Welcome to the

1
Welcome to the

• Harvard University
• Travel and
• Reimbursement and
• Policy Briefing
• Travel and Reimbursement Office (TRO)

2
Reasons for this briefing

• To clarify travel and reimbursement policies
• in accordance with IRS regulations and guidelines
• in expectation of audit
• To improve reimbursement processing
• minimize returns to local unit for rework
• provide information and resources
• To inform of Harvards preferred vendors
• benefit to both travelers and the University

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• Travel Preparation

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Staying current on policies

• Familiarize yourself with University-wide
  policies
• http//vpf-web.harvard.edu/documents
• Read the FAD e-News regularly for policy changes
  and updates
• past issues are indexed by topic and are
  available at vpf-web/training/enews.html
• If you have a question before submitting your
  reimbursement request call
• TRO at 5-7760 or Tax Operations at 6-5224
• Know your local tub policies which may be more
  restrictive
• Check with your financial dean office (or
  equivalent financial office)

Consult the Reimbursement Policy at a Glance
quick reference on ABLE for a high-level summary
of the Travel and Reimbursement Policy.
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Helpful hints for travelers

• Review your corporate American Express Card
• is it in good standing?
• is the spending limit appropriate for your
  anticipated need?
• Establish a personal system for saving original
  receipts
• some local units provide special travel packets
• Block time on your calendar soon after your
  expected return date to
• review receipts
• make notes for preparer
• or
• prepare expense report
• Keep your local unit administrator informed of
  your travel plans

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Travel arrangements Domestic

• Appropriate class of service and preferred
  airlines/railways
• Domestic travel within and between any of the
  United States and its territories and possessions
• Lowest available Coach class is Allowable
• Business class is Allowable to Hawaii and Alaska.
• Business class is Allowable to Canada and Mexico
  when the trip exceeds 6 hours
• Harvard preferred domestic travel agreements
• American - Amtrak
• UsAirways
• Continental
• Northwest

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Travel arrangements International

• Appropriate class of service and preferred
  airlines
• International destinations outside North America
  (Alaska and Hawaii included)
• Business class travel is Allowable
• First class travel is Unallowable to all
  destinations
• Exception Medical reason with Financial Dean (or
  equivalent) approval
• Harvard preferred international air agreements

• American
• UsAirways
• Continental

• Lufthansa
• Alitalia
• Air France

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University Policy Class of Service

• Coach class only for travel within the 48
  contiguous United States and to Puerto Rico,
  Mexico, and Canada
• Travelers to Mexico or Canada on flights longer
  than six hours can use business class
• Business class is allowed for travel to
  Hawaii,Alaska, and international destinations

ALL AIRFARE COSTS in excess of coach class must
be charged to expense object codes 8450 - 8459,
Expenses Ineligible for Direct or Indirect
Federal Reimbursement.
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Federal Policy

• In addition to University policy, federal
  restrictions apply to all Harvard travel charged
  to federal funds (range 100000-199999).
• The Fly America Act requires the use of a U.S.
  flag carrier, when available, for international
  travel on all federally sponsored awards
• Cost savings is not considered a valid exception
• For more information, visit the University of
  Alaska, Fairbanks web site at http//www.uaf.edu/
  grcon/manual/sec_g.html

If you are unsure about the restrictions of your
award, call OSR at 496-2522 before making travel
arrangements.
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Lodging arrangements

• Travelers may stay in a standard room at hotels
  appropriate for business travel
• Luxury hotels should be avoided
• Budget hotels should be avoided
• Sources providing Harvard travelers with
  discounted room rates
• Ivy Plus Hotel Program
• On-Line Expedia Rates (coming in early April)
• HTC (WorldTravel Partners) Hotel Program

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Car rental arrangements

• Travelers should use Harvards preferred car
  rental vendors when ever possible because of
• INSURANCE
• Hertz Free 1 Gold Card
• Avis Free Avis Preferred Service
• Enterprise (Local Rentals Only) Will Deliver a
  Car
• Important Insurance Reminders

Domestic Decline LDW/CDW Decline Excess
Liability Insurance
International Accept All Insurance
12
Ground transportation arrangements

