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Deadline for Submitting Reimbursement Requests
The sections of
MAPP 04.01.03,
MAPP 04.02.01A,
and
MAPP 04.02.01B related to timeliness of
reimbursements were revised for two primary
reasons: (1) IRS standards require companies
to set deadlines for employee reimbursements
in order for those reimbursements to be
considered non-taxable (60 days is the
deadline suggested by the IRS) and (2)
employees are more likely to receive
duplicate reimbursements when vouchers are
allowed to be processed several months after
the purchase or travel date.
MAPP 04.01.03
(section VII.C), Vouchers was revised on
April 7, 2008 to say the following:
All requests for reimbursement,
including required documentation, must
be submitted to the department business
office no later than 60 days after the
date of purchase. Requests submitted
after 60 days may not be forwarded to
Accounts Payable for reimbursement,
unless approved by the appropriate
division vice president.
The department should make every
effort to submit vouchers for employee
and student reimbursements to Accounts
Payable as soon as possible but no later
than 15 days following receipt of all
required documentation from the employee
or student.
MAPP 04.02.01A
(section IX.B.), Travel Paid from State
Appropriated Funds and
MAPP 04.02.01B
(section VIII.B.), Travel Paid from Local
Funds were also revised on April 7, 2008
with the same requirement:
Employees, prospective employees, and
students must submit their request for
reimbursement, including required
documentation, to the department
business office no later than 60 days
after travel is completed. Requests
submitted after 60 days may not be
forwarded to Accounts Payable for
reimbursement, unless approved by the
appropriate division vice president.
The department should make every
effort to submit vouchers for employee,
prospective employee, and student travel
reimbursements to Accounts Payable as
soon as possible but no later than 15
days following receipt of all required
documentation from the traveler.
Only the department knows if the employee
submitted his/her receipts within 60 days of
the transaction or end of the trip. If the
employee did not submit his/her receipts on
time, the department should request VP
approval for the reimbursement. Academic
Affairs and the Research Division have
issued memos or statements to reinforce the
change in late reimbursements policy. Other
divisions may decide to do the same.
The only type of reimbursement where the 60
day rule does not apply is non-overnight
transportation (account 54807).
Non-overnight mileage, parking, and tolls
may be accumulated up to a year before these
expenses are submitted for reimbursement,
because it is not cost effective to
reimburse employees for small dollar amounts
once every 60 days. MAPP will be updated to
indicate this exception. In the meantime,
departments should not apply the 60 day rule
to non-overnight transportation.
If
you have any questions, please call Samantha
Yurus, Director of Accounts Payable, at
713.743.8721.