Ithaca College

(Posted on behalf of Janet Williams, Interim Vice President for Finance and Administration)

To recognize the current prudent and responsible travel spending practices across the campus and acknowledgement that faculty and staff are busy with other compliance documentation requirements, President’s Council has recently approved an update to the current Travel Policy whereby authorized IC travelers shall no longer be required to substantiate meal and incidental expenses for transactions below $25 (USD).  In such cases where an expense does not exceed $25 (USD), receipts are NOT required to be included with subsequent Expense Report Form submittals.  The traveler is still required to indicate the nature of the expense and dollar amount paid. Where the form of payment is a credit card, it is advisable, but not required for the purpose of validating reimbursement, to retain a copy of the credit card statement.

Any meal or incidental transaction greater than $25 (USD) must be documented by an acceptable receipt when seeking reimbursement. 

The Ithaca College Travel Services department is pleased to support this authorization which is intended to help eliminate some of the administrative burden associated with expense reimbursement documentation. 

The following is an excerpt from the forthcoming Travel Policy revision which will be published on the Travel Services website:

MEALS

The College will pay for the reasonable cost of meals while traveling on College business. Fiscal prudence and common sense should be used. Original detailed receipts are required for reimbursement (see the Documentation and Reimbursement Requirements section for further details) for meal and incidental expenses exceeding $25 (USD) per meal or transaction. Expenditures determined to be excessive will not be reimbursed or paid for by the College. When entertaining guests while on College business, the guest’s name(s) and professional affiliation(s) must be included on receipts and attached to the Expense Report Form. Travelers are required to obtain sales-tax exemption(s) where applicable. See the Insurance and Tax Guidelines section for further details.

INCIDENTAL EXPENSES

Incidental expenses are defined as fees associated with ground transportation charges, fees and tips given to porters, baggage fees, hotel staff, ground transportation, parking, and toll charges.  Incidental expenses greater than $25 (USD) must be substantiated by acceptable receipt documentation.

Each department is authorized to supplement the new receipt requirement with its own policy with regard to receipt documentation with terms that are no less restrictive than this most current policy change that has been approved by President’s Council.  Furthermore, this receipt requirements revision may not apply to travel where Grant or other non-IC funded sources are involved.  For individual clarification, please contact your department’s travel administrator and/or your travel approver. 

Formal updates to the Travel Policy, Travel Authorization Form, and Expense Report Form are forthcoming and an Intercom message(s) will be released as soon as updates are available.

For immediate questions, please contact IC Travel Services Specialist, Sheryl Scott, at sscott@ithaca.edu or (607) 274-1480.