• Sedan Service and other ground transportation
• Sedan services may be used when appropriate for
  the business occasion
• Harvard preferred agreements
• Boston Coach
• Custom Transportation
• Limousines are generally unallowable and require
  Financial Dean approval
• Harvard preferred agreement
• Commonwealth Limo
• Taxis are the most recommended mode of
  transportation

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Related expenses

• General comments regarding some common expenses
• Entertainment
• requires a business purpose describing who was
  entertained and for what purpose.
• Meals
• with fellow employees employee morale or
  recognition
• business meals meal expenses
  incurred while on a trip
• Alcoholic Beverages
• must be charged to expense object code 8450
• Expenses Ineligible for Direct or Indirect
  Federal Reimbursement.
• Phone Calls
• personal sustain reasonable contact with
  family
• business reasonable and necessary for
  conducting business

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• Travel and Reimbursement
• Expense Reporting

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Reimbursements

• University travelers are expected to spend
  Harvard funds prudently
• ALL reimbursements must be
• Guided by policy
• Properly documented
• Reasonable and prudent
• Substantiated with an acceptable business purpose
• Submitted within 60 days from the date the
  expense was incurred

• Reimbursements may not be submitted if being paid
  or reimbursed by another source

Refer to the Reimbursements Travel and
Non-Travel Policy at http//vpf-web.harvard.edu/do
cuments/ for additional details.
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Why are expense reports returned?

• Most expense reports are returned to local units
  by TRO for basic policy violations
• Expenses were not properly documented
• Business purpose was missing or incomplete
• Receipts were missing and no MRA was submitted
• Required financial dean (or equivalent) letter
  was missing or incomplete
• Reimbursees signature was missing
• Expenses were unallowable under University policy
• Expenses were submitted beyond 60 days and did
  not have financial dean approval

Consult the Reimbursement Policy at a Glance
quick reference on ABLE for a high-level summary
of the Travel and Reimbursement Policy.
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Documentation

• Reimbursement requests must be accompanied by
  receipts substantiating expenses, including

• Original receipts for all expenses 75 or greater
• Receipts under 75 should not be sent to the TRO
• Local units may have more restrictive
  documentation requirements

• All hotel receipts (a.k.a. hotel folios)
• Any personal charges on the hotel folio must be
• crossed out,
• subtracted from the total bill,
• paid with personal funds by the individual

Call your local financial office if you are
unsure about your local documentation policies.
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Federal documentation requirement

• All travelers using Federal funds are expected to
  document the purchase the lowest cost airfares
  available for non-stop trips, using US Flag
  carriers when possible, and booking through any
  of Harvards preferred travel agencies.
• Use of Harvard preferred travel vendor
• satisfies Federal documentation requirements
• Use of a web site or travel vendor outside of
  the Harvard preferred travel program
• documentation must be included demonstrating
  airfare was equal to or lower than the cost of
  the same trip booked through Harvards preferred
  agents
•  

If you are unsure about the restrictions of your
award, call OSR at 496-2522 before making travel
arrangements.
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What if receipts are lost?
Missing Receipt Affidavit

• If the original receipt is not available, the
  reimbursee must fill out a Missing Receipt
  Affidavit (MRA)
• The MRA is available on ABLE and can support
  multiple expenses
• Both the reimbursee and the approver must sign
  the MRA
• Use of MRAs should be the exception, not the norm
  when processing reimbursements

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Business Purpose
As required by the IRS, a reimbursement request
MUST be accompanied by a valid business purpose
that contains the following information

• Who incurred the expense
• What the expense entailed
• Why this is a Harvard business expense
• When the expense was incurred
• Where the expense was incurred
  
• for travel-related expenses
• Who else was involved
• for entertainment-related expenses

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Examples of Business Purposes
Acceptable Business Purpose
Unacceptable
Books
Photocopying
BH Purchase Supplies
Refer to the Reimbursements Travel and
Non-Travel Policy at http//vpf-web.harvard.edu/do
cuments/ for additional details.
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Reportable Income

• Reportable income any payment or reimbursement
  where the Universitys benefit is secondary to
  the individuals benefit.
• To determine if an expense is reportable income,
  ask yourself

• Is there a legitimate, substantiated business
  purpose for the expense?
• Who primarily benefits from the goods or service
  purchased?

