Reimbursements

Before filling out AST's UW Reimbursements (for UW employees) or Guest Payments and Reimbursements to request a purchase reimbursement, use the following checklist to ensure you have the correct information and documents.

For all Purchases

• Itemized receipts that include:
  • Date of purchase
  • Amount charged
  • Proof of payment or payment method of purchase
• Chair or Director approval of the expense, unless the reimbursement is on grant funds (GR######)
  • For Chair's expenses, Divisional Dean approval is required

For Food Purchases

• List of attendees (if event is open to public, list estimated total number of attendees)
• Signed food form that is either:
  • attached to request, or
  • on file in the department
  • Note: no food forms are required if the reimbursement is on discretionary resource funding (RS100203)
• No alcohol can be reimbursed, unless the reimbursement is on discretionary resource funding (RS100203)

Note: Reimbursements for meals are typically limited to the same meal per diem rate as listed on the UW Travel Office's Per Diem page.

Before filling out AST's UW Travel Reimbursements (for UW employees) or Guest Payments and Reimbursements to request a travel reimbursement, use the following checklist to ensure you have the correct information and documents.

For all Travel

• Location, dates, and times of travel status (and personal time, if taken)
• Chair or director approval of the expense, unless the reimbursement is on grant funds (GR######)
  • For Chair's expenses, Divisional Dean approval is required

Lodging

• Folio/receipt with
  • Dates of check in and check out
  • Hotel location
  • Traveler's name
  • Amount charged
  • Proof of payment/payment method
  • Itemized daily charges

Flights

• Itemized itinerary, including:
  • Name of flight carrier
  • Dates and times of flights
  • Traveler's name
  • Charges per person with tax paid
  • Proof of payment/payment method
• Upgrades for seat selection or class (Premium, Comfort, Business, etc.) require additional approval
• If personal time was taken, comparison airfare at the time of booking

Meals

• List of meals provided to traveler (i.e. conference meals, hotel breakfasts, meeting-provided meals, etc.)
• Itemized receipts only if AST is calculating meals
• When requesting reimbursement for providing meals for others,
  • Itemized receipts (required by UW Travel Services)
  • List of attendees for each meal and their relationship to UW

Car Rental and Gas Expenses

• Final rental agreement, including
  • Pick-up and drop-off date and time
  • Driver name
  • Car class (vehicles larger than sedan/standard class are considered upgrades and also require business justification)
  • Itemized charges
  • Itemized insurance items
  • Proof of payment/method of payment
• Gas receipts

Ground Travel

• Uber, Lyft, or taxi
  • Itemized receipt with proof of payment
  • Any upgrades above basic fare and extra fees (i.e. wait fees, priority pickup, etc.) require additional approval
• Mileage
  • Personal vehicle mileage total with documentation (i.e. Google map showing miles traveled, mileage log with odometer readings, or UW mileage log)
• Parking
  • Receipt indicating amount paid, date, and location
• Tolls
  • Receipt indicating amount paid and date
• Ferry
  • Itemized receipt
  • If receipt shows other passengers, include their full names and UW affiliations
• Public Transit
  • Receipt indicating amount paid, date, and location
• Train
  • Itemized receipt, including the name of the traveler
  • If seat is business class or higher, additional approval from Dean is required

Miscellaneous Travel Costs

• Visa or passport fees
  • Receipt of visa fee paid
• Baggage fees
  • Receipt indicating amount paid and date
• Registration fees
  • Confirmation or receipt indicating registration date, amount paid, name of meeting/conference/etc.
• Internet or WiFi
  • Receipt indicating amount paid and date used for UW business

Certain miscellaneous travel expenses can be reimbursed up to $75 without a receipt. For more information, see the UW Travel Receipts and Record Retention page.

There are many state and federal policies, and we recommend you visit the UW Travel page for best guidance.

Before filling out AST's UW Travel and Field Advance form — to request an advance, ensure you have the following information:

• Name of traveler
• Dollar Amount
• Proposed use of advance (i.e. meal per diem)
• Location and UW business reason for advance (e.g. Buenos Aires, Argentina for research)
• FDM values

Once the traveler has concluded their trip, a reconciliation of the advance will occur in Workday.

