Reimbursing UW Employees
This page will review Expense Reports related to Non-Travel expense. For Travel Expense Reports, visit the Travel website for more information.
Expense Reports are a tool in Workday used to reimburse UW employees only for expenses made on behalf of UW business. They are for rare occasions when other procurement methods are not an option. This should be done as a last resort. As with other procurement methods, you must have department approval.
In Workday, your task options are:
- Create Expense Report (for self)
- Create Expense Report for Worker (on behalf of employee)
Access:
- Users will need an Expense Data Entry Specialist role to complete an Expense Report in Workday.
Training:
- Job aid How to Create Travel and Non-Travel Spend Authorizations and Expense Reports (UW Employee reimbursements)
All individuals seeking or approving reimbursements should be familiar with the below.
- Effective July 6, 2026: IRS 60 Day Reimbursement Policy
This policy will be implemented only through the Expense Report module, affecting employees and student employees. Students, candidates, and visitors reimbursed through the Miscellaneous Payment module are not affected at this time.
Effective July 6, 2026, UW will adopt Rule 2 of the IRS Accountable Plan (also referenced in SAAM 10.80.70.b.). Under this policy, expenses must be substantiated within 60 days. For purposes of this policy, as stated in the Safe Harbor established in IRS Section 1.62-2(g)(2)(i), a "reasonable period" will be defined as 60 days from the date of purchase of the expense. Failure to do so will result in the expense being treated as taxable income, and the reimbursement will be processed through payroll to ensure the applicable payroll withholding taxes are applied from the individual's next semi-monthly earnings (see Payment Information Process under Additional Resources)
Please note: the reasonable period definition stated above is applicable to non-travel expenses. For details on how a reasonable period is defined for travel expenses, please refer to Travel Service's website here.
Expenses substantiated on an Expense Report within the 60 day time period stated above will satisfy the reasonable time period requirement and will not be considered income.
If you are claiming an exception to this policy, substantial documentation must be attached to the delayed Expense Report and will be subject to review by Accounts Payable.
Allowable exceptions to this policy include:
- The employee was on an approved extended leave of absence.
- Documentation requirement: Department confirmation of extended leave of absence.
- The employee was on business travel status for over 60 days.
- Documentation requirement: Trip pre-approval, documentation substantiating continuous 60-day travel.
- The delayed submission of the Expense Report was caused by the Shared Environment and/or department personnel other than the Payee.
- Documentation requirement: SE Director (or SE highest reporting authority) explanation and approval.
Additional Resources
June 16 2026 - Procurement IRS 60 Day Reimbursement Policy Information Meeting
- Slide Deck
- Q&A from Information Meeting
- Follow-up Q&A
How to Create Travel and Non-Travel Spend Authorizations and Expense Reports Job Aid
- Updates: 60 Day Reimbursement (page 34)
Payment Information Process (Flow Chart)
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: The reimbursement request had one or more send-backs. To which submission date does the policy apply?
A: The initial submission date
Q: Are there additional steps to take after submitting the Expense Report for processing the payment as taxable income?
A: No, once submitted and fully approved, a Workday integration will take place that will create a report that will be sent to Payroll. See the Payment Information Process (Flow Chart) diagram for more information.
Q: Is there an exception to the 60-day policy if there are payment reissues?
A: This will depend on the reason for the reissue. ACH and wire returns to not require a new reimbursement payment request, which can continue to use the initial submission date. Returned checks that require a new reimbursement request must be discussed within the department to determine why the check is being reissued, as there may be factors within or outside of the employee's control.
Q: The funding source has a delay in releasing funds. What exception is applicable?
A: Please choose the delayed submission caused by the SE and/or department personnel exception. The required documentation will be a note from the funding source or manager that the funding is not available or will not be available at [MM/DD/YYYY]
Q: Is there a final cutoff date for any reimbursement submission?
A: There is no final cutoff date for reimbursement submissions. The department may create its own internal policy if preferred.
Q: I prepaid for Continuing Education and/or Accreditation Fees, but I can't receive reimbursement until he accreditation is obtained. How do I request reimbursement?
A: The expense is to be reimbursed as a non-travel with the "Professional Licenses and Accreditation" expense item. Please use the date of certification as the Expense Date. Do not use the actual date of purchase. In the Expense Report notes or comments, please explain that the date of certification is used and attach the certification document.
Q: Will the Cost Center used on the Expense Report be charged with the additional tax amount?
A: No, the worktags used on the Expense Report will only be charged for the reimbursement amount when the ER is paid. No additional amounts be charged to the worktags used on the ER, and no additional costs will be incurred by the departments for these taxes.
Q: What happens if the employee is terminated?
A: If the employee has received W-2 reportable wages in the current year, the payroll team will make the required adjustments to ensure accurate tax reporting. If the employee has no W-2 reportable wages, the imputed income will be reported on a Form 1099 instead of a W-2.
