Air Travel
| Category | Allowable Expense | Procedure |
|---|---|---|
| Flights | Yes | You must submit a fully itemized receipt showing payment and itinerary. If flights are booked directly through Concur, the system will automatically import this information into your Expense Report. |
| Baggage Fees | Yes | Allowable to support business travel, receipt must be provided for expense reporting. |
| Early Bird Seating | No | Early bird seat selection that incurs an additional cost is not allowed. |
| First Class Airfare | No | The purchase of first class airfare is not allowed. |
| Fly America | N/A | All Federally funded travel must comply with the Fly America Act and the use of U.S. flag air carriers which require that a United States flag carrier be used unless an exception applies. |
| Use of vouchers, points, travel gift cards | No | The use of personal vouchers, airline points and/or coupons are not reimbursable to the traveler. |
| Premium Seating | Conditional | University travelers are expected to book the lowest cost logical fare. First-class travel is not reimbursable under any circumstances. Travelers seeking a more expensive class should ensure that the additional cost is permitted by their department and approver(s). Premium seating (e.g., Comfort Class, Business Class, Coach Plus) is only allowable if one of the following applies:
Travelers may also sit in a premium section when there is no additional cost to the university. Travelers are to consider the lowest cost options first. |
Ground Transportation
| Category | Allowable Expense | Procedure |
|---|---|---|
| Alternative short term car rental services on campus (Zipcar rentals) | No | Alternative on campus car rentals (Zipcar) are exclusively for personal use and cannot be used for University business travel. |
| Rental Car | Yes | Rental cars should only be used when documented less expensive than comparable rideshare expenses. |
| Car Rental in U.S. (Employees)-Insurance Coverage, Collision Damage Waiver (CDW/LDW) | No | Not an allowable expense. The State of Maryland is self insured. When signing the rental agreement, the renter must include his/her name, University of Maryland, Baltimore County and State of Maryland. Travelers are advised to utilize discount codes. |
| Car Rental Outside the U.S.(Employees & non-employee business travelers)-Insurance Coverage, Collision Damage Waiver (CDW/LDW) | Yes | CDW/LDW is reimbursable for international rentals, outside the 50 United States. Travelers are advised to use the available car rental contracts listed on the Travel Discounts page. |
| Car Rental in U.S. (Non-employee business travelers)-Insurance Coverage, Collision Damage Waiver (CDW/LDW) | Partial | Only CDW/LDW is reimbursable. |
| Car Rental (Optional Coverage) | (Placeholder) | (Placeholder) |
| Fines/Violations | No | Not an allowable expense. Fines including, but not limited to, fines for traffic, toll, photo enforcement, and parking violations are the personal financial responsibility of the individual who incurred the violation. The driver is responsible for payment of the violation as well as any associated fees received from the issuing jurisdiction. |
| Parking Fees | Yes | Reasonable, with an itemized receipt. |
| Toll Charges | Yes | With itemized receipt. |
| EZ Pass Toll | Yes | Required a copy of toll statement |
| Personal vehicle use-mileage reimbursement | Yes | Mileage for use of personal vehicles is calculated at the current State of Maryland rate.
Mileage is calculated from the traveler’s official work location (or from their home) to their business destination, including airports, train stations, and lodging locations. Personal vehicle use does not include commuter travel or work related travel on campus. |
| Personal Vehicle Exemption | N/A | Travel by road in a personal vehicle may be appropriate for UMBC business travelers to save time, transport equipment and/or reduce costs. Travelers and approvers are expected to evaluate the cost of reimbursed vehicle mileage compared to other means of travel (air/rail/rental car) and choose the most economical means of travel. If they opt to drive their personal vehicle, they will be reimbursed for mileage up to the cost of the cheapest airline ticket. |
| Ride Share Service (i.e., Uber and Lyft) | Yes | Ride share services such as Uber and Lyft may be used as an alternative to car rental, taxi, and shuttle services while traveling with an itemized receipt. |
| Ride Share Service Upgrades | Conditional | (placeholder) |
| Tips – Taxis, Bus, Shuttle, Limo | Yes | Reasonable, not to exceed 20%, must be detailed on Travel Report. |
Train/Rail
| Category | Allowable Expense | Procedure |
|---|---|---|
| Business Class Fare | Yes, Conditional | You may only reimbursed for Acela Business Class Fare if a comparison quote provided at the time of booking shows the same cost as the Acela Fare. You may also be reimbursed if there are no regular trains that will get you to destination in time for the event. |
| Metro/Local Transit | Yes | (placeholder) |
International Travel
| Category | Allowable Expense | Procedure |
|---|---|---|
| Foreign Currency Charges | Yes | Foreign currency charges will be automatically converted in Concur when the invoices are added to the Expense Report. There is no need to use a separate currency converter. |
| Passport/Visa | Conditional | When a passport/visa is required for official business purpose fees associated are an allowable expense. |
| Vaccinations/Immunizations | (Placeholder) | (Placeholder) |
| Per Diem Rates | Yes | UMBC uses the Federal Per Diem rates for domestic and international travel. |
| Per Diem Rates – Days of Travel | Yes | Per diem will be paid at a rate of 75% for the day of departure and return. |
Lodging
| Category | Allowable Expense | Procedure |
|---|---|---|
| Non-Conventional Lodging | Yes, Conditional | Alternative lodging such as AirBnB is allowed for reimbursement only. Please see the Non-Conventional Lodging Form (placeholder link). |
| In-room movie, pay per view, additional cable charges | No | In-room movie, pay per view, and additional cable charges not included in the room rate will not be reimbursed. These are considered personal charges. |
| In-State lodging | Yes | All travel, including In-State travel with an overnight stay, requires pre-approval. |
| No Show charges | No | UMBC will not reimburse “no show” charges. |
| Tips | (Placeholder) | (Placeholder) |
Travel Allowances
Per the UMBC Travel Policy, travelers on official UMBC business are eligible to claim a per diem tied to the GSA rates for domestic travel and the State Department rates for international travel.
