The following necessary, proper, and reasonable travel expenses are generally reimbursable. Refer to Detailed Reimbursable Travel Expenses at the bottom of this section for additional information.
The following business-related travel expenses are usually reimbursable:
- Baggage checking or storage fees necessary for the business purpose of a trip.
- Business office expenses when normal purchasing processes cannot be followed:
- Local and long distance telephone calls
- Fax and computer expenses
- Copy and word processing services
- Equipment rentals
- Overnight delivery/postage
- Purchase of materials and supplies when normal purchasing procedures cannot be followed
- Rental of a room or other facility for the transaction of official business
- Laundering, cleaning, or pressing of clothing if a trip is longer than six days
- Local and long distance telephone calls. Including one reasonably brief, non-emergency, personal call home per day.
- Lost ticket / Re-ticketing charges, if both of the following conditions are met:
- Occurrence is infrequent.
- There is a valid business reason.
- Parking, for travel exceeding 24 hours, lower-cost, longer-term parking options should be used
- Registration fees for conferences, conventions or meetings of professional or learned societies
- Reservation cancellation charges, if charges are the result of circumstances beyond the traveler’s control
- Travelers who are unable to honor a reservation are responsible for canceling the reservation in compliance with the cancellation terms established by the hotel, airline, etc.
- The traveler must promptly return any refundable deposits to the University
- Road and bridge tolls
- Special fees for foreign travel, including the following:
- Obtaining a passport, visa, tourist card, and necessary photographs
- Certificates of birth, health, identity, and related affidavits
- Charges for required inoculations and medical evacuation insurance
- Traveler’s checks
-
Currency conversion and check cashing fees
- Hiring guides, translators, and local labor
- Full collision insurance on automobiles rented in foreign countries)
- Taxi and public transportation fares
Note: For foreign travelers, certain non-business expenses may be treated as taxable income to the traveler. The calculation of the taxable amount is based on multiplying total expenses by the ratio of nonbusiness travel days to the total business and nonbusiness travel days.
Reimbursement of travel expense by a non-UCSC third-party:
Ensure that any reimbursements by an outside source have been deposited to the appropriate departmental account code (FOAPAL).
Air Travel Costs:
Refer to the
Air Travel section.
Aircraft, Private:
If the traveler incurred higher than standard operating costs, the traveler may seek reimbursement by submitting a statement with the
Post Travel Expense certifying that he or she incurred higher operating costs.
Automobile, Personal:
Refer to the Personal Auto Usage section.
Baggage, checking and storage fees:
These fees are reimbursable only if necessary for the business purpose of a trip.
Business office expenses:
The following expenses may be reimbursed when normal UCSC purchasing processes cannot be used:
- Fax and computer expenses
- Copy services
- Equipment rentals
- Overnight delivery/postage
- Purchase of materials and supplies
- Rental of a room or other facility for the transaction of official business
- Laundering, cleaning, or pressing of clothing if a trip is longer than six days
- Word processing services
Lodging:
Refer to the
Hotel Room, Lodging, Meals and Incidentals section.
Meals and Incidentals:
Refer to the Meals and Incidental Expense Rates: Within and Outside Continental U.S. section.
Rail or bus travel:
- Rail or bus transportation may be used when required by the destination or by business necessity.
- When rail or bus travel is used in lieu of air travel only the lesser of rail fare or equivalent airfare cost to the same destination will be reimbursed.
Rental cars:
Refer to the
Rental car section.
Reservation cancellation charge:
Charges or lost refunds will be reimbursed only if charges are the result of circumstances beyond the traveler’s control.
Special fees for foreign travel
The following special fees and expenses related to foreign travel are generally reimbursable:
- Obtaining a passport, visa, tourist card, and necessary photographs
- Certificates of birth, health, identity, and related affidavits
- Charges for required inoculations and medical evacuation insurance
-
Currency conversion and check cashing fees
- Traveler’s checks
- Hiring guides, translators, and local labor
- Full collision insurance on automobiles rented in foreign countries
Telephone calls
Local and long distance telephone business calls are reimbursable. In addition, one reasonably brief, non-emergency, personal call home per day is reimbursable.
Ticket replacement / re-ticketing charge
- Service charges may be reimbursed, provided such occurrences are infrequent.
- Charges for re-ticketing, schedule changes, etc. are reimbursable if incurred for a valid business reason.
Virtual Conferences
For virtual conferences (via Zoom, etc.), the destination of travel should be considered the location that the conference was virtually attended, most likely the remote work location or office location (e.g. Santa Cruz, CA, Scotts Valley, CA, etc.). If an agenda is provided for the conference, include a copy when submitting your expense report.