The University may not be required to report
certain expenses to the IRS, but the individual
taxpayer may still be responsible for disclosing
payments from Harvard on his/her individual tax
return.
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Reportable Income (continued)

• Due to IRS regulations, certain types of
  reimbursements require a pre-audit by the Tax
  Operations office. These include

• Gifts, gift certificates, or donations
• Moving or relocation expenses
• Telephone or internet services
• Spousal or family travel

Call Tax Operations at 6-5224 if you have
questions about reportable income or for more
information on this topic.
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Timeliness
Reimbursements must be submitted within 60 days
from the date of the expenditure.

• After 60 days
• Reimbursement requests require the written
  approval of a Financial Dean (or equivalent)
  explaining why an exception should be granted

Refer to the Reimbursements Travel and
Non-Travel Policy at http//vpf-web.harvard.edu/do
cuments/ for additional details.
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Timing Exceptions
Two exceptions to the 60-day rule are allowed

• Extended Business Trip Exception
• Expenses incurred while on a business trip longer
  than 21 consecutive days
• Allowance Reimbursement Exception
• Expenses paid from an annual research or
  professional expense fund

The phrase Extended Business Trip Exception or
Allowance Reimbursement Exception must appear
at the beginning of the business purpose when
submitting these reimbursement requests.
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Extended Business TripReimbursement Exception
Basic process for an Extended Business Trip
Reimbursement Exception

• Follow all documentation guidelines
• check that the reimbursable expenses were
  incurred within the beginning and end dates of
  the trip
• Begin the business purpose with the phrase
  Extended Business Trip Exception
• follow all other business purpose guidelines
• Process using Web Voucher Reimbursement

Extended business trip reimbursement requests
must be submitted no later than 60 days from the
end date of the trip.
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Extended Business TripBusiness Purposes
Examples of acceptable business purposes for
extended business trip exceptions

• Extended Business Trip Exception - Dr.
  Richardson, trip expenses to Oxford, England, to
  collaborate on Genome Project, April 15 - June
  30, 2002, exchange rate 1 1.41
• Extended Business Trip Exception - Professor
  Sheen, trip expenses, Rochester, NY, to work on
  Harvard-RIT Wells Project, 5/10/02 - 6/20/02
• Extended Business Trip Exception - R. Easton,
  trip expenses, Beaumont, TX, Gulf Biology
  Project, assistant, May 1 - June 23, 2002

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Allowance Reimbursement Exceptions
Basic process for an Allowance Reimbursement
Exception

• Follow all documentation guidelines
• Make sure that reimbursable expenses were
  incurred no later than 12 months before the date
  of your reimbursement request
• Begin the Business Purpose with the phrase
  Allowance Reimbursement Exception
• The when can describe the extended time period
  of the allowance expenses
• Process as a reimbursement through Web Voucher

In these cases, reimbursement requests must be
submitted no later than 12 months from the date
expenses were incurred.
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Allowance Exception Business Purposes
Examples of acceptable business purposes for
Allowance Reimbursement Exceptions

• Allowance Reimbursement Exception - S. Jones,
  student, allocated funds of 1,300 which were
  spent over the year from June, 2001 on research
  books for Dr. Benezs anthropology course
• Allowance Reimbursement Exception - M. Sheets,
  off-campus Brookline office telephone charges,
  June 2001 to June 2002, for University business
• Allowance Reimbursement Exception - Dr. Baughman,
  research materials allowance, FY 2001, Longwood
  campus, RNA research

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Prepaid Expenses
Prepaid expenses now fall under the 60-day rule
for submitting reimbursements

• Whether charged to a personal credit card or paid
  by personal check or funds
• The reimbursement, properly documented, should be
  submitted as soon as possible and within 60 days
  from the date of expenditure

It is the responsibility of the local units to
monitor prepaid expenses AND recover any
reimbursements that were made in the event a
trip or conference is cancelled.
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University Policy Per Diems