In Concur, you can easily add a Travel Allowance to your requests and reports to calculate these amounts. You would define the itinerary of your travel and then add exclusions. You would exclude any days that are personal travel, or exclude meals included/provided to you on your travel.
An additional daily amount for incidentals is automatically added into the cost when you claim a travel allowance, and does not need to be separately claimed on your expense report.
Following the procedures of the GSA, the first and last day of travel will now be 75% of the destination per diem rates. You no longer have to calculate the departure time and location relative to the meal for your arrival and departure. The system will automatically adjust your per diem on the first and last days.
| Category | Allowable Expense | Procedure |
|---|---|---|
| Person-To-Person (P2P) Financial Transactions | No | Electronic money transfers made from one person to another through apps such as Zelle, Venmo, PayPal and Cash App are not allowed to be submitted for reimbursement. However, you may still use these electronic payment platforms to pay invoices. |
| Sales Tax in MD | No | Maryland Tax Exempt Status |
| Gift Cards, gift certificates, gift purchases | No | Gift card, gift certificates, and gifts of sentiment purchases are prohibited using UMBC funds. |
| Laundry/Valet | Yes | Allowable with itemized receipt, when domestic travel exceeds 5 working days. Note: International laundry is included in per diem allowance. |
| Membership fees | Yes, Conditional | With itemized receipt when membership results in a lower cost registration fee. |
| Registration and Conference Fees | Yes | Only with an itemized receipt |
| Telephone, fax, internet access fees while in travel status | Yes | Allowable when used for university business, and while in an approved business travel status. |
| Travel Loyalty Programs | Yes, Conditional | Employees may participate in travel loyalty programs and earn points. However, UMBC will not reimburse travelers for any expenses paid using points, vouchers, gift cards or other promotional payment methods. |
Trip Cancellation
| Category | Allowable Expense | Policy |
|---|---|---|
| Trip Cancellation and Change Fees | Yes | Trip cancellation and change fees are allowable in emergency situations or for the convenience of the university. |
| Trip Cancellation Insurance | No | The Policy on University System Travel prohibits the use of institutional funds for the purchase of additional flight insurance. If it is believed the trip may be canceled, or a change in travel plans may be required, travelers and delegates are to purchase a refundable ticket. In the case of personal credit card used to book the flight, the traveler will receive the credit negating the need to process a reimbursement for the airfare. |
Travel Reports
| Category | Allowable Expense | Procedure |
|---|---|---|
| Foreign Currency | N/A | When completing an expense report for charges that were in a foreign currency, the traveler is to calculate the daily exchange rate using the calculator in Concur. Please see International Travel for more information on Currency Exchange. |
| No receipt available | N/A | Original itemized receipts are required for all items over $10.00. Expenses over $10 without receipts will be disallowed. |
| Submittal and Process | N/A | Travel reports are to be processed within thirty days return from the trip. Travel reports processed after 60 days may be subject to taxation. |
Quick Reference Guides
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Travel Arrangements
Meal expenses and incidentals during overnight business travel may be reimbursed based on the applicable per diem rates. Receipts are not required for per diem reimbursement. Incidentals are automatically included in each day added to your travel allowance based on the rates determined by the U.S. General Services Administration and the Federal Travel Regulations (FTR) Appendix B (Meals & Incidentals breakdown). Incidental expenses include things such as tips, porter fees, room cleaning, etc.
For all domestic travel, refer to the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) per diem rates.
For Alaska, Hawaii, and U.S. territories (OCONUS), refer to the Department of Defense per diem rates.
For foreign travel, refer to the U.S. Department of State per diem rates. The traveler must exclude in their travel allowance any meals provided by the hotel, included in the registration fee, or otherwise paid for by a third party. When attending a conference, a copy of the agenda must be submitted with the request and expense report.
| First and Last Day of Trip | For the first and last day of an overnight trip, 75% of the destination meal Per Diem amount is calculated and applied. |
| Partial Day Travel |
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