georgia tech travel per diem

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Travel Inc and Concur Training (04/13/2022)

Fundamentals of Travel Policies and Procedures Course

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Policy Library

Non-employee travel.

The purpose of this policy is to outline requirements for non-employees traveling on official business in compliance with University System of Georgia, State Accounting Office and the Institute travel policies.

Non-employees (students, official guests/visitors) traveling on official Institute business are required to follow the same travel policies/procedures used by employees. All travel reimbursements to non-employees must be submitted via the Georgia Tech’s financial management system on an Expense Report. Non-employees must follow the Institute's accountable plan for travel, which requires original receipts be submitted for reimbursement. Travelers should submit all expenses for reimbursement and reconciliation within 10 days of the completion of the event or trip. Reconciliation should not exceed 45 calendar days.

For the purpose of travel reimbursement, any students who are active on Payroll must submit their travel reimbursements via the Institute’s Financial System.

This policy applies to all units of the Georgia Institute of Technology.

Prospective Employees / Students / Official Guests Travel reimbursement for official GT business is allowed for students authorized to travel for participation in academic programs and sanctioned student events, students enrolled to take classes at Georgia Tech, and individuals being recruited as potential students. Also included is research, academic conference, or academic event travel funded by a grant awarded to GT which authorizes non employee travel. Job applicant travel associated with an interview is also allowable as specified by Georgia Tech policy. In order to reimburse job applicants one of the following situations must apply:

• Interview expenses are included in the contract with an external search firm;
• A job applicant is required to deliver a presentation on a subject matter applicable to the position applied for; or
• Family members who accompany the candidate may have their expenses reimbursed by an affiliated organization (i.e. Georgia  Tech Foundation, Georgia Tech Research Corporation, or Georgia Tech Applied Research Corporation if approved in advance.

Transportation Non-employees will be reimbursed for either (a) the actual cost of the coach/economy airfare from their home to GT place of business or (b) mileage at the rate allowed by the state of Georgia. Original receipts must be submitted.

Direct billing of airfare is available through Georgia Tech's contracted agency. Contact the Institute's Travel Management Company to make travel arrangements. For non-employees traveling on official business with Georgia Tech, the department is to complete the Single Trip Direct Bill Form. 

Form is to be reviewed by the Cost Center Manager for completeness and appropriateness and forwarded to the Institute’s Travel Management Company Travel Inc via email to: [email protected] prior to the issuance of any ticket. It is the departments' responsibility to ensure the Institute’s Travel Management Company has booked the ticket. The department and traveler should receive an e-mail confirmation (e-itinerary) showing that the ticket has been booked.

Lodging Lodging expenses for prospective employees and other official guests will be reimbursed after the trip. If the lodging is paid directly by the Institution through direct bill the hotel should not collect any taxes associated with the lodging expenses. The list of hotels in the Atlanta area that accept direct billing can be found on the Business Services website .

Meals Non-employees will be reimbursed for the State of Georgia per diem rate for Atlanta, or if visiting other locations outside of Georgia, the federal per diem rate (minus incidentals) for that location. Receipts are not required.

Miscellaneous Expenses The miscellaneous travel expenses of non-employees will be reimbursed according to the employee travel guidelines.

Reimbursing Travel Expenses When requesting reimbursement for travel expenses, non employees need to itemize the actual cost of transportation, lodging (daily), meals (daily), and miscellaneous expenses. Itemized folio receipts for lodging expenses and original receipts for all other expenses (with the exception of meals) are required in order to be reimbursed.

Student Travel Undergraduate students that are not active on Payroll traveling in support of a student activity (sport, club, academic, research) will report expenses as external committee members (ECM's) on an expense report via Georgia Tech's Financial Management System.

Consultants / Independent Contractors An independent contractor must include travel expenses in the fees they charge to the Institute, unless specified otherwise in the contract.

Reimbursement for Independent Contractor Travel Individuals providing independent contract service will be compensated for associated business expenses such as travel. Documentation for payment must be either a fully executed professional service agreement or an invoice. The professional service agreement may state a fee plus expenses, or simply a fee. If the service agreement states a fee plus expenses, the expenses should be listed separately on the invoice and will be reported on the IRS Form 1099-Misc. Meals will be reimbursed at the current daily per diem rate set by the State of Georgia, unless specified differently in the contract.

IRS Tax Reporting Original receipts should be retained by the independent contractor, all appropriate payments will be reported to the IRS as compensation on the form 1099-Misc.

Refer to the Travel Authorizatoin Policy for Employees.

All non-employees traveling on behalf of the Institute are to adhere to the Non-Employee Travel Policy or are at risk of not receiving reimbursement for travel expenses incurred.

To resport suspected instances of ethical violations, please visit Georgia Tech's Ethics Hotline, a secure and confidential reporting system at: https://secure.ethicspoint.com/domain/en/report_custom.asp?clientid=7508

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Meals and Incidental Travel Expenses

The purpose of this policy is to outline requirements for meals and incidental travel expenses for Georgia Tech employees traveling on official business in compliance with University System of Georgia, State Accounting Office and Georgia Tech travel policies.

