Travel Guidelines

Please include us in your travel planning, in advance, for maximum savings and efficiency. Reimbursements take ten days between the time you give us your complete travel documents and the day you receive a payment. You can only be reimbursed for your own expenditures.

Before You Leave

Everyone needs an approved travel authorization before they travel. Please contact the business office as soon as you know when you are traveling so that we can create the needed document, whether or not there is a cost to UT Austin.

Please turn in the completed UGS Request for Travel Authorization form to the UGS Business office. We need:

• a copy of your supervisor’s approval
• your approved travel budget (email is fine)
• dates of travel
• the purpose of the trip
• the names of other UGS staff who are traveling to the same event (to the extent that you know)

After these items are received, a Request for Travel Authorization (RTA) number will be issued to reference the trip.

D.C. & International

Additional approval is required for foreign and Washington, D.C., travel. Please see the Travel Policy to Restricted Regions for international travel information.

Reimbursement Limits

Reimbursement limits for meals and lodging vary according to your destination. Please ask the Business Office for your specific spending limits before you leave. The UGS Business Office obtains its information from the Handbook of Business Procedures. The Travel Services FAQ may also be helpful.

While Traveling

When you travel, please save all receipts. If you are traveling on state funds, tips and gratuities are also non-reimbursable. Your reimbursement is contingent upon your receipts. They must be:

• original
• itemized
• individual (for your own expenses, and not any other individuals)
• paid (every receipt must show that it has been paid)

Meals

Please organize your meal receipts by date, label each receipt as breakfast, lunch, or dinner, and clip them together as a group. Alcohol is not a reimbursable expense.

Upon Your Return

Complete the Travel Reimbursement Form (type-able) and submit to the UGS Business Office with original receipts. Your request for travel reimbursement expenses must be made within 30 days of your return date.

The UGS Business Office will process the payment voucher, contact you for your signature, and submit the voucher and supporting documents (receipts) to the Office of Accounting for payment. There is generally a two- to three-week waiting period between the time the UGS Business Office submits the voucher and supporting documents, and when you receive a payment.