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Travel Services

Non-Reimbursable Examples

Guidelines

**Note that this is not an exhaustive list, these are just common examples of expenses that are not reimbursable. 

**If an expense is not mentioned in UW Travel Policy, this does not guarantee it is an allowable expense for travel reimbursement. 

Examples

    • Alcohol - It is best to approach alcohol as not being reimbursable. There are some instances where alcohol may be reimbursable on a 64 discretionary budget if the funding allows for it. 

    • Continuing education credits - tuition for professional development/job-related courses - See UW Tax Office page 'Fringe Benefits
    • Exchange of funds between travelers - for example one traveler paying another traveler their share for a lodging accommodation, reimbursement must go to the traveler who actually paid the hotel expense 
    • Expenses purchased with rewards programs (mileage points, credit card rewards program, my wallet funds, gift cards, etc.) https://finance.uw.edu/travel/bookandpay#RewardsPrograms
      • Bitcoin is also not allowable purchase method
    • Expenses purchased with mobile payment service (Venmo, Paypal, Zelle, Cash App)
      • Unable to obtain a clear audit trail to substantiate expenses - More information
    • Expenses related to negligence
      • Common examples
        • Missed/changed/cancelled flight expense due to negligent travel planning
        • Fines for parking tickets, citations or infractions received while operating a vehicle while on UW business (note that policy on this is very strict and is not open to reimbursement on any form of discretionary funding as it is blocked by state legislature) 
        • Delivery of fuel for car rental or personal car
        • Retrieval of keys from locked vehicles
        • Jump starting vehicle
        • Towing
    • Gifts - if department is looking to reimburse a gift we recommend consulting with Procurement (pcshelp@uw.edu, 206.543.4500) to see if it is eligible for reimbursement on an XR (eReimbursement)  
    • Ground Transportation examples:
      • Expenses related to commute - more information
      • Ground transportation to meals identified to be personal preference/convenience. If finding it is difficult to manage, recommendation is for department to write a policy. For meal accommodations related to medical refer to our ADA guidance.
        • Example: personal dietary restrictions
          • Vegan
          • Vegetarian
          • Religious Reasons
        • Example: desire for a tastier option
      • Rental car when any of the drivers listed on the final rental agreement are personal
      • U Pass
      • Public transportation passes (orca card, metro card, etc.) unless the amount can be prorated/auditable to UW business cost only
      • Bicycle Mileage
    • Incidental expenses - these are not to be reimbursed separately as they are covered in the travelers meal per diem allowance
      • Tips given to porters, baggage carriers, bellhops, hotel maids, stewards/stewardesses or other services provided
      • Foreign transaction/processing fees
      • Foreign currency exchange/conversion 
      • ATM fees
      • Duty tax
    • Medical insurance & medical/hospital fees
    • ​​​​​​​Lodging in a non-commercial lodging facility - see per diem eligibility
      • Ex: (staying at a family/friend/acquaintance house/timeshare and them writing a receipt) 
    • Optional conference/meeting events that are social in nature
    • Personal expenses
      • Common examples:
        • Childcare
        • Travel expenses related to spouse/dependents
        • Personal electronic accessories (even if they are used for business) 
        • Hotel fees not required for business
          • In room movies
          • Alcohol (minibar) 
          • Other optional amenities
        • Expenses related to personal preference/convenience
          • Valet (when self park or other reasonable options available) 
          • Airport lounge fees
          • High occupancy lane (HOT) tolls - i.e. i405 tolls in WA 
          • Upgrades not required for business
            •  Ex: selecting a higher class car on the Uber or Lyft app, suite at hotel
      • Savings achieved from making personal decisions do not translate to a reimbursable value. For example if a traveler chooses to stay at a friends house instead of a hotel at the business location these savings to not translate to them receiving the lodging per diem or supplementing for other expenses they weren't eligible for. 
    • Travel Insurance (Trip Protection, Travel Cancellation Package, etc.) - unless a mandatory/unavoidable cost of doing business for example the program the traveler is participating in required them to purchase it and there was no way to get around it. Travelers are protected under our change/cancellation of travel plans policy.
    • Trusted Traveler Programs (TSA pre-check, Nexus, global entry, etc.)