Travel Policy At-a-Glance

1. All airfare and car rentals must be reserved through the Concur online system or directly with an Agent at Travel, Inc. Follow the link for more information about booking a flight: https://businessservices.wisc.edu/travel-reimbursement/planning-a-trip/air-travel/. Follow the link for more information about rental cars, including the required use of our Big Ten contract with Enterprise and National: https://businessservices.wisc.edu/travel-reimbursement/planning-a-trip/booking-rental-car-fleet-vehicle/#rental.
2. New flights booked on American, Delta, United, Southwest, and Lufthansa will automatically be charged to the UW–Madison’s University Air Travel Plan (UATP) cards. The UATP cards are how UW–Madison recouped credits for flights canceled due to COVID-19. Flights that get booked using UATP cards do not need to be reimbursed to the traveler because the cost is already covered. However, the travel agent service fee for calling Travel, Inc or using Concur to book a flight will require reimbursement. Please be sure you have a valid credit card in your Concur profile to cover those costs. Follow the link for more information about updating your Concur profile: https://hub.travelinc.com/Documents/ConcurClientSrv/Updating_your_travel_profile%20TipSheet.pdf.
3. Every UW–Madison employee or official UW–Madison volunteer seeking reimbursement for mileage, vehicle rental, or reserving a Fleet vehicle must be driver authorized before the trip. Follow the link for more information about getting driver authorized: https://businessservices.wisc.edu/managing-risk/driver-authorization-and-insurance/driver-authorization/#become.
4. Lodging must get reserved either through the Concur booking tool, with an Agent at Travel, Inc., by booking directly with the lodging facility, or by booking through Airbnb. Use of other third-party booking sites (e.g. VRBO, Hotels.com, Travelocity) is prohibited. UW–Madison has location-based lodging per diem maximums. Please use the diem calculator to determine your location-based lodging maximums: https://portal.sfs.wisconsin.edu/psc/sfs/EMPLOYEE/SFS/c/UW_EX_CUSTOM.UW_EX_PDCALC.GBL?&.
5. Meal and Incidental Per Diem Allowance apply to anyone in travel status for official UW–Madison business. Follow the link for the meal per diem calculator: https://portal.sfs.wisconsin.edu/psc/sfs/EMPLOYEE/SFS/c/UW_EX_CUSTOM.UW_EX_PDCALC.GBL?&. Please note, separate Meal Per Diem rates apply for hosted business meals. Those rates can be found here: https://businessservices.wisc.edu/purchasing/planning-an-uw-event/business-meals/.
6. Expense reports must get submitted within 90 days of the event (e.g. last day of travel or the date of purchase for a registration fee). There is no need to wait until the end of a conference to submit reimbursement for airfare, travel agent fee, or registration fees. Those are examples of things that are payable when costs are incurred. Additional details about the 90-day Accountable Plan can be found here: https://policy.wisc.edu/library/UW-3024.
7. Receipts are required for most reimbursement requests including Airfare, vehicle rentals, gas for vehicle rentals, and hosted meals/events. Receipts are required for local transportation, parking, and tolls over $25. Baggage and seat fees over $30. A full list of receipt requirements can be found here: https://policy.wisc.edu/library/UW-3024.
8. UW–Madison is tax-exempt from state taxes. This includes hotels, vehicle rental, hosted events or meals, and misc purchases. Copies of our tax-exempt documents can be found here: https://docs.bussvc.wisc.edu/purch/taxdocs.html. In addition to being exempt from taxes in WI, UW–Madison is exempt from sales tax in several other states. Follow the link for more information about sales tax exemption for other states: https://www.wisconsin.edu/travel/policies/sales-tax-exemption-from-other-states/.