• Per Diem a daily rate assigned by the government
  to a location for reimbursement of lodging, meals
  and incidental expenses
• Per diems provided in advance of a trip are not
  allowed
• Reimbursement for travel may be requested based
  on either
• actual expenses incurred, or
• per diem rate
• per diems are paid as a reimbursement in lieu of
  actual expenses
• receipts are not required (local units may be
  more restrictive)
• Travelers may not request reimbursement of actual
  expenses for one portion of their trip and per
  diem for the remainder
• IRS per diem regulations
• Employees must follow Federal daily allowance
• Independent Contractors, Alumni, and Trustees
  Not applicable
• Non-Employee Researchers and Scholars Not
  applicable

Payments made to Non-employee Researcher/Scholars
must be treated as a fellowship and are
reportable by the individual
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University-wide Business Expense Policy (UBEP)

• Recent Updates to the UBEP
• The Personal and Unallowable Expenses list was
  revised and separated into two lists for ease of
  use
• Personal and Unallowable Expenses No Exceptions
• These expenses will not be reimbursed
• Personal and Unallowable Expenses Reimbursement
  or Payment Meeting Exception Criteria Only
• These exceptions are considered extraordinary and
  require a Financial Deans (or equivalent)
  approval before a reimbursement will be made
• Some tubs may have more restrictive policies

Refer to the University-wide Business Expense
Policy at
http//vpf-web.harvard.edu/documents/ for
additional details and the revised lists.
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Personal and Unallowable No Exceptions

• Appendix A, UBEP
• Lists most common personal expenses which will
  NOT be reimbursed
• The no exceptions list clarifies existing
  policy and/or procedures
• The items on it are truly unallowable
• NO exceptions can be made

Found in the University-wide Business Expense
Policy at
http//vpf-web.harvard.edu/documents
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Personal and Unallowable No Exceptions
(continued)

• Some examples are
• Parking tickets or traffic fines
• Credit card reward programs
• Per diem expenses when staying with family or
  friends

• Body augmentation (piercing, tattoos, etc.)
• Massages including office chair massages
• Auto repairs (damage while on University
  business) these must go through the University
  Insurance office

For a listing of the most common unallowable
personal expenses, refer to the University-wide
Business Expense Policy at http//vpf-web.harvard.
edu/documents/
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Personal and Unallowable Meeting Exception
Criteria Only
Appendix B, UBEP

• Lists most common personal expenses which MAY be
  reimbursed under extraordinary circumstances
• Financial Deans (or equivalent) letter is
  required
• The list also indicates how to process these
  exceptions and identifies which expenses are
• Chargeable to federally sponsored research
  programs
• Considered reportable income

For a listing of the most common rare exceptions,
refer to the University-wide Business Expense
Policy at
http//vpf-web.harvard.edu/documents/
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Personal and Unallowable Meeting Exception
Criteria Only (cont.)
An exception on this list must be accompanied by
a Financial Deans (or equivalent) letter that

• Explains the extraordinary circumstances why the
  expense should be allowed
• Approves the exception
• Includes a complete business purpose
• Who, What, When, Where, and Why
• Is attached to the reimbursement request

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UBEP New Expense Categories

• Allowable as exceptions only and with Financial
  Deans (or equivalent) letter

• Telegrams
• Hotel health club fees
• Cancellation fees
• Use of private airplanes
• Contact the University Insurance office before
  booking

• Allowable at the discretion of local units
• Minibar expenses
• must be charged to expense object code 8450
• Expenses Ineligible for Direct or Indirect
  Federal Reimbursement.

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Where Can I Get Help?

• Get policy and other help online at
• http//able.harvard.edu
• Get help by calling
• The UIS Helpdesk at 6-2001

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Travel and Reimbursement Office (TRO)
The TRO is available to help you meet the
compliance requirements of Harvard and the IRS.
Additional information is available on the TRO
web site (http//www.travel.harvard.edu/)
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Harvard University Travel and Reimbursement
Policy Briefing Thanks for coming!Your feedback
is appreciated!