Travel Reimbursement

VIVA reimburses representatives of the VIVA public institutions for travel related to VIVA business. Reimbursement for the representatives of the private colleges is provided for the following:

All travel reimbursement is in accordance with George Mason's interpretation of the Commonwealth's regulations regarding travel.

Before You Travel (things to know)


Travel Forms

Please use the following forms for authorization and reimbursement requests:

Please submit all forms to VIVA, Fenwick Library B222, MS 2FL, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA 22030-4444. Do not send forms directly to the GMU Travel Office or enter travel directly into the George Mason Travel Request System (TRS). For budgeting and tracking purposes, all reimbursement requests need to be submitted directly to the VIVA Office


Reimbursement Checklist

Forms must include the following to assure full and timely reimbursement (view sample form)
  1. Traveler's institution (REQUIRED)
  2. Traveler's name (REQUIRED)
  3. Traveler's full home address (REQUIRED)
  4. Traveler's Social Security Number (GMU employees should use their G#) (REQUIRED)
  5. Trip Information: Destination, departure date and time, return date and time (REQUIRED)
  6. Personal Vehicle Use Statement: Travelers from public institutions only. If a personal vehicle was used for travel, check the appropriate box:
    1. PERSONAL VEHICLE - COST BENEFICIAL TO THE STATE: If travel is greater than 100 miles total per day (averaged over the number of days of the trip), travelers must attach a copy of the Enterprise Cost Calculator (http://tinyurl.com/2yb2mh) showing that the Personal Vehicle cost is no more than $20 greater than cost of the Enterprise Vehicle. Otherwise, travel will be reimbursed at the fleet rate.
    2. STATE VEHICLE - NOT AVAILABLE OR NOT ACCESSIBLE: Traveler should attach a denial of service from Enterprise or from their institution's fleet management.
    3. STATE VEHICLE - AVAILABLE OR NOT REQUESTED: If a vehicle is available from Enterprise or from the traveler's institutional fleet, and the cost of using a Personal Vehicle is greater than $20 (as calculated on the Enterprise Cost Calculator: http://tinyurl.com/2yb2mh) travelers will be reimbursed at the fleet rate.
  7. Mileage reimbursement: Complete 7a & 7b OR 7c
    1. Points between which travel occurred and distance traveled.
    2. Rate allowed (�/mile): Effective July 1, 2011, the personal rate is $0.555/mile; the fleet rate is $0.246/mile. Travelers from private institutions are reimbursed at the personal rate; travelers from public institutions using a personal vehicle should enter the amount indicated by their selection in item 6 (Personal Vehicle Use Statement.)
    3. If an Enterprise vehicle was used, please enter the cost of the vehicle rental, including gas charges incurred. Reimbursement for state vehicles are handled through an Inter-Agency Transfer (IAT) or voucher, whichever procedure your school follows.
  8. Parking and tolls (if applicable): For amounts greater than $10, attach the original receipt(s).
  9. Meal & Incidental Expenses (if applicable): One day trips qualify for mileage, parking, and tolls only. Overnight travelers should see the Overnight Trips Planning Guidelines for details on Meal & Incidental Expenses.
  10. Lodging (if applicable): One day trips qualify for mileage, parking, and tolls only. Overnight travelers should see the Overnight Trips Planning Guidelines for details on Lodging Expenses.
  11. Purpose of trip (REQUIRED)
  12. Signature of Traveler (REQUIRED)
  13. Signature of Supervisor (LEAVE BLANK - VIVA WILL AUTHORIZE)
  14. Signature of Approving Offical for Account (LEAVE BLANK - VIVA WILL AUTHORIZE)
Mail your form with original receipts to:

VIVA, George Mason University
MSN 2FL
Fairfax, VA 22030-4444
Attn: Liz Wright

VIVA appreciates the time and effort of all VIVA participants, and wants to help VIVA travelers receive their rightful reimbursements as expeditiously as possible. If you have any questions about a particular trip, please don't hesitate to contact Liz Wright, Executive Assistant at 703/993-3039.

