A Guide To…



A Guide To…

The WS/FCS Out-Of-County Travel Expense Reimbursement Policy

When you travel on school district business to locations beyond the boundaries of Forsyth County, school district policy AR 4133 “Travel Compensation and the Use of School Vehicles” governs the procedures you are to use in paying for your travel expenses and in obtaining reimbursement for them. This brochure explains the policy and how you can get reimbursed for your properly approved out-of-county travel expenses.

POLICY. Section V(B)(2)(a) reads as follows:

a. Private Vehicle - The employee shall be provided a school system gasoline credit card for the purchase of the gasoline actually used for school travel and will be reimbursed at the rate of fourteen cents per mile. The employee may also be reimbursed for parking, including airport parking and tolls. Original receipts are required. If prior written approval was not required for the travel, verification of the mileage and parking fees on a Direct Pay for Mileage Reimbursement Request form by the employee's principal or immediate supervisor shall be sufficient documentation of the prior approval for the payment of reimbursement.

COMPLETE A PRE-APPROVAL REQUEST. The first step is to complete a “Pre-Approval Form” and have it signed by your supervisor. You will need to complete a copy of this form to obtain the school district credit card to use in paying for your gasoline expenses.

All travel approval and reimbursement forms are accessible only from a computer connected directly to the school district’s internal network (Intranet). To get to the forms website, go to the WS/FCS main website, choose “Faculty and Staff,” then “Forms,” then “Travel Reimbursement Forms.” You can also go directly to the site by going to .

SIGN OUT A GASOLINE CREDIT CARD. Employees who travel out-of-county on pre-approved school district business are entitled to use a gasoline credit card AND to be reimbursed for fourteen cents-per-mile for non-gasoline travel expenses. Our policies make no other provisions for reimbursement, which means that your failure to obtain a gasoline credit card before the trip does not entitle you to receive any reimbursement for the gasoline expenses you incurred as a result.

Obtain a gasoline credit card by presenting a copy of your completed and approved Pre-Approval Form to the person in your school Principal’s Office who is responsible for keeping the gasoline card records. (Keep the original form yourself.) They should keep the copy in their files as a condition of issuing you the card.

The policy requires school employees to use the school system credit card only for gasoline expenses that they incurred while on the pre-approved assignment or trip. In addition, no expenses other than gasoline are to be charged on the card. Any “unauthorized” expenses charged to the card must be paid back to the school district immediately upon your return.

In order to use the correct amount of gasoline, you should start your trip with a full tank of gas purchased with your own personal funds. The school system credit card should then be used only to keep your tank full during the trip, if it is an extended number of days, and finally to fill-up the tank again upon your return. Gas receipt(s) for all gas purchased with the school system credit card must accompany travel reimbursement forms. (Following this procedure is important, as using more gasoline than you are entitled to will result in a reduction in your reimbursement, and large excesses may be considered cause for disciplinary action.)

COMMUTING RULES. IRS regulations regarding “commuting rules” determine upon how many miles you can be reimbursed for. If you begin and end your trip from a work location, all mileage is reimbursable. If you either leave from, or return to, your home, we are required by IRS and State regulations to consider whether your home is further from or closer to your travel destinations when determining reimbursable mileage. Only the shorter of the two distances is reimbursable, even if your home was one of your destinations. If, for example, the distance from your home in Clemmons to Greensboro is further than from your school site to Greensboro, then only the distance from your school site to Greensboro (and back) is reimbursable, even though you left from home and returned directly to your home. (Exception: If your trip is on a non-workday such as a Saturday the entire distance is reimbursable.)

Report lost or stolen gasoline credit cards immediately to the Operations Department at (336) 727-2527.

MEAL EXPENSES. Meal expenses for pre-approved “Out-of-County” travel are reimbursable only up to State maximums (Rates are noted on the pre-approval and reimbursement forms). State rules do not require you to submit receipts for meal expenses. The rules regarding meal reimbursement are basically as follows:

• Breakfasts are reimbursable only if you stay overnight the night before OR are required to begin your travel before 6:00am that morning.

• Lunch is not reimbursable at all without at least one overnight stay.

• Dinner is reimbursable only if you stay overnight afterward or you return to your home after 8:00pm.

It is possible under the State rules to qualify for both breakfast and dinner reimbursement, but not for lunch reimbursement. Reimbursement is not allowed for meals when meals are included in the costs of events, such as those which are provided as a part of a conference activity.

SUBMITTING YOUR REIMBURSEMENT REQUEST. Once you have returned AND you have returned the gasoline credit card to your supervisor, you may submit a travel expense reimbursement form to your Principal or supervisor for approval to obtain the fourteen cents-per-mile reimbursement for non-gasoline vehicle expense, as well as any lodging, food or other expenses for which you have written receipts and are entitled to obtain reimbursement under our current policies.

The Financial Services Department strongly recommends that employees who travel complete their own travel reimbursement forms rather than asking a secretary or anyone else to do it for them. Completing your forms online is quick and easy, and it will save you, and everyone involved in the approval process, a lot of time and effort.

Please be sure to check your travel reimbursement forms for accuracy and completeness before you sign them, as forms with missing or incomplete information are delayed and sometimes returned to the submitting party for correction. When submitting travel reimbursement forms, be sure that:

• You have attached a copy of the signed pre-approval form and ORIGINAL receipts for all gas and other non-meal expenses

• All required personal information is complete.

• All destinations are clearly identified, and all mileage shown – including round-trip - is accurate and complete.

• If your gasoline charges exceed 20 miles-per-gallon, you may be required to attach an explanation which includes the year, make and model of your vehicle.

• All required approval signatures are obtained, including pre-approvals (if necessary) for expenses in excess of State maximums.

The Financial Services Department strives to make all mileage reimbursement payments within two weeks of receiving your completed requests.

Please contact the Financial Services Department at 727-2821 if you have any questions about this policy or how it is administered.

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This document is provided by the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools Financial Services Department.

More copies are available upon request. Call 727-2823 and ask to speak to someone in the Accounts Payable area.

A Guide To…

The WS/FCS

Out-Of-County Travel Expense Reimbursement Policy

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Revised September, 2006

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