New Milage Rate for 2024

• January 4th, 2024
• by Heather Hubbard
• in Uncategorized

The IRS has announced an increase in the standard mileage rate for 2024.  Effective January 1, 2024, the mileage rate paid to persons traveling in privately owned vehicles on official business for the state will be 67 cents per mile (up 1.5 cents from 2023). The updated mileage rate is available in Concur and on the Accounts Payable Mileage Rates webpage.  When you enter mileage in your Concur Expense Report, please make sure you include the correct transaction date in the mileage form. For example, if travel occurred in December 2023, please ensure you have entered the correct transaction date in December 2023 in order to properly calculate the mileage.

Policy Types for Concur Reports – P-Card Transactions

• December 8th, 2023
• by Heather Hubbard
• in Uncategorized

Concur reports can have one of the two following policy types: P-Card Non-Travel and Travel, Entertainment, & Reimbursements. Reports with incorrect policy types may need to be sent back for updates to make sure they are reviewed by the correct department in Procurement Services.

The P-Card Non-Travel policy includes most items used for daily operations, such as,

• Office Supplies
• Books
• Technology purchases
• Scientific supplies
• Furniture

The Travel, Entertainment, & Reimbursements policy includes:

• Flights
• Rental cars
• Lodging
• Conference registrations
• Other travel-related expenses
• Business entertainment such as food, catering, and meals.
• Reimbursement for out-of-pocket expenses to UA employees.

P-Card Due Dates

The next due date for p-card transactions is January 10, 2024, for transactions with a posting date of 10/26 – 11/25 and prior.  This due date has been extended due to the holiday break.

In-State Travel

• October 2nd, 2023
• by Heather Hubbard
• in Uncategorized

When completing an Expense Report in Concur for overnight travel within the State of Alabama, you should select the Report Type based on the reimbursement method you are using (See UA Travel Policy Section 10.0 – In-State Travel for UA Employees).  If utilizing the GSA reimbursement method, select “Domestic Overnight” as the Report Type within the Report Header.  If utilizing the State of Alabama in-state per diem reimbursement method, select “In-State Overnight (1 night)” or “In-State Overnight (2 or more nights)” as the Report Type within the Report Header.

Concur Visual Theme Update

• October 2nd, 2023
• by Heather Hubbard
• in Uncategorized

Beginning on October 2, 2023, SAP Concur will implement the SAP Fiori with Horizon visual theme for all solutions on the mobile app and the web.  With this update, UA will benefit from the following:

• A refreshed, modern look and feel
• Inclusive and accessible design for everyone
• Improved consistency and aligned user experience across all solutions

This update will not affect any features or functionality – it will only change the look and feel of fonts, font sizes, icons, colors, and rounded corners.  All screenshots included in the Concur training courses and reference materials found on the Concur website will be updated to reflect this change.

Sam’s Club Purchases

• September 11th, 2023
• by Heather Hubbard
• in Uncategorized

Just a reminder as the new Fall semester begins, the University has established a new process to enable departments to purchase items from Sam’s Club.  Departments will NO LONGER be required to pick up a Sam’s Club UA Membership Card from the Procurement Services Building.

Departments may now purchase their own Sam’s Club Membership for departmental use only.  Memberships should be set up as tax exempt, include your @ua.edu e-mail address and be established through the Sam’s Club Membership Service Desk.  All Sam’s Club purchases should be paid for with the UA Purchasing Card.  UA Tax Exempt information can be found on the Tax Office website. Personal purchases are not allowable on the membership card.

The P-Card Policy, Purchasing Policy, & Spending Policies should be reviewed prior to obligating University funds for purchases to ensure appropriate policies and procedures are followed.

Hobby Lobby Purchases

• September 11th, 2023
• by Heather Hubbard
• in Uncategorized

When making purchases at Hobby Lobby, a copy of the Hobby Lobby Tax Exemption Card and Certificate will need to be taken into the store for each purchase.  The Hobby Lobby Tax-Exempt ID, which is located at the bottom of the card, can also be provided at checkout.  For additional information, please see the UA Tax Office website or contact the UA Tax Office directly at tax@ua.edu.

Travel Expense Reports – Pre-Trip and Post-Trip

• September 11th, 2023
• by Heather Hubbard
• in Uncategorized

When traveling on UA business, travelers often incur several expenses prior to the trip such as airfare reservations, conference registration, and hotel deposits. These expenses should be reconciled and submitted according to the p-card deadlines even if this occurs prior to the trip. When doing so, the traveler should use either the transaction date or the date that they are submitting the report as the Report/Trip Start Date and Report/Trip End Date in the report header. When the traveler returns from the trip, they should then use the actual travel dates as the Report/Trip Start Date and Report/Trip End Date in the report header. This will allow the traveler to correctly add the GSA per diems to the report using the correct dates of travel.

In-State Travel

• July 10th, 2023
• by Heather Hubbard
• in Uncategorized

As a result of a change in the statute, effective August 1, UA will be making changes to the in-state travel policy. UA employees traveling within the State of Alabama will be reimbursed GSA per diem to cover their meals and incidental expenses. The GSA per diem will replace the in-state per diem UA currently uses. Lodging within the State of Alabama will be reimbursed up to $250 per night before taxes. Conference rates in excess of $250 per night are allowable. Any lodging rate greater than $250 per night before tax, that is not a conference rate, requires additional explanation from the traveler as to why the lodging rate was necessary. Going forward, in-state lodging should be paid for with the UA P-Card. The supervisor of the traveler will need to approve the in-state travel expenses before the travel takes place and a record of the approval must be retained within the department.

In-Store Sales Tax Exemption

• June 2nd, 2023
• by Heather Hubbard
• in Uncategorized

Purchases made within, or shipped to, the state of Alabama are exempt from state sales tax if they are charged to state funds (Chart A). Several merchants around Tuscaloosa have specific requirements for allowing purchases to be made without sales tax. Please visit the Tax Office’s website for specific instructions on making purchases with the following vendors: Dollar General, Hobby Lobby, Best Buy, Target, Wal-Mart, and Office Depot. In some cases, action is required before shopping in-store.
 
If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to pcard@ua.edu.

Relocation/Moving Allowance Reminder

• May 2nd, 2023
• by Heather Hubbard
• in Uncategorized

As a reminder, if a department wishes to pay an amount towards relocation costs for a new hire, this will be paid as a taxable moving allowance.

There are two options for the timing of moving allowance payments:

1. Prior to Employment Start Date: If the moving allowance is paid in advance of the employment start date, no taxes are withheld at the time of issuance. However, applicable taxes will be withheld from one or more regular paychecks once the employee is active on Payroll. The Tax Office will notify the employee by email in advance of the taxation. The taxable moving benefit will appear as a line item on the employee’s pay stub in each period where taxation occurs. The number shown on the pay stub is the amount of benefit that is being taxed in that pay period, not the amount of taxes being deducted. The tax deduction amounts will vary depending on the employee’s individual tax bracket and filing status.
2. After Employment Start Date: If the moving allowance is paid after the employment start date, the payment is processed through Payroll. For this option, applicable taxes are withheld at the time of payment with no impact on subsequent paychecks.

For further details, refer to the following website links:

• Tax Office – Relocation/Moving Expenses: https://taxoffice.ua.edu/fringe-benefit-taxation/#RelocationMoving
• A/P – Relocation Allowances: http://accountspayable.ua.edu/relocation-allowances/
• A/P – Spending Policy – Section 9.0 Relocation/Moving Expenses: http://accountspayable.ua.edu/spending-policy/#Relocation