Tools and Information for Travel Reimbursement

• Personal Cars and Mileage
• Per Diem
• Foreign Expenses
• Non IU Employee Reimbursements

Personal Cars

• IU requires travelers using personal vehicles on IU business to have insurance with no lesscarry a minimum of insurance:
  • $50,000 for personal injury to, or death of, one person
  • $100,000 for injury to, or death of, two or more persons in one accident
  • $25,000 for property damage
  • IU recommends you raise coverage to $100,000/$300,000/$100,000
• Repair of a personal car is the owner's responsibility.
• The University does not reimburse for parking, speeding tickets, or any violations, flat tires, dead batteries, and etc.
• Mileage is determined by using official state highway maps.
• A mileage record form can be used to claim inter-city mileage or mileage to destinations which cannot be calculated using a highway map.

  Additional Policies:

• If a person chooses to drive or travel by rail, the reimbursement for mileage or train passage may not exceed the cost of comparable 30-days advance purchase airfare rates.
• Business travelers are allowed a maximum of two full days of paid travel time to and from their official business location – one day before and one day after.  If their destination is a foreign location and their itinerary is more than two days of travel time, their itinerary would need to show that they were en route for more than two days in order to be reimbursed beyond the two day policy.
• Checked Luggage Policy - The University will reimburse up to two checked bags for business travel provided the traveler submits an original receipt along with their reimbursement request.  Checked bag fees for personal items such as golf clubs, skis, etc. will not be reimbursed.   An Exception to Policy form will continue to be required for reimbursement of excess baggage fees.  Please visit airline websites directly for baggage fee schedules and policies

• Mileage for personal car transportation is paid from the employee’s work location or from the employee’s home; whichever is closer.
• Travel costs relating to emergency evacuation:  When an IU business traveler is working “offsite” (location other than their official workstation or campus) and incurs travel expenses pertaining to emergency evacuation due to medical reasons or a natural disaster, the reimbursement claim will be reviewed by the Travel Management Services office as well as the fiscal officer of the reimbursement account to determine if the expenses can be reimbursed.  This will be handled on a case-by-case basis.
• IU travelers who work offsite and must return home for personal reasons:  When an IU business traveler is working “offsite” (location other than their official work station or campus) and incurs travel expenses while returning home for personal reasons (such as attending a family member funeral, graduation or office holiday party), these expenses are considered personal in nature and therefore cannot be reimbursed from an IU account.
• Claims for hospitality expenses cannot be processed as travel reimbursements.

Mileage Rates

• $0.585 per mile (Effective July 1, 2008) for the first 500 miles
• $0.29 per mile for 501-3000 miles
• Nothing for miles in excess of 3000

Travelers whose trip is longer than 12 hours in duration are entitled to per diem (an amount provided for food allowance). The amount a traveler can expect to receive is based on the time and location (city, state) of the trip. To claim per diem, the traveler must provide departure and return times. Rates are determined and adjusted yearly by the government. For more information visit Per diem Rates and Guidelines.

To accurately complete the foreign expense worksheet, please visit the online Currency Converter.

In order to assure that your reimbursement is processed as quickly as possible, we recommend reviewing the list of common mistakes. This list will help you make sure your reimbursement form is accurate and complete