Tag Archives: Travel Reimbursement

Update: Travel Meal and Incidental Expense (M&IE) Reimbursements

As we shared in our recent Fall What’s Up, important changes to CSU Travel & Business Expense Policy are coming. The changes will impact all business travel starting on January 1st, 2024. 

Reimbursable meals during domestic travel are based on federal GSA rates. Said reimbursements must be associated with an overnight stay. Provided the expenses do not exceed $75, per diem does not require a receipt. The daily per diem for domestic travel ranges from $59 – $79, based on the location and cover daily meals and incidental expenses. Updates to both the SJSU Travel Guide and FABS website will be shared with the campus in January 2024.

While we work to modify FTS to support the policy changes, all travel reimbursements require the following spreadsheet to be completed and attached to all Travelers Reimbursement Claims.  

The CSU Chancellor’s Office created a Travel Claim spreadsheet that automatically loads the daily rates, less the meals provided, for ease in processing. The spreadsheet is designed to assume max per diem is due to the traveler per day, provided it is not the first or last day of travel and there is an overnight stay. First and last days of travel only receive 75% of the per diem totals. 

Changes to FTS, Training, and Open Labs will be announced in early January. Please stay tuned! If you have questions, please contact FinanceConnect at financeconnect@sjsu.edu or contact the Payment Services Travel Specialist.

2024 Mileage Reimbursement Rate

The CSU adjusted its mileage reimbursement rates to reflect the new IRS rates. The mileage rate changes are as follows and apply to business travel occurring on or after January 1, 2024:

      • The standard mileage rate has increased from 65.5 cents per mile to 67 cents per mile.
      • Miles driven for moving purposes will be reimbursed at 21 cents per mile, decreased from 22 cents per mile.

The FTS Travel module reflects the standard mileage rate appropriate to the date(s) the mileage was incurred. If you have any questions, please contact FinanceConnect at ext. 4-1558 or financeconnect@sjsu.edu.

Maintaining Employee Addresses for Reimbursement

To better assist our employees during the reimbursement process, we’re adding a pop-out window in FTS that explains how to update your address in our systems.  This primarily impacts users who receive paper reimbursement checks.  If you still receive paper checks, we highly recommend you sign up for Employee Reimbursement Direct Deposit (not the same as Payroll Direct Deposit) as it is more efficient for receiving payment for your reimbursement requests.

For employees that have signed up for Employee Reimbursement Direct Deposit, the mailing address will not have an impact on their reimbursement, but an outdated address may inadvertently cause confusion. In these cases, you must contact the Supplier Maintenance Coordinator to manually update your address.

Moving forward, you will now see a hyperlink – “Need to update this address?” – under Employee/Student Reimbursements and Travel Authorizations/Reimbursements. This hyperlink will generate a pop-out window with instructions on how to update your address in our systems.  Changes will be reflected in FTS within 3 days.

(Click on images to enlarge)

Figure 1: New Hyperlink on Employee/Student Reimbursement

Screenshot of the Employee Reimbursement Module

Figure 2: New Hyperlink on Travel Authorizations/Reimbursements 

Screenshot of the Travel Authorization Module

Figure 3: New Message for SJSU Address Change

Screenshot of the FTS Pop Out Window