Travel Guidelines
The purpose of this supplemental guide is to assist in the processing of allowable travel expense claims by identifying timing considerations, acceptable supporting documentation and helpful tips. For the full context beyond the tips about eligible travel expenses, see AP 7400 Travel Procedure.
Important Timing Considerations:
Please be informed of the timing points below prior to submitting any claims for reimbursement.
- Claims must be submitted after you have returned from travel, but must be within 90 calendar days following travel.
- If the reimbursement expenses are incurred in the months of April, May, or June, they must be submitted no later than July 15.
- Prior fiscal year travel expenses will not be processed/reimbursed.
Links to Key Documents and Resources:
Supporting Documentation:
Supporting documentation is required to substantiate the expense being claimed and should include but is not limited to vendor originated digital or scanned detailed receipts and/or invoices. The receipt or invoice should include:
-
- vendor name
- date of service/item purchase
- the detailed description of the item or service
- amount
- method of payment
Hotel Accommodations:
Hotel stays are allowable when traveling for a multi-day event or outside a 75-mile radius from the District. Only room rates, mandatory taxes/fees, and required parking is reimbursable.
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- A guest folio provided by the hotel is required for reimbursement unless booked through a third-party web site.
- If applicable, email indicating approval from your administrator with explanation is required for room rates that are premium and not reasonably priced.
- If applicable, email indicating approval from your administrator with explanation of extenuating circumstances for hotel stays within a 75-mile radius from the District.
Air Transportation:
We encourage staff to secure reservations with the airlines at least two weeks in advance to minimize cost.
-
- A complete copy of your airline reservation including fare detail and total amount along with method of payment. (e.g. credit card). Economy or regular coach fares are only eligible for reimbursement only, no premium coach, business or first class fares will be reimbursed.
- If a premium, business or first class fare is selected, then the difference between the higher fare and the economy or regular coach cost will be borne by the employee.
Car Rental:
Compact is the standard rental except when traveling with multiple employees, a larger car may be shared. Employees are encouraged to purchase rental agency additional insurance coverage.
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- Car rental detail reservation reflecting date, location, car rental type, etc.
- Fuel receipt(s) for gas needed for rental car use period or needed upon rental car return.
Personal Automobile Transportation:
The current reimbursable mileage rate is posted on the Accounts Payable Travel page here. Mileage reimbursement will be from an employee’s regular reporting worksite or from their residence to the business destination, which point of departure results in fewer miles.
For long distance travel, an employee may opt to drive a personal vehicle and be reimbursed for the actual roundtrip mileage or the baseline two-week advance roundtrip airfare plus the cost of ground transportation to the destination, whichever results in a lower cost to the district. Shared driving is acceptable for multiple employees to travel to the same destination, though only one of the employees may request reimbursement.
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- Map summary from an online mapping service measuring the route mileage from and to the travel destinations.
Domestic Per Diem:
Claims using the meal per diem rates do not require receipts, but do require:
-
- a trip voucher for claimed meal reimbursement and indicating if the location was a High or Low rate area to support the amount claimed.
- conference, meeting, workshop, or event agenda (if applicable). Conference fees that include meals will not be reimbursed as per diem.
The district uses the Federal per diem, High-Low Substantiation Method, which currently cites a total of $74 per day for travel to any high-cost locality and $64 per day for travel to any other locality within the continental United States. These amounts are typically adjusted annually in October but can vary from year to year. The district determines these values based on the U.S. General Service Administration (GSA) per diem rates using the High/Low Method.
Below is the breakdown for the High and Low Domestic Per Diem amounts and the two options:
HIGH
Breakfast |
Lunch |
Dinner |
Incidental |
Total |
$17 |
$18 |
$34 |
$5 |
$74 |
LOW
Breakfast |
Lunch |
Dinner |
Incidental |
Total |
$14 |
$16 |
$29 |
$5 |
$64 |
Here is a list of the domestic cities with a high per diem, all others are considered low per diem:
Key City |
County or Other Defined Location |
Portion of Calendar Year |
Alabama |
||
Gulf Shores |
Baldwin |
June 1 - July 31 |
Arizona |
||
Phoenix/Scottsdale |
Maricopa |
February 1 – March 31 |
Sedona |
City limits of Sedona |
October 1 – September 30 |
California |
||
Mill Valley/San Rafael/Novato |
Marin |
October 1 – October 31 and |
Monterey |
Monterey |
June 1 – August 31 |
Napa |
Napa |
October 1 –September 30 |
Oakland |
Alameda |
