RCTC Additional Instructions for the SEMA4 Employee Expense Report Form 08/02/2013

Transcription

1 RCTC Additional Instructions for the SEMA4 Employee Expense Report Form 08/02/2013 There are two forms which generally have to be completed in order to have your work related expenses reimbursed. The Travel/Professional Development Application that is to be completed before you go authorizes you to go places and do things and states the sources and the amounts of the funds that you can use to go and do them. NOTE THE EXCEPTION: if your expenses are not being funded out of staff development funds and consist only of meals, mileage, and parking, and if your travel is entirely within the State of Minnesota, then you do not need to complete a Travel/Professional Development Application. The SEMA4 Employee Expense Report that you complete after your activity, is a report about what you did, where you went, and how you spent the money authorized for your travel and expenses. This report is required and is the basis for the reimbursement of your expenses. All reimbursable expenses for a trip or event should be included on one expense report (which may have multiple pages). These additional instructions for the SEMA4 Employee Expense Report are being provided because the instructions that come with it are not as complete as they might be. You will be able to complete your expense report in minimal time if you sit down with your computer, these instructions, the receipts from your trip, a copy of your Travel / Professional Development Application, and your employee bargaining agreement or plan. If you have questions about these instructions, or still need help after reading them, please contact Michael O Dea by telephone ( ), , or in person. If you are using the SEMA4 Employee Expense Report to request a travel advance, please attach a note which says that you are requesting a payroll advance to the front of the form to ensure that it is processed as a request for a payroll advance and not as an expense report. If you just check the box on the form, it may not be noticed among all the forms being filed for reimbursement. Your SEMA4 Employee Expense Report must be submitted promptly. The Internal Revenue Service has ruled that business expenses must be reimbursed within sixty days after the travel ends or the expense is incurred, or else the reimbursement will be considered to be taxable income and tax withholding from it will be required. This time line begins on the date that the travel ends or the expense is incurred, not on the date on which an expense form is submitted, and it ends with the date on the check that includes the reimbursement. That means that you have to submit your completed forms in time for the reimbursement process to be entirely completed and paid within sixty days after the expense is incurred. The policy of Minnesota Management and Budget which governs all State of Minnesota employees requires that expense reports submitted after the closing of the fiscal year to

2 which the expenses are to be charged must be accompanied by a letter explaining why the expense report was submitted late and approved by the RCTC President or designee. Ruth Siefert is the President s designee for this purpose. Please use the current expense report form. That is the version with the designation FI (12/22/11) in the lower left corner of the form. If you have stocks of the old forms, please dispose of them. The SEMA4 Expense Form and instructions can be obtained from the Business Office folder in the Forms folder on the J drive of our campus computer system. The form is also available as a PDF and in an enterable Word format at the Department of Management and Budget website: If all you want is a blank form, printing the pdf form from this site will give it to you without the zeroes inserted in various blanks. (To use this version you will need to select Language Level 2 in the PostScript options section of the Advanced Print dialog.) The enterable Word version (labeled Employee Expense Report-RTF, which is the last item on the menu) will allow you to complete the form on your computer and then print the completed form. The only expenses to be reported on the SEMA4 Employee Expense Report are those which you personally incurred. Do not report any other person s expenses on this form. Do not report purchases made with a state credit card on this form. Do not report purchases made with a purchase order on this form. Do not report state car or rental car mileage on this form. When you complete this form you are declaring, under the penalties for perjury, that the claim for reimbursement is just and correct and that you have not accepted personal travel benefits. Personal travel benefits include, but are not limited to, any benefits issued by airlines or lodging facilities such as frequent flier miles, discount coupons, or free night of lodging after specified days paid. Please report all of the expenses which you have incurred and their actual amounts. Do not just report the amount of the limit of your staff development allowance. If you do that and more funds become available to reimburse your expenses, the processing of any additional reimbursement becomes difficult because you have already sworn that the previous amount which you reported was correct. Expenses will be reimbursed only after the event or travel is complete. If you pay a registration fee or tuition before an event, save the receipt and submit it as part of your expenses when you return from the trip or when the course is completed. Assemble your receipts before you start this process. You must have receipts for all of the expenses that you report on this form except for: meals, taxi services, baggage handling, parking meters, pay telephones, and metered photocopiers. Printouts of electronic receipts that specify an amount has been paid are usable for this purpose. Photocopies of receipts are usable for this purpose. Statements that do not indicate payment, credit card slips and bills, bank drafts, and cancelled checks, are not allowable receipts. If you do not have receipts for some expenses, please complete a notarized