 

Longer Trips Planning Guidelines

When planning travel of more than 100 miles total per day, travelers from VIVA public institutions should take the following steps:

    1. Access the Enterprise Trip Calculator at http://tinyurl.com/2yb2mh. (scroll to the bottom of the page.)
    2. Print the Cost Comparison page (to be attached and submitted with the Travel Reimbursement request.  Travelers who do not attach the Cost Comparison page can only be reimbursed for mileage at the fleet rate.
    3. If the Personal Vehicle cost is within $20 of the cost of the Enterprise Vehicle, travelers may choose to use their own vehicle and will be reimbursed at the personal rate.
    4. If the Personal Vehicle cost is over $20 greater than the cost of the Enterprise Vehicle, travelers should click on "Go to Enterprise" to arrange for a rental car. If the Personal Vehicle cost is more than $20 greater than the cost of an Enterprise vehicle, travelers who choose not to use the rental car option will be reimbursed for mileage at the fleet rate.
    5. From the list of agencies, select "George Mason University."
    6. On the following page, select "Business Use - All Locations"
    7. Enter the requested information on the reservation form.
      • Please request the smallest vehicle that will accommodate your needs. Most of the time, this should be a compact car. A larger car should be requested only if you are carpooling for the VIVA event.
      • Travelers will be covered under the state's insurance policy - supplemental insurance is not necessary (and will not be reimbursed).
      • When finalizing the sale, be sure that sales tax is not included.
    8. If an Enterprise vehicle is not available, print the service denial to attach to the Travel Reimbursement Request. If an Enterprise car is not available, travelers may use their own vehicle and will be reimbursed at the personal rate.
    9. When submitting the reimbursement request form , the following must be attached:
      • Printout of the Cost Calculator
      • Service denial, if applicable

Travel Reimbursement requests submitted without the appropriate documentation will be reimbursed for mileage at the fleet rate.


Complete information regarding the Commonwealth's Enterprise agreement and mileage reimbursement policies is available from the GMU Office of Fiscal Services, here: http://fiscal.gmu.edu/Procedures/TravelManualOctober2009.pdf

If you have questions about the mileage reimbursement policies, please contact the VIVA Office.

Overnight Trips Planning Guidelines

Please note that overnight trips must be pre-approved by the VIVA Office. Travelers planning overnight trips should submit a Travel Authorization request prior to travelling. Lodging reimbursements for one-day events are typically only approved when the traveler resides more than a two and a half hour drive from the event venue. If this presents a significant obstacle to your ability to attend an event, please contact the VIVA Office - we will do our best to accommodate travelers as needed.

Meals and Incidental Expenses (M&IE)

Travelers receive a per diem for meals when traveling overnight based on GMU's M&IE and Lodging Table. The standard in-state M&IE rate is $41. Several locations are identified as having higher M&IE rates. If your travel destination is not listed, use the standard rate.

Partial Per Diems

Partial days, aka travel days, are reimbursed at 75% of a location's per diem meal allowance plus the $5 incidental allowance (see Table 1). Note: The return day allowance is based on the rate at the location where the traveler spent the prior night.

Provided Meals

The per diem amount must be reduced when meals are "free" or covered in conference registration. Note: continental breakfasts or in-flight snacks are not considered official meals.

Table 1
Calculating your per diem
Daily Rate per the M&IE and Lodging Table $41 $46 $51 $56 $61 $66 $71
Breakfast value (deduct if provided) 7 7 8 9 10 11 12
Lunch value (deduct if provided) 11 11 12 13 15 16 18
Dinner value (deduct if provided) 18 23 26 29 31 34 36
Full day meal per diem 36 41 46 51 56 61 66
Partial day meal per diem (Full day * 75%) 27 30.75 34.50 38.25 42 45.75 49.50
+Incidentals (always add full amount) 5 5 5 5 5 5 5
Full day per diem 41 46 51 56 61 66 71
Partial day per diem 32 35.75 39.50 43.25 47 50.75 54.50

Travel Calculator

For your convenience, we have created an Excel worksheet that can be used to calculate per diem and mileage reimbursement.

Lodging

Lodging rates are specified in the M&IE and Lodging Table. Reimbursement will be for the actual cost of the room and cannot exceed established maximums. You must submit the original "zero balance" receipt(s).

  • Note: High cost rates are 50% more than the rates shown in the table, but must be pre-approved through the use of the Travel authorization form. The most common reason for requesting a high cost rate is that the hotel is the conference host.
  • Lodging rates in the M&IE and Lodging Table do not include taxes and surcharges. Lodging taxes and surcharges are reimbursable.

Air/Train Reimbursement

Air or rail travel always require a Travel authorization form. Reimbursement can be handled in the following ways:

  1. The airline tickets can be purchased directly by the VIVA Office.
  2. Travelers can pay the air or rail fare using a personal credit card and be reimbursed.
      Note: travelers must turn in an original ticket receipt (not an electronic ticket) and evidence of payment with your travel voucher if you use your own personal credit card. Please use this option carefully; you will only be reimbursed after your trip regardless of how far in advance you purchased the airline tickets. You also need to show cost comparison information for the airfare.
  3. If your own institution arranges and pays for the travel (airlines, trains, car rentals, etc.), you should submit a request to the VIVA Office for reimbursement immediately following the trip (using an IAT or local billing procedures).