October 1 – September 30 |
San Diego |
San Diego |
October 1 – September 30 |
San Francisco |
San Francisco |
October 1 – September 30 |
San Luis Obispo |
San Luis Obispo |
June 1 – August 31 |
San Mateo/ |
San Mateo |
October 1 – September 30 |
Santa Barbara |
Santa Barbara |
October 1 – September 30 |
Santa Monica |
City limits of Santa Monica |
October 1 – September 30 |
Sunnyvale/Palo Alto/San Jose |
Santa Clara |
October 1 – September 30 |
Yosemite National Park |
Mariposa |
October 1 – September 30 |
Colorado |
||
Aspen |
Pitkin |
October 1 – March 31 and |
Denver/Aurora |
Denver, Adams, Arapahoe, and Jefferson |
October 1 – October 31 and |
Grand Lake |
Grand |
December 1 – March 31 |
Silverthorne/ |
Summit |
October 1 – March 31 and |
Steamboat Springs |
Routt |
December 1 – March 31 |
Telluride |
San Miguel |
October 1 – September 30 |
Vail |
Eagle |
October 1 – September 30 |
Delaware |
||
Lewes |
Sussex |
July 1 – August 31 |
District of Columbia |
||
Washington D.C. (also the cities of Alexandria, Falls Church, and Fairfax, and the counties of Arlington and Fairfax, in Virginia; and the counties of Montgomery and Prince George's in Maryland) (See also Maryland and Virginia) |
October 1 – June 30 and |
|
Florida |
||
Boca Raton/ |
Palm Beach and Hendry |
December 1 – April 30 |
Bradenton |
Manatee |
February 1 – March 31 |
Cocoa Beach |
Brevard |
February 1 – March 31 |
Fort Lauderdale |
Broward |
January 1 – April 30 |
Fort Myers |
Lee |
December 1 – March 31 |
Fort Walton Beach/ |
Okaloosa and Walton |
June 1 - July 31 |
Gulf Breeze |
Santa Rosa |
June 1 – July 31 |
Key West |
Monroe |
October 1 – September 30 |
Miami |
Miami-Dade |
December 1 – March 31 |
Naples |
Collier |
December 1 – April 30 |
Panama City |
Bay |
June 1 – July 31 |
Pensacola |
Escambia |
June 1 – July 31 |
Punta Gorda |
Charlotte |
February 1 – March 31 |
Sarasota |
Sarasota |
February 1 – April 30 |
Sebring |
Highlands |
February 1 – March 31 |
Stuart |
Martin |
February 1 – March 31 |
Tampa/St. Petersburg |
Pinellas and Hillsborough |
January 1 - April 30 |
Vero Beach |
Indian River |
October 1 - September 30 |
Georgia |
||
Atlanta |
Fulton and Dekalb |
January 1 - March 31 |
Jekyll Island/ Brunswick |
Glynn |
March 1 – July 31 |
Idaho |
||
Sun Valley/Ketchum |
Blaine and Elmore |
December 1 – March 31 and |
Illinois |
||
Chicago |
Cook and Lake |
October 1 – November 30 and |
Maine |
||
Bar Harbor/ Rockport |
Hancock and Knox |
October 1 – October 31 and |
Kennebunk/Kittery/ Sanford |
York |
July 1 – August 31 |
Portland |
Cumberland and Sagadahoc |
October 1 - October 31 and |
Maryland |
||
Ocean City |
Worcester |
July 1 – August 31 |
Washington, DC Metropolitan Area |
Montgomery and Prince George’s |
October 1 - June 30 and |
Massachusetts |
||
Boston/Cambridge |
Suffolk and City of Cambridge |
October 1 – September 30 |
Falmouth |
City limits of Falmouth |
May 1 – August 31 |
Hyannis |
Barnstable less the city of Falmouth |
July 1 – August 31 |
Martha's Vineyard |
Dukes |
October 1 – September 30 |
Nantucket |
Nantucket |
October 1 –September 30 |
Michigan |
||
Mackinac Island |
Mackinac |
July 1 – August 31 |
Petoskey |
Emmet |
July 1 – August 31 |
Traverse City |
Grand Traverse |
July 1 – August 31 |
Minnesota |
||
Duluth |
St. Louis |
October 1 – October 31 and |
Montana |
||
Big Sky/West Yellowstone/Gardiner |
Gallatin and Park |
June 1 – September 30 |
Kalispell/Whitefish |
Flathead |
July 1 – August 31 |
Missoula |
Missoula |
June 1 - September 30 |
New Jersey |
||
Toms River |
Ocean |
July 1 – August 31 |
New Mexico |
||
Carlsbad |
Eddy |
October 1 – September 30 |
New York |
||
Glens Falls |
Warren |
July 1 – August 31 |
Lake Placid |
Essex |
July 1 – August 31 |
New York City |
Bronx, Kings, New York, Queens, and Richmond |
October 1 – December 31 and |
Saratoga Springs/ |
Saratoga and Schenectady |
July 1 – August 31 |
North Carolina |
||
Kill Devil Hills |
Dare |
April 1 – September 30 |
Oregon |
||
Eugene/Florence |
Lane |
June 1 - July 31 |
Lincoln City |
Lincoln |
July 1 – August 31 |
Seaside |
Clatsop |
July 1 – August 31 |
Pennsylvania |
||
Hershey |
Hershey |
June 1 – August 31 |
Philadelphia |
Philadelphia |
October 1 – November 30, |
Rhode Island |
||
Jamestown/ |
Newport |
October 1 – October 31 and |
South Carolina |
||
Charleston |
Charleston, Berkeley, and Dorchester |
October 1 – September 30 |
Hilton Head |
Beaufort |
March 1 – August 31 |
Myrtle Beach |
Horry |
June 1 – August 31 |
Tennessee |
||
Nashville |
Davidson |
October 1 – September 30 |
Utah |
||
Moab |
Grand |
October 1 – October 31 and |
Park City |
Summit |
October 1 – September 30 |
Virginia |
||
Virginia Beach |
City of Virginia Beach |
June 1 – August 31 |
Wallops Island |
Accomack |
July 1 – August 31 |
Washington, D.C. |
Cities of Alexandria, Falls Church, and Fairfax; Counties of Arlington and Fairfax |
October 1 – June 30 and |
Vermont |
||
Manchester |
Bennington |
October 1 – October 31 and |
Montpelier |
Washington |
October 1 – October 31 and |
Washington |
||
Port Angeles/Port Townsend |
Clallam and Jefferson |
July 1 – August 31 |
Seattle |
King |
October 1 – October 31 and |
Wyoming |
||
Cody |
Park |
June 1 – September 30 |
Jackson/Pinedale |
Teton and Sublette |
October 1 – September 30 |
International Per Diem:
Below is the breakdown for the International Per Diem amounts:
Breakfast |
Lunch |
Dinner |
Incidental |
Total |
$26 |
$30 |
$45 |
$5 |
$106 |