3 affidavit for them and use it in place of a receipt. Affidavit forms are available at the Business Office. Incurring some types of special expenses, such as meals or lodging within your work area (generally Olmsted County), providing refreshments, registration fees exceeding $1, per person, or other unusual expenses, requires completion of the Request for Approval to Incur Special Expenses in addition to the SEMA4 Employee Expense Report. This form should be completed before the expense is incurred. It is available in the Business Office folder in the Forms folder on the J Drive of our campus computer system in a version which you can complete on your computer. It is also available at the Department of Finance website mentioned above in a version that requires you to print out a blank form and complete it by hand. Travel expenses for in-state trips and out-of-state trips must be reported on separate expense reports. An in-state trip is one in which all travel is within Minnesota. A trip with a destination outside Minnesota is considered to be out-of-state travel even though some of the travel, such as driving to and from an airport, takes place within Minnesota. When completing your expense form on the computer you should be aware that the form only accommodates one mileage reimbursement rate. If you have multiple trips at different rates, please report them on separate forms. These are the supplemental instructions for RCTC employees completing the SEMA4 Employee Expense Report: 1. Please complete the Employee Expense Report promptly upon returning from travel. 2. If you complete the form by hand rather than on a computer, block print or type everything except the signatures so that the information can be easily read. Please use black ink so that it can be photocopied clearly. 3. On the top line, on either side of where it says SEMA4 EMPLOYEE EXPENSE REPORT, check the boxes which apply. Use separate forms to report expenses for In State and Out of State travel. Do not report both on the same form. 4. The next line begins with Employee Name on the left side. In the blanks provided on this line, print your name, home address, work station, agency (MNSCU), one way commute miles (distance from your home to your work station), and job title. 5. The third line begins with a box in which you are asked to print your employee ID number (your State of Minnesota employee identification number). This is the same number which is used to get access to salary check stub information. It is not an RCTC identification number or a social security number.

4 6. Leave the box labeled Rcd # blank. 7. The next three boxes on the third line are the Trip Start Date, Trip End Date, and Reason for Travel/Advance. In these boxes put the starting and ending dates of the travel or event which you are seeking reimbursement for and a very brief description of it. Note: If you are taking a class on line or participating in some other event which does not involve travel, fill in the beginning and ending dates of that event in the Trip Start Date and Trip End Date. If you are taking a class, you cannot be reimbursed until the class is concluded. The Trip End Date is the date which is used to determine the start of the sixty day period for submission of your reimbursement for the purposes of the Internal Revenue Service. Do not leave it blank. 8. In the last two boxes on the third line, record the employee bargaining unit you belong to (Barg. Unit), and the Expense Group ID. Expense Group ID is the cost center to which your expenses are to be charged. (If you do not know what that cost center is, you will find it on the section of the travel authorization form in which your expenses were authorized. If you have not completed a travel authorization, ask your supervisor what cost center to use.) Note: If you are completing the form on your computer, you will find that this field will not accept your input. You must fill it in after you have printed the form. 9. Do not fill in anything on the rows of MAPS Code Blocks. 10. In the column headed Date, below the MAPS Code Blocks, list each individual day of your trip on at least one line. You may have to use more than one line per day, depending on your itinerary. Please read items 11 and 12 of these instructions before you fill in the information. 11. In the column headed Daily Description, describe briefly what you were doing on each date, for example: travel to seminar, attend seminar, return home. 12. The column headed Itinerary has two subsections for each line: Time and Location. Each line in this column is divided into Depart and Arrive sections. For each trip, fill in the time of departure and the location departed from and the time of arrival and the location arrived at. When filling in the location departed from or arrived at, please use the name of a town or city rather than that of a business. Please do not use abbreviations for the names of cities or towns. An auditor who has to read your form three years after you complete it may not know what you mean. Use a separate line for each trip. It may be necessary to complete more than one line in this column for a single date. Round trips to and from a destination will require at least two lines. For example, on a day trip from Rochester to St. Paul and back, the departure time and location from Rochester and the arrival time and location in St. Paul would complete one line while the departure time and location from St. Paul and the arrival time and location back at

