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Travel Info

Jan. 2, 2026
Travel TIPS:

BLANKET MILEAGE TIPS:

  • 2026 mileage rate is $0.725.
  • Use updated Ground Transportation LOG. Workday will calculate new mileage amount according to date listed on the Expense Lines. 
  • Complete Expense Report (ER) within 60 days of travel to not incur an IRS tax implication.
  • Use first travel date on log for expense line date.
  • Only one month per LOG.
  • If Spend Authorization (SA) is split between different funding sources, use additional lines on ER in Workday. 
  • SA can only be edited if no expenses have been connected to it in Workday. If inadvertently closed or over the budgeted amount, no new SA needs to be created. List in Memo Line of ER, current SA# and explain why it is unavailable. 
  • Attached approvals if using Worktags not in your approval hierarchy. 

OVERNIGHT TIPS:

  • Pay for meals personally. Get reimbursed via Per Diem (Pre-Trip for SA/Post-Trip for ER).
  • No need to use both 'Lodging' and 'Lodging with Fees and Taxes' for Expense Items. Only one invoice is paid. 
  • If not getting conference rate, check the GSA rates, allowable up to 1.5 times the area standard rate.
  • Determine estimated cost of overnight trip before Creating Spend Authorization. Items to consider, personal mileage, ground transportation, shuttle, tolls, baggage fee, lodging, registration, per diem, and parking. Needed items for SA are an agenda/flier and travel comparison if needed for drive vs. fly or adding personal time.
  • Expense PCard charges within 7 days of charge being incurred. This may include pre-paid items. 
  • University only pays for lowest reasonable expenses.
  • All airfare is to be processed through the Concur website. Anthony Travel is our contracted supplier for purchasing travel. By using Anthony Travel continuity of care will be in place if a disaster were to occur and the University needed to be involved in getting employees home. Keep documentation from Anthony Travel in case of cancellations. If a credit is issued, list ER# of original charge in the entry for the credit. DO NOT USE office PCard for Anthony Travel expenses.  They use their own credit card to pay and charge your Worktags listed in the SA. Must have an approved SA in order to reserve a flight. 

When is a Spend Authorization needed?

  • If you are registering for a virtual meeting or single-day in-person meeting, the expense can be put on a pcard and submitted on an expense report without being tied to a spend authorization. Your mileage to the in-person meeting, if applicable, can be submitted along with your regular monthly mileage on your blanket spend authorization. We are not able to submit registration expenses against blanket spend authorizations.

    Any overnight travel requires a separate spend authorization specific to the overnight trip, and all associated expenses (registration, mileage, per diem, etc) should be submitted on expense reports tied to that specific spend authorization.

  • If a virtual conference/session with no travel, only registration cost, then the registration is considered non-travel and no SA needed.
  • If NO travel involved or claimed for a conference/session (held in your office or within same miles as commute) and registration is the only expense- then the registration is considered non-travel and no SA needed.

NOTE: Carpooling will need a separate SA, in case of expenses that could arise- as in last minute change of plans and have to drive after all, or if splitting cost of mileage, etc.

NOTE: when traveling on OSP grants submit a separate SA

What if the registration is internal and nothing to tie back to the SA in Workday?

  • The internal registration won’t get tied to the SA, but should still be reflected as an expected cost, so put a LINE in the SA request for REGISTRATION.

How does the Spend Authorization get tied to the Expense Report put in for travel expenses?

  • When in Header page (first screen) of Create Expense Report- choose the 3rd radio button,  Create New Expense Report from Spend Authorization, then click the drop down arrow to choose the correct SA
  • See Blanket In-State Mileage and Overnight Travel job aids
  • This brings in your payroll default Worktags. Make sure these are changed to match the approved SA where you are expensing the travel

Do I have to fill out ITEMIZATION in the expense report?

  • Only needed when splitting out Spend Categories, such as hotel bills if they include parking, or other charges on the bill to be separated out to another SC (NOT to separate out fees/taxes)

If I use the PCard for registration, hotel or other travel expenses, how will that get tied back to my travel Spend Authorization?

How can I cancel a Spend Authorization?

  • In the case when F2F conferences have been cancelled or changed to ‘virtual’ conferences, the SA’s should be canceled, here’s the NEWS article:To Close Spend Authorizations
  • When the job aid mentions 'related actions' click on the 3 dots in the red header bar to get the ACTIONS gray column to show up- then you HOVER over the Spend Authorization… and should see next step, which must be to END

FORMS

Complete the Travel Comparison Worksheet prior to travel and attach to the Spend Authorization in the following situations:
o Drive vs. Fly
o Mileage vs. Rental Vehicle
o Personal Travel in Conjunction with Business Travel

City of Columbus Certificate of Exemption, Hotel/Motel Excise Tax

The Ohio State University tax status (When traveling out-of-state)

Know the tax exemption status of the state in which you are traveling. The state-by-state information about sales tax shows the university’s tax status in each state and provides the applicable tax exemption certificates. If a supplier asks for a tax-exempt number, Ohio State’s employer identification number 31-6025986 can be provided.

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Travel