Reasonable transportation, meals, and lodging travel costs are allowable expenses for a prospective faculty/staff member (i.e., employee "recruits") and for his/her accompanying spouse invited by UAB to come to the University for recruiting purposes.
If properly handled, IRS regulations permit such costs, either paid to or on behalf of the prospective employee, to be excluded from the individual's taxable income. Expenses for sons, daughters, or other relatives or associates of the prospective employee will not be allowed.
If not utilizing the p-card procedures referenced below, prospective employees who come to UAB at our invitation should be informed that they will be responsible for their travel expenses incurred in connection with their interview trip to UAB. Reimbursement to the individual prospective employee (to the extent otherwise permitted by policy) may be made for such cost after the trip.
Prospective employees who come to UAB must request travel reimbursement after the trip. An Oracle Payment Request should be used to reimburse prospective employees for travel costs incurred. Original receipts are required for all expense reimbursement items (other than reasonable cash tips).
The following applies to travel reimbursement for Prospective Employees. Items not addressed below follow the same guideline as Employee Travel.
Moving/Relocation Allowance
To learn more about these allowances and the IRS tax regulations that govern them, please see the Moving/Relocation Allowance page.
Expenses
Because recruits are not yet UAB employees, they are not subject to intra-state per diems. Instead their meal reimbursements must be based upon actual incurred costs. Reimbursements for private car mileage must be based upon the federal mileage rates.
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Airline Tickets
Employees, prospective employees, prospective employee spouses, volunteers, and guest speakers (but not independent contractors) should purchase airline tickets via the UAB Travel Portal using a UAB P-Card for all UAB business travel.
If an employee chooses to purchase an airline ticket for UAB-related travel outside of the UAB Travel Portal, the employee must purchase the ticket personally and then apply for reimbursement after the trip. Employees should not personally purchase tickets for someone else.
First/Business class airfare is generally unallowable, unless documentation is attached justifying that it was necessary for medical reasons or because reasonable alternatives were clearly not available.
If the UAB Travel Portal is not used, travelers must include the following documentation when submitting the employee travel reimbursement request:
- Original receipt demonstrating that the traveler, not UAB, purchased the ticket
- The airline's or travel agency's trip itinerary confirmation or invoice indicating the traveler's name and the fare/cost along with the applicable flight numbers, departure and destination cities, dates, and times.
Personal airline or railroad travel insurance (such as life insurance, disability insurance, ticket cancellation, etc.) are unallowable costs.
Per a ruling by the State Attorney General, UAB may reimburse an employee for a ticket purchased in anticipation of UAB business travel but not used, when the reason for advance purchase was to secure an airline discount, if and only if the trip could not be completed due to conflicting UAB business or a compelling personal reason, i.e., illness or death in the employee's family. Similarly, if a trip's itinerary must be changed due to conflicting UAB business or a compelling personal reason such as illness or death in the employee's family, and as a result additional processing fees are charged, then and only then may UAB reimburse the employee for those processing fees.
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Mileage Rates
Travel by private automobile will be authorized only when it is advantageous to UAB. The use of private automobiles may be justified when more than one person for whom UAB is responsible is transported or when there is no other reasonable way to meet the timetable required. This reimbursement should not exceed the sum of the coach air fare to the destination plus airport ground transportation costs and airport parking.
Employees may be reimbursed for local private car mileage at the authorized rate per mile while on official UAB business within their base area. For employees based at the main Birmingham campus, the base area is defined as the corporate city limits of the City of Birmingham, Alabama.
State law allows mileage reimbursement equal to the IRS standard mileage rate.
Current and Past Rates
Current and past business mileage reimbursement rates, medical/moving rates, and charitable rates can be found on the mileage rates page.
Note
UAB private car business mileage reimbursement is allowed from the point of origin to the point of destination including reasonable local mileage (but not for commuting between home and office) for all official travel by private automobile. There is no provision under State Law which allows one's home to be treated as the point of origin or the point of return. However, when business trips originate or terminate at the employee's home because of convenience to the employee, mileage reimbursement to the employee must be the lesser of: (a) an amount based on the distance between home and destination; or (b) an amount based on the distance between office and destination. This will be applicable when the official travel occurs regardless of time of day (including non-business hours), day of week (including weekends), or official holidays. Similarly, reimbursement for taxi fare to or from the home airport is limited to the lesser of: (a) an amount based on a trip between home and airport; or (b) an amount based on a trip between the office and the airport.
Gas cost for private auto usage is already included in the mileage reimbursement rate and is otherwise unallowable.
The standard mileage rates for charitable service is:
- 18 cents per mile driven for medical purposes; and
- 14 cents per mile driven in service of charitable organizations (Volunteer Travel).
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Lodging
In some circumstances a specially worded purchase order might be issued to secure a room at some local hotels for employee recruits, prospective students, and non-compensated volunteers, guest speakers, or independent contractors. This procedure does not apply to individuals who are UAB employees. The hotel room purchase order procedure applies only to the basic room rate (including lodging taxes but not including other charges such as hotel restaurant charges, telephone bills, valet, etc.) and only to local Birmingham-area hotels with which UAB has already negotiated a formal written contract. See a current list of these hotels.
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Meals
UAB will reimburse meals if the department does not provide the recruit with a meal, and with detailed receipt(s). The maximum allowable cap are:
- Breakfast: $25
- Lunch: $50
- Dinner: $75
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Alcohol
Prospective employees cannot be reimbursed for alcoholic beverages or alcohol-related costs under any circumstances.
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Internet Usage
Internet use can be reimbursed with a statement indicating the business purpose.