FAQs: Expensing Your Trip

• Wrong cost object listed to charge expenses
• Missing original receipts above $75
• No original detailed hotel bill
• No receipt for business meeting regardless of the amount
• No receipt for local travel and dining regardless of the amount
• No itemized receipt for meals above $75
• No original detailed car rental receipt
• No original passenger receipt or detailed website receipt for airline tickets;
• No documentation on business-related meetings that involve food/meals (list of participants, affiliation and topic of discussion)
• No discretionary account for unallowable expenses
• Excessive costs
• Incorrect mailing address for guest travelers
• Required additional approval from Research Administration Services, Senior Officer or Provost
• Foreign bank draft reimbursement
• Use of a foreign-flag carrier on a sponsored project
• Alcohol charged to a sponsored project

Direct Deposit is available if the traveler has direct deposit information on file with HR/Payroll and has created the expense report in his or her Concur profile and not a guest profile.

Yes, some vendors provide e-receipts, but they may not contain sufficient detail so please attach the detailed receipt you receive from the travel agency.

You would submit a second expense report with the original report name and “Addendum” in the new report name. Any additional expenses pertaining to a previous trip should be added to the NEW expense report and submitted. For records purposes, please note the TR number (can be found in MIT detailed report) of the original report in the new report.

Yes. All expenses will be entered manually as “out of pocket” expenses and will be reimbursed after the completion of the trip.

Whenever a meal involves a non-MIT party, it must be classified as a business meeting.

No, anyone submitting a Travel Expense Report in the Concur system is able to type in any account number regardless of the DLC the account is tied to.

No, Expense Report Approval in Concur is driven by Roles. Approvers are not assigned to individuals but are set up by accounts and fund centers (cost objects). When an account number is entered into the system via the report header, or when allocating individual expenses, the system recognizes the account number and knows to route the report to the designated approver(s) after the report is submitted.

No, MIT Travel Card charges feed into and are linked with only one profile and must be expensed under the profile name to which they have fed.

If every expense in your report can hit the cost object found in the Report Header you do not have to allocate each individual expense. Allocation is only necessary when splitting the report between cost objects or selecting particular expenses (like alcohol) to hit an account other than the one you entered in the Report Header (like a discretionary account) when the Concur Expense Report was created.

No, if you have a Departmental MIT Travel Card, you already have a guest account in the Concur system. You can select your Departmental Card’s name by clicking on “Profile” and “Act on behalf of another user” and typing in your email address. Click on your department travel card ID, and you are able to reimburse any traveler for out-of-pocket expenses. Please note that a guest account in Concur creates a paper check for out-of-pocket expenses. The check is mailed to the Guest mailing address the submitter enters in the Expense Report Header. If you do not have a Departmental MIT Travel Card and need to reimburse visitors or guests, please email travelsupport@mit.edu and request the creation of a guest profile.

Backup Approvers are basically set up as Expense Delegates for Primary Approvers. Due to this set-up, in order to approve reports that are routed to the Primary Approver by the system, Backup Approvers must proxy in under the Primary Approver’s name. This is done by selecting the approver's name in the “Profile,” “Act on behalf of another user” drop-down menu. Selecting the Primary Approver’s name gives the Backup Approver access to their Approval Queue.

Please call 1‐888‐571‐1000 to activate your card. This number will appear on an activation sticker on the front of the card issued to you. Activation code is your full employee ID number.

Yes, when you are completing the expense report, select the Trip Purpose, Local Travel and Meetings. For all local business meeting expenses, MIT Travel requires itemized receipts regardless of the amount. Please ensure that receipts are attached to your expense report before submitting.

The following expenses are taxable:

• The cost of meals incurred while traveling to the new employment site
• Pre-move house hunting expenses (travel, lodging, and meals)
• Post-move temporary quarters (lodging and meals)
• Real estate expenses
• Mileage in excess of the prevailing IRS rate. The current rate for 2023 is 65.5 cents per mile.
• Storage costs

An actual hotel expense (with receipt) can only be claimed in combination with a meals/ incidentals per diem if no meals are claimed on the hotel bill. A lodging per diem can be claimed if no hotel receipt is available.

MIT travelers may fly business class (or first class if business class service is not offered) for all international travel (excluding Canada).

For travel in the U.S. and Canada, an MIT traveler may fly business class (or first class if business class service is not offered) if the trip meets any one of the conditions below.

• The traveler’s scheduled in-air flying time of a one-way direct or non-stop flight exceeds six hours.
• The traveler’s scheduled in-air flying time of a flight with multiple legs totals more than six hours from origin to destination.
• For roundtrip travel, one of the above requirements must apply to at least one way of travel in order to fly business class in both directions.  For example, business class is allowed for a roundtrip Boston-Los Angeles flight even if only one way exceeds six hours.

Travelers may fly business class (or first class if business class service is not offered) for medical purposes by providing proper documentation of a medical condition and receiving approval from the MIT Office of Disability Services.   

See the full policy here.