Q: Is there a notification to the employee when the reimbursement is marked taxable?
A: Unless the employee is the initiator of the Expense Report, there is no notification within Workday to the payee about their reimbursement being marked as taxable income. The department is to communicate with the payee about the policy.
Q: I purchased non-travel expenses during business travel. What is the expense date for the non-travel expenses? Which exception applies?
A: The expense date will remain the purchase date for non-travel expenses and the reimbursement should be submitted within 60 days of purchase. If the employee was on travel status for an extended period and returns after the 60-day window has passed, the reimbursement may be submitted with the exception "the employee was on business travel status for over 60 days" selected. Please attach documentation in the form of trip pre-approval and/or documentation substantiating continuous 60-day travel.
Q: How will any related employer-side taxes, deductions, or fringe costs be funded? Are there any additional cost impacts to the departments?
A: The employer tax will be absorbed by the current/existing UW fridge benefit rate. There is not additional cost to departments.
Q: Will the fringe benefit rate be applied to taxable reimbursements, like we do for salary or wages?
A: There is no fringe attached to these payments. The payments are not processed in Payroll, only the amount to be taxed is transmitted to payroll wages.
Q: Can I combine taxable expenses with other expenses?
A: Expenses that are over the 60-day period and will be taxed should be submitted on separate Expense Reports. Please do not combine with non-taxable expenses.
- The employee was on an approved extended leave of absence.
- Not Allowed on Non-Travel Reimbursement Expense Reports
Reimbursement Type Instead Reimburse payments for personal services Visit our How to Pay page for guidance on the best payment method Prizes and Awards for UW employees or UW students Contact the Integrated Service Center for prizes/awards for UW employees. See the Tax Office webpage for more information on prizes/awards for UW students Gift Certificates for Employee Recognition Gift certificates given to UW employees should be reported to Integrated Service Center Travel for UW employees Travel related reimbursement should be on a separate Expense Report for business related travel. See UW Travel Office webpage. Housing See the Real Estate webpage for more information on leases. Reimbursements to individuals for rent must have the appropriate approvals and be submitted through the Travel Office. UW Tuition See the UW Student Fiscal Services webpage Amazon Mechanical Turk Use a department ProCard. Check the Quick Links on the ProCard page for the policy. Prolific Use a department ProCard. Check the Quick Links on the ProCard page for the policy. Expenses purchased using any personal rewards program rewards (rebate, mileage points, credit card travel points, my wallet refunds, gift cards etc.) This includes Amazon, Costco Executive memberships (due to annual rebate) and other personal rewards programs. - Documentation
- Documentation is required for every expense made on behalf of the University of Washington. Examples include receipts and bank statements. These documents support accounting and reconciliation best practice.
- If reimbursing multiple purchases, list each receipt as a separate line item.
- A receipt is a written acknowledgment of having received, or taken into one's possession, a specified amount of money, goods, etc. A receipt is not a confirmation notice or quote.
- Receipts should be itemized to show exactly what was purchased. For example, if a meal is being reimbursed, include the itemized receipt showing the food and beverages being purchased at that meal.
- Make every attempt to retrieve a receipt from the supplier for the purchase. If a receipt cannot be collected, have supporting documentation available such as a bank statement, confirmation email of purchase, packing slip etc. and an itemized list of what was purchased.
- For destruction of receipts after scanning, each department must create a scanning policy that is in compliance with Records Management
- If the purchase is food related, include a list of attendee names. This list will demonstrate adherence to the per diem limit.
To read more about the UW receipt policy, click on the link below:
- Approval Process
Expense Reports will be reviewed in their department by:
- SE Requisition Specialist
- Funding Approver (Grant Manager, Cost Center Manager etc.) if it is not applied to a spend authorization.
If the Expense Report is over $3,500 it will also route to:
- AP Data Entry Specialist
- Payment Method
- Employees who currently receive their payroll by direct deposit to their bank account will be able to choose to receive their reimbursement by direct deposit to the same account, or a different bank account. The banking information from Payroll does not default.
- New employees will need to set up their banking information for Travel and E-Reimbursement in Workday.
- You should check the ‘Pay' section in Workday and verify that your account is set properly for Travel and E-Reimbursement under “Payment Elections."
- If a bank account is not set up, the reimbursement will default to check and be mailed to a designated campus box number.
- Reimbursing Non-UW Individuals
Non-UW employees can be reimbursed for travel and non-travel expenses through Miscellaneous Payments in Workday.
- For non-travel reimbursement, review this page below for what is not allowed and documentation. For more Miscellaneous Payment entry guidance, review the Miscellaneous Payments page. Job aid How to Perform Miscellaneous Payments in Workday (Non-UW Employee reimbursement).
- For travel, review the Travel website for policy