The 90-day countdown on all receipts begins once travel is complete. Conference registration, airline, and lodging costs are included as part of the overall travel expense packet, and may be reimbursed prior to travel (if pre-paid), subject to the receipt requirements from UW Travel.

Dean’s approval is required if receipts are submitted for reimbursement more than 90 after the end of travel.

Important Note: Purchase reimbursements that are not submitted as travel will still require the department or caller to get Dean's approval for receipts that are older than 90 days (i.e. registrations or memberships for which there are no travel dates or itineraries to reference).

The Foreign National Payment & Reimbursement Reference Guide is designed as a quick guide AST created to help units determine what payments and reimbursements can be processed for foreign nationals. This reference addresses students, scholars, and employees on UW-sponsored visas, as well as those at other US institutions or visiting the US on other visas types.

When submitting a reimbursement, please note there are separate forms to use depending upon the recipient. We’ve updated the naming conventions on our reimbursement forms to make this more clear for ticket submitters. For UW employees, please use the UW Reimbursements or the UW Travel form for purchase and travel reimbursements respectively, or the  UW Travel and Field Advance form for requesting and reconciling travel and/or field advances. For non-UW employees or guests, please use the Guest Payments and Reimbursements form. Workday requires different information for these different populations, and we have crafted each form to meet these needs.

No. If someone in your unit has paid for personal services out of pocket, contact AST. You will need to submit an invoice payment request to AST.

To process reimbursements for food submit:

• itemized receipts
• an attendee list for event-related meals
• a discretionary budget for per diem overages and alcohol.

You can find more information on the UW Finance Food Approvals webpage.

You should make every attempt to retrieve a receipt from the supplier for the purchase. If a receipt cannot be collected, submit supporting documentation such as a bank statement. (Please see our $75 Waiver Policy.)

If a receipt is in under someone else's name, the reimbursement will go to the person named on the receipt who paid for the expense. Additional contact information will be requested once we have reviewed the request.

No. This is not reimbursable as it does not provide the appropriate audit trail. To ensure you can be reimbursed for your UW business expenses, pay your expenses separately from others or request the receipts clearly delineate between payees.

Yes. If you are claiming expense on behalf of another, include their name and affiliation along with the receipt.

PayPal, Venmo and other mobile payment method services are now approved as legitimate proof of payment and will no longer require the traveler’s bank statement to validate the mobile payment method.

Peer-to-peer payments (a.k.a., exchanging funds between individuals) continue to be non-reimbursable.

No. Expenses purchased using any rewards program, such as mileage points, credit card travel points, my wallet funds, gift cards or other personal rewards programs are not reimbursable. See State Ethics Board Advisory Opinion 03-03.

Yes, however, it is advised to NOT use personal gift cards when making purchases on behalf of the UW. Gift cards can be reimbursed because they are considered the same as cash. Amazon purchases should be made through a department Amazon Business Account or with a Procard. Remember that reimbursements should be used on a rare occasion when there is no other means to make the purchase.

Yes. Please note, all gifts cards are considered taxable income and must be reported to the Tax Office. We recommend using TANGO gift cards and we can purchase these cards for you. Remember that cash and cash-equivalent awards are taxable, regardless of the amount. Send your tax questions to taxofc@uw.edu.

No. If a faculty member has authored, co-authored, or edited a book, any copies of the book that are purchased by the faculty member cannot be reimbursed by UW funds. See APS 47.10 and Presidential Order 36.

If a faculty member wishes to have a copy, such as for students to borrow, they can request a complementary desk copy from the publisher. Students may also check out books published by faculty from the UW library system or may purchase them directly.

Yes, all tangible items become the property of UW once they have been reimbursed and should be registered with the Equipment Inventory Office, if applicable. Once items are no longer used, or the person leaves the UW, the items must be returned to the department. You can find out more on the UW Surplus webpage.

There are many state and federal policies, and we recommend you visit the UW Travel Services page for best guidance. 

