Reimbursement of Travel and Related Expenses

The full University policy about reimbursement of travel and business expenses can be found at:

Additional guidelines about the reimbursements process for Faculty of Arts and Sciences can be found at:

Pre Travel:

The Rutgers Policy on Travel, Travel Incidentals and Meal Expense Policy requires careful documentation of expenses and submission of original receipts along with the Expense Report. Note that all expenses require a clear and valid business purpose, which is defined as an expense that supports or advances the goals, objectives and mission of the University. The business purpose should be defined in the expense report to ensure quick and speedy reimbursement.

Your departmental secretary or administrative assistant can help you with the preparation of the appropriate forms and related materials. Feel free to contact your departmental secretary or administrative assistant for any questions related to the policy. Questions related to funding of travel expenses from a grant, should be directed to the Grants Accounting Office.   

Before starting your travel arrangements, please complete the Preapproval Travel Form.  

Once the travel is approved, travelers who do not want to use personal funds can use the direct billing option for booking airline or rail tickets. Refer to link below for more details:

https://procurementservices.rutgers.edu/travel-and-expense/travel-policies-and-forms/travel-order-form-instructions

You could also process a check request in RU Marketplace to pay for the following business and travel expenses:

  • Conference registration fees and hotel room reservations under $5,000 for individual staff members staying less than 10 nights
  • Use a purchase order to make a deposit for a hotel room reservation
  • Use check requests for non-employee (student) expenses

 Post Travel: 

Faculty MUST submit documents and original receipts within 30 days of returning from a trip to the departmental secretary or administrative assistant.  Note that submission of receipts after a year, are deemed taxable to the employee.

Please make sure you provide the following information for the expense report:

  • Business Purpose & reason for the business trip
  • Conference registration- Include the conference itinerary to substantiate the business purpose, time period of the trip and the amenities provided by the conference. It needs registration confirmation and proof of payment.
  • Airline Tickets- ticket receipt, e-ticket receipt or detailed invoice/itinerary showing times of departure, class of service, ticket or confirmation number and proof of payment
  • Car rental- rental contract, final receipt and proof of payment
  • Bus/Rail- Ticket stub or detailed receipt showing the fare and proof of payment.
  • Hotel- Hotel receipt and proof of payment, or express checkout itemized receipt with credit card being charged. The receipt should be detailed including the rate, dates of stay and proof of payment.
  • Miscellaneous expenses and supplies – Limited to $500 or less with detailed receipt, proof of payment and business purpose. Purchases in excess of the $500.00 will need to be approved by the Chancellor or delegate.
  • Receipts in foreign currency- attach the Oanda currency converter with proper receipts and bank or credit statement
  • Receipts in foreign language require English translation and a brief explanation of the receipts.

Travel Expenses Over a Year

The University has determined that expense reports for expenses incurred more than one year before the report submission date are outside of the reasonable time period required by the Internal Revenue Code. Consequently, such reimbursements are considered taxable income as per the Internal Revenue Service and University Policy.  The employee must complete the “Business Travel Reimbursement Over One Year” form. The form needs to be signed by the Dean and the  Chancellor.

For more details, refer to https://procurementservices.rutgers.edu/news/travel-and-expense-featured/reimbursement-for-expenses-incurred-more-than-one-year-prior