Travel Basics and Beyond Mark Castellano, Ian Cook, and Joe Motzer 1
Agenda General Travel Guidelines and Rules Audit Observations Activity Reminders and Best Practices SFS Travel and Expense Improvement Project Questions 2
Determining Travel Status Must be 35 miles away from both home AND Official Station Official Station: Usual work location Determined by Agency management In the best interest of the State Cannot be reimbursed for travel between home and Official Station (i.e., commuting mileage) OSC Travel Manual page 3 3
Travel in Proximity of Home or Official Station Reimbursement for transportation allowed between: Home and an alternate work location Official Station and an alternate work location Alternate work locations Lesser of Mileage Rule Must be reimbursed using the lesser of Mileage between the employee s home and the alternate work location, or Mileage between the employee s Official Station and the alternate work location OSC Travel Manual page 4 4
Proximity Travel Example 5
General Rules Per Diems Rates are based on city or county where lodging is obtained Overnight Per Diems Dinner Lodging Breakfast Extra meals Breakfast 1 hour before normal start time Dinner 2 hours after normal end time If meals are included in a registration fee, the traveler is not entitled to meal per diems for the provided meals Lodging rates are based on the month and location OSC Travel Manual pages 4-5, 7 GSA Per Diem Rates 6
Per Diems Overnight Travel Method 1 Flat rate for meals, lodging, and incidentals No receipts required Extra meals are $5 for breakfast and $12 for dinner (if entitled) Overnight Travel Method 2 Reimbursement of actual lodging costs and an allowance for meals based on federal reimbursement rates Receipts for lodging required Extra breakfast is 20% of the meal per diem Extra dinner is 80% of the meal per diem OSC Travel Manual pages 4-5 GFO Section XIII.4.D 7
Day Trips Per Diems Breakfast 1 hour before normal start time Dinner 2 hours after normal end time Without receipts $5 breakfast $12 dinner With receipts Breakfast is up to 20% of the meal per diem Dinner is up to 80% of the meal per diem OSC Travel Manual page 6 8
Miscellaneous Expenses Only actual, reasonable, and necessary business-related expenses will be reimbursed Allowable tolls, bridges, tunnels, reasonable parking, taxis, local bus, subway, telephone, internet, baggage transfer/storage, supplies and materials, facility charges, occupancy taxes Reasonable and customary tips for valet parking and taxi fees Not allowable speeding fines, parking tickets, laundry, entertainment, other personal charges OSC Travel Manual pages 6-7 9
Transportation Expenses Should be the most efficient and cost effective method of transportation available Factors to consider: Distance traveled Travel time Number of travelers Number of locations to be visited Type of transportation available Employee salary / overtime OSC Travel Manual pages 8-9 10
Mileage Rates Transportation Expenses Use of personal vehicle $0.545 Use of personal vehicle when a pool State vehicle is available $0.18 Use of personal motorcycle $0.515 E-ZPass / Plate Pass Plate Pass is acceptable in the New York metropolitan area Refer to the original Expense Report when reconciling Plate Pass charges Amtrak No open-ended single tickets anymore If travel plans change, tickets must be altered PRIOR to the departure of the original train (via the mobile app, website, ticket counter, phone, or travel agent) GFO Section XIII.4.C GSA Mileage Rates OGS Amtrak Rates and Rules 11
Taxable Travel Meal per diem amounts paid in excess of the rates allowed by the federal government Meal allowances paid for non-overnight travel or day trips Mileage reimbursements in excess of the maximum federal rate Reimbursement of virtually all travel expenses incurred at a single location when the job assignment is realistically expected to last in excess of one year (commuting costs) GFO Sections XIII.6 and XIII.9 12
Record Retention Miscellaneous Items Agencies are required to retain documentation for six years Online agencies must use the attachment feature in the SFS Bulkload agencies must retain documentation centrally and make this documentation available to OSC auditors upon request Agencies (not travelers) must retain the official records Agencies should ensure their record retention program is conducive to internal needs, laws, and regulations Banned Travel Mississippi and North Carolina GFO Section XIII.3 Executive Order No. 155 and 156 13
Audit Observations Unreconciled Travel Card transactions Duplicate reimbursements Same expense line on multiple Expense Reports Entire Expense Reports duplicated Mileage and fuel charges claimed on the same Expense Report Missing or incorrect travel dates 14
Audit Observations Incorrect mileage claimed or incomplete addresses Incorrect per diems Missing or incomplete justifications for exceeding per diems Incorrect expense types selected 15
Expense Report Mandatory Header Fields Business Purpose Destination Location Street and Zip Code Start Location Street and Zip Code Employee Home Address Official Station Expense Start and End Date Expense Start and End Time Report Description GFO Section XIII.2.A 16
Reminders and Best Practices Know the State s travel rules and regulations Ensure the most economical method of travel is used in the best interest of the State Obtain and include prior approvals, if required (e.g., justification for exceeding per diems) Periodically review employees Official Stations Understand potential taxable consequences Submit Expense Reports and reconcile Travel Card charges within 30 days 17
Reminders and Best Practices Ensure the following: Mandatory header fields are accurate Expense line dates are within travel event start and end dates, if applicable Extra meals correspond with employees work schedules Prior approvals are documented ALL receipts are attached (or the no receipt button in SFS is checked and a reason is provided) Certain Travel Card charges are offset against reimbursements (e.g., fuel charges where employees claim mileage) Rejected Expense Reports are corrected before being resubmitted 18
SFS Travel and Expense Improvement Project Identify improvement opportunities in Travel and Expense Improve effectiveness and usability of system functions Deliver modern and intuitive user experience Minimize manual review and approval cycle times Maximize tools available to audit and approve Review best practices and system features from other products Streamline process for occasional user while considering impact to frequent users 19
Contacting Us travel@osc.ny.gov 20
Questions 21
NYS Finance Law Travel References Article 7, Section 109 Proofs Required Upon Audit by the Comptroller New York Codes Rules and Regulations: https://osc.state.ny.us/agencies/travel/part8.htm Title 2, Part 8 Traveling Expenses OSC Travel Manual: https://osc.state.ny.us/agencies/travel/manual.pdf OSC Guide to Financial Operations: https://www.osc.state.ny.us/agencies/guide/mywebhelp/#welcome.htm%3ftocpath%3d 1 Chapter XIII Employee Travel Expense Reimbursement Other NYS Travel Information: https://osc.state.ny.us/agencies/travel/travel.htm GSA Lodging and Per Diem Rates: https://www.gsa.gov/travel/plan-book/per-diem-rates OGS Travel Contracts: https://www.ogs.ny.gov/bu/ss/trav/ 22