Meal & incidental expense per diem allowance
Individual University business travelers are eligible to receive a meal & incidental expense (M&IE) per diem allowance whenever travel requires an overnight stay. The M&IE per diem allowance covers individual, out-of-pocket meals and incidental expenses.
The M&IE per diem allowance includes all meals as well as incidental expenses defined as:
- Fees and tips given to restaurant wait staff, bell hops, porters, baggage handlers, hotel housekeeping, valet, service staff on trains or ships.
- Transportation between places of lodging or business and places where meals are taken.
- Laundry, dry cleaning, and pressing of clothing
- Mailing and other expenses associated with filing expense reports
- Bottled water (for international travel needs)
Day trip travel without an overnight stay does not qualify for the M&IE per diem allowance. If your day travel requires you to spend money for a meal(s), the approving authority may authorize a $15 day trip meal allowance. This allowance is tax reportable to you.
The M&IE per diem allowance does not require receipts for payment. Do not submit receipts to the University for M&IE per diem. The I.R.S. does recommend that all business travelers retain receipts for any business travel expenses incurred for personal tax filing purposes.
No. A M&IE per diem allowance is only allowed for individual travelers that incur meal and incidentals expenses as a result of over-night travel, pay out-of-pocket and file for their own reimbursement. If a student traveler does the above, they would file for their own M&IE per diem reimbursement. If you continue to provide this for the student, they cannot.
When a University group leader provides money to students (or members of a team) for purchase of their own meal the expense limits fall under the same limit structure as Headquarter City and UW Sponsored Events. The amount of meal money given should be reasonable and in keeping to the type of student activity/travel and meals being provided.
All meal expenses must be supported by itemized receipts. In cases where meal money is given to students to purchase a meal on their own, the standard signature form, signed by the student to acknowledge the receipt of meal money, will be used in lieu of the restaurant receipt.
The maximum rates, including gratuity and tax, by location and meal expense type are:
Expense | Within Wisconsin | Outside Wisconsin |
Breakfast | $12 | $15 |
Lunch | $18 | $23 |
Dinner | $30 | $37 |
Refreshments/Break | $10 | $10 |
An individual traveler’s personal meal & incidental expense (M&IE) per diem allowance cannot be used to pay for items related to University Sponsored Events or any other related business entertainment activity that includes meals, food or beverages whether the expense is incurred in travel status or at the headquarter location.
Meal limits, receipt requirements and other documentation for hosting expenses is part of the UW Headquarter City & Sponsored Events policy. Please review the requirements.
Yes, the M&IE per diem allowance is applicable to all individuals that travel for University purposes.
Headquarter city & UW sponsored events
No. When making food and beverage arrangements you do not have to spend the maximum amount per meal. Let the food and beverage staff know what your budget is and request food and beverage options that align with your budget. If you are accustomed to using a hotel’s “state rate menu” to stay within your budget, you can continue to request that.
These type of meal expenditures are considered “hosted meals”. Meal maximums and policy requirements for hosting a meal are the same as what is contained within the Headquarter City and UW Sponsored Events Policy.
All hosted meal expenses must be supported by a business purpose, itemized receipts and a list of attendees. The meal purchase(s) should be reasonable, need not be at the maximum amount, and in keeping with the type of student activity/travel and meals being provided.
The maximum rates, including gratuity and tax, by location and meal expense type are:
Expense | Within Wisconsin | Outside Wisconsin |
Breakfast | $12 | $15 |
Lunch | $18 | $23 |
Dinner | $30 | $37 |
Refreshments/Break | $10 | $10 |
Travel Policy
The university will pay for the most economical form of transportation to reach your business destination and return. That will often be by air for out of state business. If you elect to travel by car, that’s a personal choice and your reimbursement will be limited to the lowest cost. You will have to provide a cost comparison which includes airfare and all related air expenses (airport parking, taxi from airport to hotel and back, and mileage from home to airport and return), and car mileage and related costs (including additional work hours for travel time) for the travel to the destination and return. This cost comparison, including the additional work hours for travel time, must be discussed and approved by your supervisor prior to travel.