Here are a few key takeaways:

• Airfare - itemized itinerary  
• Fees related to change/cancellation of travel plans - itemized itinerary 
• Lodging - itemized if not prepaid
• Car Rental - final rental agreement  
• Rail/Train - itemized itinerary 
• Meals - itemized receipt or pertinent info for calculated per diem
• Car Service - itemized receipt showing proof of payment*

*Note: Starting September 1, 2024, car services are no longer included under the $75 waiver policy. A receipt is now required for all car services, regardless of dollar amount.

Per diem is an allowance method by which UW handles lodging and meal reimbursement to an individual within Federal guidelines. Please visit UW Travel Services eligibility requirements for more details.

You may claim pre-travel reimbursements on itemized airfare and lodging receipts, including proof of payment (i.e. hotel confirmation is not sufficient). It is allowable to reimburse travel expenses prior to the trip as long as it meets all other travel compliance requirements. Reimbursement is processed the same as after the trip.

Note: This is separate from travel advances.

No. Expenses purchased using any rewards program, such as mileage points, credit card travel points, my wallet funds, gift cards or other personal rewards programs are not reimbursable. See State Ethics Board Advisory Opinion 03-03.

Yes, the receipt should include proof of payment, date, vendor, and description of purchase. If a receipt cannot be collected, have supporting documentation available such as a bank statement. For more details regarding receipts, please visit the UW Travel Services page.

The following travel upgrades are reimbursable:

• Change Flight due to UW business needs 
  • A flight change is not reimbursable if missed/changed/cancelled flight expense due to negligent travel planning.  
• Flight Upgrades - i.e., seats 
  • Approval from department must include justification and be attached to the expense report  
• Flight Class Upgrades - i.e., first class 
  • Prior written approval and justification from a Vice President, Vice Provost, or Dean
• Car service class upgrades, such as Uber Comfort and Lyft X (while these are the two most popular, there are many others)
  • Require a signed administrative approval letter. Wait time fees and car service comparisons continue to be non-reimbursable.

Yes. Adding personal time/travel with a business trip is allowable when all of the following conditions exist:

• The primary purpose of trip is official UW business. 
• Approved leave is used during personal portion. 
• UW does not incur any extra expenses beyond what it would normally incur.

When personal time is taken during UW travel, comparison airfare is required to assure reimbursement is for UW business cost only. 

The best practice is to create the comparison airfare during the dates of your business travel at the time of booking, as this will most accurately represent the cost. For example, if you are traveling Monday - Wednesday for business, but take personal time Thursday - Friday on the trip, create a comparison airfare for Monday - Wednesday flights.

If a comparison airfare was not created before the trip (best practice), a future comparison can be built.

Visit the Travel Office's Personal Time page for more information about comparison airfare requirements.

We strongly suggest that you register your international travel with Office of Global Affairs. Registering your trip protects you when you are traveling overseas in event of an emergency, conflict, or even a pandemic. By registering, Global Affairs can assist with emergency services if needed.

Yes, if a detailed breakdown of the individual costs can be obtained. Please see UW Travel Services for more detail on package deals.

A final rental agreement with clear trail of expenses, fees, and taxes is required.

Note: TURO car share is not reimbursable as it is outside UW policy.

Rental vehicle: Yes, via gas receipt or the final rental agreement. 

Personal vehicle: You may be reimbursed for gas if the amount is less than or equal to the calculated mileage amount. Alternatively, you may be reimbursed for mileage. Please visit UW Travel Services for more detail on mileage.

Before filling out AST's UW Travel and Field Advance form — to request an advance, ensure you have the following information:

• Name of traveler
• Dollar Amount
• Proposed use of advance (i.e. meal per diem)
• Location and UW business reason for advance (i.e. Buenos Aires, Argentina for research)
• FDM values

Once the traveler has concluded their trip, a reconciliation of the advance will occur in Workday. 

The following guidelines and parameters for a travel advance include:

• Issued within 30 days prior to travel start date
• Covers only lodging and/or meals
• Travel length is 90 days or less
• Amount requested is more than $300
• Must be issued on GOF/DOF funds and cannot be on grant funds
• Must be reconciled within 60 days from the travel end date