Per Diem Required for Meal Reimbursement

Now that travel has opened back up and faculty/staff are traveling domestically and internationally we wanted to remind everyone that meals are reimbursed by per diem and are not allowed to be charged to a university credit card (except when hosting an allowable business meal).

Per diem is a daily travel meal and incidental allowance and includes taxes and tips. In order to be eligible for per diem, employees must be in travel status on approved business travel that includes an overnight stay. Per IRS Publication 463 Chapter 1 – Traveling Away from Home, per diem is not provided for same day travel (defined as no overnight stay). The cost of actual meals purchased while in travel status is not reimbursable and receipts for such meals should not be submitted with the expense report.

Concur automatically calculates the per diem reimbursement amount based on number of travel days, the time that travel status starts, and the time that travel status ends. However, travelers need to ensure the adjustments are made for any meals that are provided by another source (such as those provided to the traveler attending a conference) when on travel status by clearly marking those meals in Concur as those are not eligible for reimbursement.

For more information on Per Diem or to see quick reference guides on creating an itinerary to claim per diem visit our website at https://www.ohio.edu/finance/travel/paying-travel#per_diem.