News and Updates

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In-Store Sales Tax Exemption

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

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:

Travel Policy Reminders

When booking travel, please remember that only domestic airfare is required to be booked through Concur or Christopherson Business Travel (CBT).  All Concur bookings must be charged to a UA P-Card.  International airfare bookings may be booked externally if necessary.  When booked externally, the UA P-Card continues to be the required method of payment.  Lodging and rental car reservations must be booked through Concur when possible.  When booked externally, the UA P-Card continues to be the required method of payment.

Domestic airfare bookings have been mandated through Concur and CBT for various reasons including the below benefits. 

  • Visibility and availability of unused flight credits. 
  • Support of UA’s travel agent 24/7. 
  • Duty of Care information captured. 
  • When booking through Concur, the traveler knows the airfare selected is within UA policies.
  • Booking through Concur will lead to an easier reconciliation process as e-receipt, itinerary and card transaction (if using traveler p-card) information will be in the traveler’s profile. 

P-Card Online Banking Software Access – Now Available!

Access Online user profiles have now been set up for UA purchasing card holders. Access Online will allow cardholders to view posted transactions, single purchase and monthly limits, balances, available credit, and other account details. If you would like to use this resource, please view the registration instructions and then log into Access Online for the first time and finish setting up your profile. In the future this link will be added to the employee tab of MyBama.
 
Please note: Accountholders with a ghost account (no physical plastic) will not have access to their accounts in Access Online.
 
If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to Pcard@ua.edu. 

International Checks

Did you know a UA issued check could be unusable if mailing internationally? Accounts Payable recommends wiring funds when paying international vendors. Please consider the following prior to selecting International Mail when processing your invoice in Concur. Checks can take months to arrive at an international address. Vendors often experience issues when cashing checks drawn on a US bank. Overall, wires are more efficient and allow for vendors to receive payments faster.

Local Hotel Booking Reminder

For users booking lodging for local hotels such as Hotel Capstone and Hampton Inn Tuscaloosa, please know that you can book these directly with the hotel.  These do not have to be booked through the Concur Booking Tool.  Many local hotels prefer that we continue booking directly with them so that they can obtain additional information needed for the reservation as these hotels are primarily used for UA guests.  Please contact these hotels directly to reserve and be direct billed.  The direct bill should then be paid using a UA P-Card.  If you have any questions, please reach out to Accounts Payable at acctspay@ua.edu.