The cost of the trainee's hotel room is normally reimbursable at the basic single occupancy room rate (plus tax). Almost all hotels accept a credit card number to guarantee a reservation and will only charge the card if the traveler fails to arrive on time without properly canceling the reservation. Therefore, trainees are expected to handle the room reservations with a credit card. However, UAB will occasionally place an advance deposit in order to secure a room for the trainee if it cannot be handled any other way with the hotel. UAB will not reimburse the trainee in advance of the trip in any circumstances. Normally, such deposits would be limited to the single occupancy rate for one night. Evidence that the hotel will not accept a credit card guarantee and contractually requires an advance deposit should be attached to the requisition.

Receipts are required to document all meal expenditures for which the trainee is requesting reimbursement. Itemized receipts are required for reimbursement of a meal regardless of the dollar amount.

UAB will reimburse meals with detailed receipts up to:

• Breakfast: $25
• Lunch: $50
• Dinner: $75

Trainees cannot be reimbursed for alcoholic beverages or alcohol-related costs under any circumstance.

If the traveler has food allergies and cannot eat the meal that is being provided by the conference, a doctor's statement with a listing of the allergies of the traveler and a copy of the menu from the conference must be submitted to be considered for reimbursement.

First/business class airfare/transportation is generally unallowable for trainees, unless a legitimate medical justification is documented.

• Parking/Tolls
• Mileage
• Rental Cars
• Rental Car Insurance
• Airline Tickets
• Taxis

Parking/Tolls

With receipts to document the expenditures, actual parking and toll charges directly associated with trainee travel may be reimbursed.

Mileage

Reimbursements for private car mileage must be based upon the IRS federal mileage rates. The private car mileage rate does not apply to rental cars or to UAB-owned vehicles.

Rental Cars

The cost of renting automobiles may be allowed for UAB trainee travel purposes if public transportation is not available or is impractical to utilize. The original detailed receipt/agreement must be attached to the reimbursement request. In such cases, the traveler may not also be reimbursed for the mileage allowance.

Rental Car Insurance

Automobile rental companies usually offer renters the option of purchasing various types of liability and physical damage insurance to address situations in which the rental car is involved in an accident or in which the rental car is stolen or vandalized. Whether a trainee would be reimbursed by UAB for such insurance depends upon:

1. whether the car is being rented strictly for UAB trainee travel purpose, and
2. whether the travel is occurring inside the United States vs. outside the United States.

According to UAB's Risk Management Department, UAB now has liability and physical damage coverage for business travel inside the United States; therefore, UAB will not pay or reimburse for such coverage from the rental car company for UAB business travel inside the United States. However, UAB will pay or reimburse for such coverage from the rental car company for UAB business travel outside the United States; and in such cases, failure to purchase such coverage for UAB business travel outside the United States may result in the traveler becoming personally liable.

For UAB's insurance to apply, the vehicle must actually have been rented for UAB business purposes, and it must actually be in use for UAB business purposes at the time of the accident/loss. Therefore, if the vehicle is going to coincidentally be used for non-UAB-business purposes on the same trip, such as sight-seeing or visiting relatives, the renter should consider purchasing such coverage personally as their own cost to cover non-business use. UAB will not pay or reimburse the traveler for other insurance which might be offered by the rental car company such as lost luggage, accidental death/dismemberment, trip cancellation, etc. If you have questions concerning UAB's insurance coverage or if you wish to submit a claim against UAB's insurance policies, please contact the UAB Risk Management Department directly at (205) 934-5382.

Airline Tickets

The UAB Travel Portal should be used to obtain an airline ticket for travel by a UAB Trainee. If the UAB Travel Portal is not used, the trainee must purchase the ticket personally and then apply for reimbursement after the trip. A detailed itinerary and proof of payment are required as supporting documentation.

Taxis

Request for reimbursement of taxi fares should only be made when the taxi trip was necessary for official UAB trainee travel purposes and when more economical forms of public transportation were unavailable or impractical. For example, free or lower cost airport shuttle vans should be used if possible, and taxis to/from meals would not normally be considered necessary if meal service was available in the traveler's hotel or within walking distance. Though documentation is not routinely required, trainees should be prepared to provide justification for the necessity and reasonableness of taxi fares if requested by the traveler's department, central administration, or auditors.

Receipts for reimbursable taxi fares should be obtained and submitted with the trainee's reimbursement request. In addition, the traveler should list each taxi trip on the travel voucher with a brief description of the purpose of the trip (e.g. "taxi from airport to hotel," "taxi from hotel to meeting," etc.). If a trainee pays the taxi fare for multiple persons, the documentation should also include a notation specifying everyone who was covered by that fare and the payment request numbers of those individuals, if applicable.

• Documentation
• Expenses
• Third Party Payments
• Phone Calls
• Conference Registration Fees
• Conference/Seminar Meals
• Unallowable Costs

Documentation

Original receipts will be required for all expense reimbursement items other than reasonable cash tips. Reimbursement for such costs (to the extent otherwise permitted by policy) will be made to the individual trainee after the trip. Though the IRS 60-day rule does NOT apply to true trainees, efforts should be made to process travel reimbursement requests in a timely fashion.

Expenses

Trainee travel payments must be based upon actual incurred cost, not estimates and not based upon a travel per diem.

Except for the conference registration fee and special airline ticket requisition procedures referenced below, trainees will be responsible for their travel expenses incurred in connection with their trainee travel.

Third Party Payments

Trainees should not pay costs on behalf of other individuals and expect to be reimbursed for the costs of those other individuals.

Phone Calls

The cost of phone calls made by a trainee while in trainee travel status would not normally be allowable unless the trainee can document that the call was directly related to the traineeship project.

Conference Registration Fees

Conference registration fees for the trainee would normally be paid directly by UAB to the conference sponsor in advance of the trip via an electronic Oracle Payment Request charging the trainee travel object code. However, UAB may instead reimburse the traveler after the trip for conference registration fees paid by the individual when sufficient documentation is submitted with the UAB Trainee Travel Expense Reimbursement Request.

Documentation for conference registration fees should include evidence that the trainee (rather than UAB) did indeed pay the registration fee as well as conference brochures and/or registration forms clearly identifying the applicable costs. Social/recreational activities associated with a business conference are not normally reimbursable.

Conference/Seminar Meals

Where a trainee's meal is included in his/her conference/seminar registration fee, no additional reimbursement for that meal is allowable.

Unallowable Costs

See Unallowable Costs list.