5 Rochester would complete the next line. Another example: travel by air to Taos, New Mexico, on a flight leaving from the Minneapolis airport would require one line for the departure from Rochester and the arrival at the Minneapolis airport (so that mileage could be correctly recorded) and another line for the departure from Minneapolis and the arrival at Taos. Some people may find it convenient to complete the lines in this column before filling out the rest of the form. The departure and arrival times which you provide in this section determine your eligibility for meal reimbursements. When you complete this section of the form, please consider the specific expense allowance language in the bargaining agreement or plan which applies to you. Be aware, for instance, that a departure time of 6:00 AM does not put a person in travel status before 6:00 AM, which is required by all of the employee contracts and plans for people to be reimbursed for breakfast. Anytime that reimbursement for travel expenses is sought, complete itinerary information must be provided. 13. If you used your own vehicle for travel, you must complete the information in the columns headed Trip Miles, Total Trip and Local Miles, and Mileage Rate. 14. In the column headed Trip Miles, fill in the distance traveled between the location departed from and the location arrived at which you have listed on that line. Round distances the nearest whole mile. Please confirm the distance involved by making a screen print of the driving directions which you can get on the internet. One web site which you may use for this is: The distance which you get from the directions on your internet site may be different from what you actually drove. Please report the distance that you actually drove unless you do not know what it was. If that is the case, use the mileage that you get from the directions you got on the internet. 15. If you have local travel at your arrival point, add that mileage to your trip mileage for that line and enter the total in the column headed Total Trip and Local Mi. To quote State policy: Local miles are, 1) miles traveled in the vicinity of the permanent work location or 2) miles traveled to accomplish the purpose of the trip before and after reaching the destination. All stops must be listed (building, address or other location) A breakdown is required when local miles are included with trip miles. If you do not have local travel, fill in the same number that you used for Trip Miles. Round your total mileage to the nearest whole mile. Add up the mileage listed in this column and enter the total in the box that is labeled Total Miles at the bottom of this column. Please note that this total is used in the Mileage Reimbursement Calculation. 16. In the Mileage Rate column, enter the mileage rate which applies to the travel on that line. If you used a motorcycle, a specially equipped van or van type vehicle, or a personal aircraft, please consult your bargaining agreement or plan for the correct mileage rate. All of the state employee collective bargaining agreements and plans tie car mileage reimbursement to the rate which is set by the federal

6 Internal Revenue Service. (As of January 1, 2013, it is $0.565 per mile.) If you used your own car for state business when a state owned vehicle or a state rented vehicle was available for your use and you declined to use it, the applicable mileage rate is seven cents per mile less than the IRS rate. (As of July 1, 2011, it is $0.495 per mile.) If you used your own car for business travel because a state vehicle was not available, the rate which applies is the IRS rate. Use of the higher rate for your reimbursement requires documentation from Wanda Mettes that a state vehicle was not available for your use. This can be in the form of an from her which you print out and staple to your expense form. The IRS mileage reimbursement rate is subject to change. All employees will be notified when that happens. If you are in doubt about what the IRS mileage rate is, contact Michael O Dea by telephone ( ), , or in person. 17. In the Meals column, on each line for a date on which you were in travel status, check off the reimbursable meals that you ate on that date. (Note: reimbursement for meals eaten in Olmsted County requires completion of the Request for Approval to Incur Special Expenses unless your home work area is another location.) 18. Check your bargaining agreement or plan for the meal reimbursement rates which apply to you. The rates are different in each bargaining agreement and employee plan. They also vary for different geographic locations. Your bargaining agreement or employee plan will also tell you if you are allowed to consolidate the allowances for consecutive meals. 19. In the column headed Total Meals (overnight stay), enter either the total amount of the meal reimbursement which you are entitled to or the amount you actually spent, whichever is less, for the date on that line if your travel required an overnight stay that night or, if you were returning from an overnight stay, the night before. Please note that the meals which you consume on the last day of a multiple day activity are reported in this column even though you were not in travel status at the end of it. They are still meals in connection with an overnight stay. 20. In the column headed Total Meals (no overnight stay), enter the amount of reimbursement or the actual cost, whichever is less, for the meals which you ate which were not in connection with an overnight stay. Please be aware that the reimbursement of meals which are not connected to an overnight stay is subject to tax withholding. 21. In the Lodging column, enter the cost of your lodging for each individual date. This amount will include the daily charge for the room and for various taxes in connection with that charge. (Note: reimbursement for lodging within Olmsted County requires completion of the Request for Approval to Incur Special Expenses.)