General Meal Per Diem Guidelines Meals are reimbursable on a per diem basis (not actual expenses) for overnight official business travel outside the Traveler’s primary work or educational location. Georgia Tech’s financial management system will provide the proper per diem amounts based on travel to specific cities. Daily meal allowances are divided into breakfast, lunch and dinner amounts, and include taxes and tips. Travelers should deduct specific meals where required, as outlined in the “Required Meal Claim Deductions” section below. Per diem expenses do not require receipts to be provided. A formal written agenda which includes session times and any meals provided is required as supporting documentation for conferences, meetings and training.

For all travel, both in and out of state, travelers are eligible for only 75% of the total day's per diem rate on the first and last day of travel.

Reimbursement for meals per diem within a 50-mile radius of a Traveler’s primary work or educational location is generally not allowable, unless in conjunction with a Georgia Tech sponsored event (see section 6.14 - Retreats and Campus Workshops for Faculty and Staff https://policylibrary.gatech.edu/business-finance/retreats-and-campus-workshops-faculty-and-staff) or approved to provide support during a campus emergency.

Required Meal Claim Deductions If meals are provided at a conference or event, or if meals are part of a registration fee, the meals must be deducted from the per diem reimbursement for each meal provided. Meal deductions include those provided by hotels, meetings, conferences, or any other source. If a breakfast, lunch, dinner, or reception is offered as part of the travel event and the quantity of food and event timing is sufficient to serve as a meal, the Traveler must reduce the per diem by the appropriate allowance amount. If a meal is offered as part of a conference and the traveler has medical restrictions, dietary, or religious convictions that restrict or prohibit consumption, the traveler should make every effort to have the conference facilitate his/her needs by the deadline specified by the conference. If the conference does not honor the request, the traveler is not required to deduct the applicable meal allowance from the per diem. However, the traveler must include a note or other documentation with the Travel Expense Report to document this information. 

OVERNIGHT TRAVEL Meal Per Diem Expenses Associated with Overnight Travel within Non-High Cost Areas in Georgia Travelers staying overnight for all cities within the State of Georgia will be paid a per diem amount designed to cover the cost of three meals per day for all days of travel. See the following link to meal per diem allowances on the State Accounting Office website: https://sao.georgia.gov/state-travel-policy . Travelers staying overnight within the State of Georgia non-high cost areas will receive 75% reimbursement on the first and last day of travel, less any provided meal(s).

Travelers whose primary work or education location is out of the state of Georgia and are visiting a non-high cost Georgia location will be reimbursed for 75% of the per diem amount on first and last day. Deductions must be made for any meals that have been provided as outlined in the Required Meal Claim Deductions section above.

Meal Per Diem Expenses Associated with Overnight Travel outside Georgia

(Domestic U.S. and International Travel) Meal expenses will be paid for using the United States General Services Administration established rates for the travel destination, found here: https://sao.georgia.gov/state-travel-policy .  The Georgia Tech’s financial system will pull rates effective at the time of travel for the travel location where the employee spends the night.

Travelers are eligible for 75% of the total per diem rate on the first and last day of travel, and deductions must be made for any meals that have been provided as outlined in the Required Meal Claim Deductions section.

Meal Per Diem During Non-Overnight Travel: One-Day Trips Travelers on Georgia Tech business with no overnight travel involved, or who are on one-day trips, are not eligible for any meal per diem allowance. This also applies to Travelers whose primary work or education location are based out of the State of Georgia.

Each department head or their delegate is to determine the reasonableness of when an overnight stay is justified. 

Per diem Calculation For overnight travel, the calculation is based on the location of lodging for each night of travel. For the final return date, the meal per diem is based on the location of the prior night’s lodging.

For trips involving multiple travel destinations, base the reduction on the per diem rate in effect where the night was spent as follows:

• Departure Day: Where you spend the night.
• Return Day: Where you spent the night before returning to your residence or primary work or education location.

When Georgia Tech's financial management system is unable to provide the per diem amounts based on travel to specific cities or destinations, a custom per diem rate may be used. A valid justification is to be provided whenever a custom per diem rate is used.

Entertainment Expenses Learn more about requirements for entertainment expenses here . Entertainment expenses in support of Georgia Tech business activities are processed through the Georgia Tech Foundation (GTF), Georgia Tech Research Corporation (GTRC), or Georgia Tech Applied Research Corporation (GTARC).

Special Approval for Meals Associated with Campus Emergencies Meals may be allowable for extraordinary situations when Georgia Tech employees are required by their supervisor to work more than a twelve-hour workday or six hours on a non-scheduled weekend, to meet crucial deadlines or handle campus emergencies, such as weather events. All special meal (and associated hotel) needs must have prior approval from the President’s Office (or designee), unless specific authority for approval has been delegated to a department head for a period not to exceed one fiscal year.

