60 days of the travel end date. The advantage of choosing this option is the department and the traveler have a complete set of expenses all submitted at the same time. The disadvantage is the traveler may be floating the expense of the conference registration for a long time.
- If submitted separately: Submit the conference registration at the time of the expense and then submit a second set of expenses at the end of travel. The advantage of choosing this option is the traveler does not incur the expense with a long wait time before the full reimbursement. The disadvantage is tracking for both the traveler and the department on which associated travel expenses have been submitted or not.
HR/PAYROLL
Upcoming Restricted Entry Period
Due to the processing of merit-based salary increases for the 2026-27 academic year, select payroll transactions with an effective date of 9/1/2026 or later cannot be submitted until after the annual restricted entry period. Transactions for existing employees with an effective date of 9/1/2026 or later will have to be held for processing until after merit is processed. Additionally, other specific Workday transactions will be unavailable to submit starting on 8/1/2026.
The FY2027 Merit Process Guide maps out the specifics of the restricted entry period, which is scheduled to end on 9/11/2026.
Hire transactions for new employees can still be processed without restrictions due to the merit blackout.
Reappointment deadline: June 30, 2026
If your unit has faculty with end dates of 6/15/2026 and you intend to employ them in summer or autumn quarters, enter the reappointment now and process summer hiatus as needed. If the reappointment is not entered by 6/30/2026, they will need to be terminated and rehired.
Faculty who are not reappointed for autumn but will be working during summer quarter are not eligible for summer hiatus. If there is a break in service, they will need to be terminated and rehired.
LOOKING AHEAD
Reminder: FY2026 Deadlines
Fiscal year end close is fast approaching us. As a reminder, please review the remaining FY2026 deadlines and submit your requests to AST as soon as possible.
As always, please fill out our General Inquiry Form (preferred) or email teamcas@uw.edu if you have any questions or concerns.
Administrative Support Team
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