Office of Procurement Services

Expense Reimbursement Standards and Guidelines

Overview 

We are committed to making VCU employees' reimbursement process as smooth as possible. By utilizing Emburse Enterprise, our University's Expense Management Platform, we provide employees with a streamlined, efficient, and highly visible way to manage spending and stay compliant with University policy.

For VCU to formally reimburse or make allowance arrangements for a VCU traveler, the University must have an IRS compliant Accountable Plan. Otherwise, reimbursements would be considered taxable income.

These standards, along with the University's Travel Standards and Guidelines, ensure compliance with federal tax regulations and protects employees from financial penalties. All University related expenses must be incurred in the performance of services to VCU. Requests must include valid receipts and other documentation confirming purchases or encumbrances related to a business purpose and that any advanced or overpaid funds are returned within a reasonable timeframe.

Submission window 

VCU requires that expense reimbursements are submitted within 30 days following the date the expense is incurred. These timeframes apply to the submission of reimbursements.

Submission window Tax impact Processing action
0 to 30 days Non-taxable Request returns and corrections are allowed beyond 30 days.
31 to 60 days Non-taxable Subject to additional review.
61 to 180 days Fully taxable Total included on W-2.
181 or more days Forfeited Will not be processed.

Requirements 

To ensure the responsible stewardship of University funds, all individuals traveling on behalf of the University must adhere to the following requirements for travel authorization and expense reconciliation.

Under the Commonwealth of Virginia's Policy 1.60 Standards of Conduct and University's Integrity and Compliance requirements, any individual who falsifies records or documents or willfully violates these procedures and guidelines may face disciplinary action, suspension, criminal prosecution or termination of employment or business contract.

All Policies and Procedures are in compliance with the Board of Visitors and the Commonwealth of Virginia mandates. Individuals should assess the risk of incurring any personal expenses, as reimbursement occurs only after the business activity or travel is completed.

VCU has established policies regarding reimbursable business expenses and provides information on acceptable expenses, see the following for additional information:

Reimbursable Business Expense Policy

Receipt and Documentation Requirements

 Allowability Quick Reference

For payment options, other than use of personal funds for which expenses are reimbursable, please refer to the following:

General procedures

The procedures below outline reconciliation for VCU Business-related Reimbursements, including University-related  travel. The Expense Management and Reimbursement Team (EMRT) reserves  the right to request additional documentation or approvals for an expenditure that warrants  further support.

All employees are automatically provided with an Emburse account via a daily data feed from HR. Our automated routing and expense review process leads to quick reconciliation and fast reimbursements. AI-powered optical character recognition (OCR) expedites receipt scanning and auto-categorization of expenses. The program offers mobile functionality through a smartphone application. 

Reimbursement requests (expense reports) must be submitted to the Authorized Approver via Emburse within 30 days of the date of purchase for non-travel-related expenses and within 30 days of the return date of travel for travel-related expenses. Reports submitted after 60 days must be fully justified and documented and may be considered taxable. Submissions received after 180 days will not be processed.

Key definitions

  • General reimbursement - Payment to an individual for out-of-pocket expenses incurred for official University business unrelated to travel expenses (e.g. office supplies, professional dues.)
  • Reasonable expense - An expense that is ordinary, not extreme or excessive, and reflects a prudent decision to incur the expense on behalf of University business. 

Reimbursement categories

Disallowed expenses

Although not all-inclusive, the following expenses are not reimbursable:

  • Lost or stolen articles
  • Damage to personal vehicles, clothing, or other items
  • Services to gain entry to a locked vehicle
  • Movies, food, or other personal items charged to hotel bills
  • All expenses related to the personal negligence of the traveler, such as fines
  • Towing charges and tickets for violations
  • Expenses for children, spouses, and companions while on travel status (car seats, cribs, etc.)
  • Interest on credit cards 
  • Parking for commuting employees attending meetings /training in a VCU owned or occupied space
  • Mileage between Monroe and MCV campuses

Exceptions

Exceptions are determined on a case-by-case basis and may be subject to approval and fund source restriction by a department’s fiscal administrator, the traveler’s supervisor, and VCU Expense Management and Reimbursement Team.