Group Catering/Meeting Meal Expenses Refer to the Group Meal Policy 5.2.19 for the policy regarding allowable meal expenses related to intra-departmental meetings or training sessions.

Incidental Expenses Actual incidental expenses are reimbursed separately and include fees and tips given to porters, baggage carriers, bellhops, hotel housekeeping, and hotel staff.

All Georgia Tech employees (faculty, staff, and students).

5.1.Traveler

The Traveler is responsible for ensuring appropriate travel authorization, supporting documentation and appropriate approval is obtained prior to the first day of travel.  Travelers must also ensure any personal or external professional activities have been excluded from the reimbursement. 

5.2. Expense Preparer

An expense preparer may book travel reservations on behalf of the Traveler and is responsible for ensuring appropriate travel authorization and all required supporting documentation is obtained prior to the first day of travel.

5.3. Approvers

Manager and supervisors, or their delegates, are responsible for:

• Verifying the business purpose of the trip;
• Verifying the trip is allowable;
• Verifying the reasonableness of the cost of the trip;
• Verifying the travel class is compliant with Georgia Tech and USG policies;
• Verifying all required supporting documentation is submitted.

Travelers who are in violation of this Policy are at risk of not receiving reimbursement for travel expenses.

To report suspected instances of ethical violations, please visit Georgia Tech’s Ethics Hotline a secure and confidential reporting system, at: https://secure.ethicspoint.com/domain/en/report_custom.asp?clientid=7508

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• Per Diem Lookup

FY 2023 Per Diem Rates for Georgia

Daily lodging rates (excluding taxes) | october 2022 - september 2023.

Cities not appearing below may be located within a county for which rates are listed. To determine the county a destination is located in, visit the Census Geocoder .

Meals & Incidentals (M&IE) rates and breakdown Footnotes

Use this table to find the following information for federal employee travel:

Breakfast, lunch, dinner, incidentals - Separate amounts for meals and incidentals. M&IE Total = Breakfast + Lunch + Dinner + Incidentals. Sometimes meal amounts must be deducted from trip voucher. See More Information

First & last day of travel - amount received on the first and last day of travel and equals 75% of total M&IE.

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Primary Destination

Traveler reimbursement is based on the location of the work activities and not the accommodations, unless lodging is not available at the work activity, then the agency may authorize the rate where lodging is obtained.

Unless otherwise specified, the per diem locality is defined as "all locations within, or entirely surrounded by, the corporate limits of the key city, including independent entities located within those boundaries."

Per diem localities with county definitions shall include "all locations within, or entirely surrounded by, the corporate limits of the key city as well as the boundaries of the listed counties, including independent entities located within the boundaries of the key city and the listed counties (unless otherwise listed separately)."

When a military installation or Government-related facility (whether or not specifically named) is located partially within more than one city or county boundary, the applicable per diem rate for the entire installation or facility is the higher of the rates which apply to the cities and/or counties, even though part(s) of such activities may be located outside the defined per diem locality.

Meals & Incidentals

The separate amounts for breakfast, lunch and dinner listed in the chart are provided should you need to deduct any of those meals from your trip voucher. For example, if your trip includes meals that are already paid for by the government (such as through a registration fee for a conference), you will need to deduct those meals from your voucher. Refer to Section 301-11.18 of the Federal Travel Regulation for specific guidance on deducting these amounts from your per diem reimbursement claims for meals furnished to you by the government. Other organizations may have different rules that apply for their employees; please check with your organization for more assistance.

First & Last Day of Travel

This column lists the amount federal employees receive for the first and last calendar day of travel. The first and last calendar day of travel is calculated at 75 percent.

Additional per diem topics

• Meals & Incidental Expenses breakdown (M&IE)
• State tax exemption forms
• Factors influencing lodging rates
• Per diem highlights
• Fire safe hotels
• Have a per diem question?
• Downloadable per diem files

Need more information?

• Rates for Alaska, Hawaii, U.S. territories and possessions (set by DoD)
• Rates in foreign countries (set by State Dept.)

Related topics

• Travel resources
• E-Gov Travel
• POV mileage reimbursement rates

PER DIEM LOOK-UP

1 choose a location.

Error, The Per Diem API is not responding. Please try again later.

No results could be found for the location you've entered.

Rates for Alaska, Hawaii, U.S. Territories and Possessions are set by the Department of Defense .

Rates for foreign countries are set by the State Department .

2 Choose a date

Rates are available between 10/1/2021 and 09/30/2024.

The End Date of your trip can not occur before the Start Date.

When a military installation or Government - related facility(whether or not specifically named) is located partially within more than one city or county boundary, the applicable per diem rate for the entire installation or facility is the higher of the rates which apply to the cities and / or counties, even though part(s) of such activities may be located outside the defined per diem locality.