7 22. In the Personal Telephone column, enter the amount of reimbursable personal telephone calls which you made on that date. (Business related calls should be reported in the Other Expenses block on the form.) Please check your bargaining agreement or plan to calculate what the reimbursable amount is. Be aware that the calculations result in a maximum reimbursement per trip, not per day. 23. The Parking column is where you report the amount that you spent on parking for each date. If you parked at a parking meter, be sure to include that information on the form because parking at a meter is an exception to the rule that you must have receipts for your parking expenses. 24. The Total column is where you record the combined amount of total meals, lodging, personal telephone and parking expenses for each line if you are completing the form by hand. 25. If you are completing the form by hand, add the amounts in the columns for meals, lodging, personal telephone, parking and total and enter them at the bottom of each column. The amount in the block labeled Subtotal (A) is the total of the Total column. It should be equal to the total of the row of column totals for meals, lodging, personal telephone, and parking. 26. The Mileage Reimbursement Calculation box on the lower left section of the form is simple to complete on a computer. The current IRS mileage reimbursement rate is $0.565 per mile. If you used your own vehicle because no state vehicle was available fill in the IRS rate and your total miles on line 1. If you used your own car when a state vehicle was available then on line 2 of the box fill in the mileage reimbursement rate for your travel (which will normally be $0.07 less than the IRS rate) and the total miles traveled. (The total miles in this calculation is the total which appears at the bottom of the Total Trip and Local Miles column which you completed in the itinerary section of the form.) If you are completing the form by hand, multiply those two numbers to get the total mileage amount and write that number in the space provided. On line 3, fill in zero. (Nobody on this campus is authorized a mileage reimbursement rate which exceeds the IRS rate.) On line 4, fill in the total of the mileage amounts which you calculated on line 1 and line 2. On line 5, fill in the IRS rate which was in place on the date of your travel. (The current IRS mileage rate is $0.565 per mile. This rate is subject to change. All employees will be notified when it does change.) Enter zero on line 6. Enter zero on line 7. Enter zero on line 8. On line 9, enter the total mileage amount from line 4. (If you are completing the form manually then round this amount to the nearest penny.) Follow the arrow across the form and enter the total mileage amount again in Box D on the right hand end of the row. 27. If you used your own vehicle for travel outside of Minnesota, please complete the air fare information on the line which is directly below the Mileage Reimbursement Calculation box. Enter the amount of the lowest airfare to your

8 destination which you obtained when you completed your travel request. Attach the documentation of that fare to your expense report. That figure is the cap for reimbursement of the amount of combined mileage, meals, and lodging which resulted from driving your own car rather than using commercial transportation. 28. Complete the Other Expenses block. On each line enter the date, the Earn Code from the instructions included with the form, a brief description of what the expense was and the total amount spent on it. Please be aware that the sales tax on supplies which you purchased is not a reimbursable item. Please note that the fee that you pay an air carrier for baggage fees is not baggage handling, it is a miscellaneous other expense and the earn code for it will be OEI or OEO depending on whether the expense was incurred for in-state or out-of state travel. (Baggage handling is a fee that you pay a red cap or other person for carrying your bags.) The total of Other Expenses constitutes Subtotal B. 29. If you are seeking reimbursement for a tuition payment, please be sure that the date which you enter on that line in the Other Expenses block is the date on which on which you made your payment rather than the date on which the class ended. The date on which the class ended should be recorded in the Trip End Date box on line The Other Expenses block may be used to itemize purchases that are unrelated to travel as well as those which are. Please be aware that the sales tax charged on a supply item is not a reimbursable item. When items unrelated to travel are included, please attach an explanation as to why a purchase order was not used for them. 31. Add subtotals A, B, C (which will be zero), and D and enter the resulting total in the box on the line labeled Grand Total. 32. If you received a payroll advance for the travel expenses which you are reporting on this form, enter the amount of the advance on the line immediately below the Grand Total line. 33. Attach receipts to the form for all expenses for which receipts are required. (All expenses with the exceptions of: meals, taxi services, baggage handling, and parking meters.) Printouts of electronic receipts that specify an amount has been paid are usable for this purpose. Statements that do not indicate payment, credit card slips, bank drafts, and cancelled checks are not allowable receipts. If you do not have receipts for your expenses, please complete a notarized affidavit for those expenses and attach it in place of the receipts. 34. If reimbursement for vehicle mileage is being requested, attach the screen prints which you made from the Mapquest, Google, or other web site to verify the distance traveled to the expense report.

9 35. If you used your own car for out of state travel, attach the documentation of the lowest air fare to your destination to the expense report. 36. If any of the expenses that you are including on your expense report required completion of a Request For Approval To Incur Special Expenses, please include that completed form with your receipts. 37. Please do not use tape to attach your receipts to the expense form. 38. Remember to sign and date your form and to include your work telephone number where indicated in the lower left corner of the form. Original signatures are required. Photocopied, scanned or faxed signatures cannot be accepted. 39. Send the form to your supervisor for signature and forwarding to Michael O Dea, Box Expense forms which omit required information, receipts, or signatures will be returned to the employee for completion. 41. When the form is completely processed and has been forwarded for payroll entry, a copy with the date of forwarding stamped on the bottom of the form will be returned to the employee. 42. One final note: DO NOT staple your SEMA4 Expense Form to the back of your travel authorization or staff development form. Submit each form separately. They may require approval by different people.