Note: The comparisons will need to be attached to your expense report to support the elective to drive vs. fly and expedite your reimbursement.
For more information see the process guidelines: Determining the Appropriate Mode of Transportation and 1201 Purchase & Payment of Business Air Travel
There are a number of things to consider in this situation, for instance, can you pay to ship the equipment and travel by the lowest cost transportation option? Is it less costly to drive your personal vehicle and carry the equipment with you? Can you rent a car for less than the mileage cost for driving your own vehicle? The university will pay for the most economical form of transportation to reach your business destination and return, including the need to transport the equipment.
You will need to prepare a comparison of the various possible methods of transportation that will meet the need in determining lowest cost. You should then discuss options and cost with your supervisor as the approving authority has responsibility for determining the most appropriate mode of transportation.
For more information see the procedure: Determining the Appropriate Mode of Transportation
UW System Travel FAQs
Training
Topics: Receipts and Invoices | General Booking | Travel Policy | Air | Car | Lodging |
General Booking
Concur
Concur is an online booking tool that University of Wisconsin System employees can use to book university-sponsored individual air, car or hotel reservations. Our contracted travel agency, Fox World Travel, licenses Concur for University Travelers to use. Travelers can manage their itinerary, view changes, and research pricing by using Concur.
To register for Concur, users can log into Concur via Single Sign On. New users will be directed to the Concur registration page. Registrations are reviewed and approved within 48 hours.
Please review this file:
Concur cannot be used for personal travel reservations, unless purchasing business travel combined with personal travel. Cost comparisons must be obtained when booking air travel.
Training
Fox World Travel Concur Support Desk
Fox World Travel is available to support your Concur questions. Contact support via phone at 608-710-4172 or via chat in the Concur application.
Forgot Password?
Submit a request to Concur for a password reset. Your username is your current institutional email address.
New User Registration
Concur registration for new users. Registration is limited to employees. The use of a university e-mail address is required for user name.
Additional Support
Contact your institution’s travel manager for additional support questions.
Personalized SAP Concur Open Updates
Personalized up-to-the-minute service availability and performance information
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OPI-5960257 : US2 : Expense | Travel | Invoice | Request | Imaging | Analysis/Intelligence : Issue Resolved
20 December 2024 | 3:12 pm
In the US2 Data Center, logins through the SAP Concur website app and SAP Concur mobile app was below expected levels. Affected users may have experienced intermittent login errors, stating, "Sorry, something went wrong," "Sorry, Concur is currently unavailable." or "502 bad gateway error" when attempting to log in. A possible workaround was identified. Users may have been able to successfully login after refreshing the page. The Incident Response Team (IRT) performed a configuration change to restore service. We have verified that service performance is stable and will now resolve the incident. An investigation into the root cause of this incident will now be conducted, and a root cause analysis report provided when that investigation is complete.
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OPI-5960257 : US2 : Expense | Travel | Invoice | Request | Imaging | Analysis/Intelligence : Issue Status Update
20 December 2024 | 2:43 pm
In the US2 Data Center, logins through the SAP Concur website app and SAP Concur mobile app was below expected levels. Affected users may have experienced intermittent login errors, stating, "Sorry, something went wrong," "Sorry, Concur is currently unavailable." or "502 bad gateway error" when attempting to log in. A possible workaround was identified. Users may have been able to successfully login after refreshing the page. Services have returned to normal operating levels. We will continue monitoring performance for the next 15-30 minutes to verify stability. Once verified as stable the incident will be resolved.
Please see Student and Guest Travel
Yes, the university’s contracted travel agencies can assist with companion/family travel. However, please keep in mind their primary responsibility is to service university sponsored/business-related travel. The consultants do not specialize in vacation travel. If your request exceeds their capacity, you will be referred to a vacation/leisure consultant. Also, keep in mind, service fees will apply to personal travel/companions.
