Three days prior to the return date stated on the Department Travel Authorization a Travel Reimbursement Request form will be forwarded by Travel Mangement Services to the traveler. The traveler must make all claims on the face of the form and staple the receipts to the back.

Please Note: If receipts are attached but the expenditure is not itemized on the form, nothing will be paid.

The account manager and traveler must sign the form and return it to Travel Management Services for a check to be processed.

If the reimbursement request form has not been received, check with Travel Management Services (855-2873) to make sure that a Department Travel Authorization was received prior to the trip.

In completing the Travel Reimbursement Request, please note the following:

1. The State Auditors require that the purpose portion of the form be completed. Failure to fill out this section will result in the form being returned to the traveler. The purpose must contain the reason for the trip, name of person being visited or name of the conference being attended (acronyms are not allowed). If the purpose of the trip is research, the type of research being done must be explained. A one or two sentence statement explaining more about the conference, research or other business travel will, in most cases, satisfy the auditor's requirements.
2. Only claim expenses associated with your own travel. With the exception of lodging, claims for other traveler's expenses will not be reimbursed.
3. Verify and correct all the preprinted information on the form such as the means and dates of travel, the destination, the traveler's name, campus address, and the account number that will be charged. 
4. The dates of travel should reflect the entire time of travel including any personal business dates such as vacation (regardless if the personal time was before during or after). If personal time was involved in the itinerary, check yes in the appropriate box and supply the specific dates that were spent on non-IU business.
5. To claim per diem (food allowance), enter time of departure and time of return. Per diem for a one day trip is not paid for periods of less than 12 hours. Per diem on a multi-day trip is not paid for periods of less than 7.5 hours. For each day of per diem claimed, a lodging receipt with matching date must be submitted unless traveler was en-route.
6. If lodging was paid by an outside source, complete the exception to policy form.
7. If the traveler stayed w/family or friends, complete the exception to policy form, with dates of stay, name of individual, address, and telephone number with whom the traveler stayed.
8. Indicate the number of meals (if any) which were included in registration, prepaid by IU or were paid by another source. If meals were included in a registration fee they must be deducted to avoid duplicate claims. Please indicate the number of breakfasts, lunches and dinners that were paid by an external agency or covered under prepaid registration in the appropriate blanks. (Example: 2 breakfasts, 1 lunch, 3 dinners).
9. If registration is not prepaid, list the amount in the REGISTRATION section and include paid receipt (a canceled check or credit card statement can be used as a receipt). If prepaid by IU verify the preprinted amount or fill in the amount if blank, and include the FIS document number under which the payment was made.
10. List and claim personal car mileage. 
11. Complete the Foreign Expense Worksheet, itemizing all expenses as outlined below and claim the itemized totals on the reimbursement request form:
    • List lodging amount (if not prepaid by IU via Hotels.com) and include original itemized receipts (no photocopies or facsimiles). Charges must be for the single room rate. If you shared the room with an IU employee and paid the total charge, please reference both reimbursements forms with the original receipt attached to the reimbursement who is claiming the charge and a copy of the lodging receipt attached to the reimbursement of the other traveler so they may be reimbursed for per diem. Lodging claims are paid for room rate and applicable taxes only. Other items, such as business phone, fax, and parking, can be reimbursed if itemized under "other expenses."
    • Rental car claims - the original rental car agreement is required. Make claims for gas under "other expenses." Insurance can't be reimbursed because IU is self-insured. Payment will be prorated if the car is used for personal time. (Unable to accept pre-calculation or estimated receipt.)
    • All original receipts must be attached. 
    • Attach the airfare passenger receipt - not the boarding pass or itinerary. If airfare was not prepaid list the amount of the fare in the AIR section. Claims for first class or business class travel will be reimbursed at the economy rate.
    • If the OTHER category is used please state the amount for each claim separately (taxi: $10, phone: $5.50). 
    • If money was deposited in a pay phone, charges can be claimed in the OTHER section, no receipt required. 
    • Payment of personal phone call expenses are made at the discretion of the account manager and must be claimed under OTHER.
    • Tips may be reimbursed for taxi and limousine expenses only.
    • Photocopying, mailing charges and books and tapes are not reimbursable through Travel Management.
12. Verify and make changes to account numbers/limits and sub-accounts/sub-object codes.
13. Account manager(s) - must sign the form. If a signature delegate signs, his or her full signature should be signed next to that of the account manager with a slash separating the two names.
14. Please supply the phone number of the person who can answer questions Travel Management Services may have regarding claims.
15. 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.
16. 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.  For foreign destinations, if 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.

We strongly recommed that you read our list of common mistakes to help avoid issues that can cause delays in your reimbursement process.