It is the responsibility of the hosting department to ensure that all guests of the University are aware of UW Travel Policies. Guests should be provided a copy of the University’s Visitor Travel Guide prior to scheduling travel. If the guest books outside of policy, please reach out to your campus travel manager to inquire about obtaining an approved Travel Policy Exception.
There are several different types of insurance available to UW Employees. Please reach out to your Human Resources Representative for more information.
Insurance that is specific to travel –
- Vehicle coverage through the Big Ten contract (Enterprise and National) and State of Wisconsin contract (Hertz)
- CISI – medical insurance required for students who are traveling internationally. UW-Stout and UW-Madison employees are required to register for CISI insurance when traveling abroad. Contact your campus travel manager for more information.
* The University does not pay for or reimburse trip insurance.
We have created a Group Travel Resource page to identify the different needs of groups. Most likely, you will have to work with an agent, as agents are best to assist your group needs. Information on groups can be found in Group Travel under Planning in TravelWIse.
No. Because of our commitment to duty of care and our relationship with vendors, UW will still require the use of our contracted travel agency partners for all airfare purchases.
No, UW air contract cannot be used for travel that is 100% personal in nature. However, when combining personal travel with business travel, UW air contracts can be used.
Yes, travelers can combine personal and business travel and book individual tickets through Fox World Travel. When a traveler elects to combine personal travel days with business travel, cost comparisons must also be obtained to ensure that the University is paying for the business trip dates only. A cost comparison must be provided to show the cost of the lowest appropriate airfare for the business travel dates only and another with the added personal dates. The lower of the two comparisons will be paid or reimbursed by the University.
Valid Cost Comparisons: Concur or agents from one of the university’s contracted travel agencies must be used for cost comparisons. Because of pricing and availability fluctuations, accurate cost comparisons must be done immediately, in succession, to be valid.
No, companions/family members are not eligible to receive UW contracted airline discounts.
National/Enterprise and Hertz are the contracted suppliers for UW.
Personal use may be added in conjunction with a business trip, either at the beginning of the end of your reservation. . Please note additional coverage such as CDW or LDW are not included when reserving a strictly personal rental. The coverage can be added for additional fees.
View the Personal Use Contracts page for more information.
Users are highly encouraged to book all vehicle rentals through Concur or our contracted travel agency partners as contract details are built into the booking channels. However, booking directly with a vehicle rental agency is allowed. When booking outside of Concur/contracted travel agencies, it is the responsibility of the traveler/arranger to make sure the contracted vendors are being used (Enterprise/National and Hertz).
Verify hours of operation at the Enterprise location you are renting from. It is possible that the location is closed at the time you are entering into Concur.
Note: pick-up and/or drop-off hours may need to be modified to accommodate the location hours of operation.
If you have determined that Enterprise does not have any cars available, explore other options. Look into renting from National or Hertz, and if none of our preferred partners have availability you may want to condenser driving your personal vehicle or work with our travel agency to use another vendor.
Contact your campus travel manager for assistance in determining the best alternative.
Yes.
Note: Most Airport locations are open on weekends.
Yes. While we highly recommend using Concur or our contracted travel agencies, policy does allow you to contact the hotel directly (either by phone or on the hotel website) to book your lodging reservation.
No. Third party booking websites are prohibited under the travel policy
Yes.
Third Party bookings are still restricted (such as Expedia and Orbitz).
Please visit our Airbnb page for more information.
Conference lodging should be booked using the link provided with your conference registration or by contacting the conference hotel directly.
Note: Users are highly encouraged to search Concur for the conference hotel(s) as often rates found within Concur are less costly than the conference rate.
We highly encourage you to use UW preferred properties whenever possible. Booking with a preferred property allows the UW System to act as a liaison in the event there is an issue with your stay, and to ensure rates are below the maximum. However, bookings with non-preferred properties will still be reimbursed.
If you are unable to find lodging within a reasonable distance from your location, you are required to provide documentation (i.e. screenshots from Concur) that a lower rate was not available.