The finance team assists faculty and staff with reimbursements for expenses related to UC business that they have paid for with personal money. UC Berkeley uses this website to process reimbursements (instructions here).You can enter your own requests for reimbursement using this system, or the financial coordinator can prepare expense reports on your behalf.
All reimbursement requests require the following documentation:
- Business purpose (a description of how the item will be used to forward the mission of your work in the History Department)
- Itemized receipts showing proof of purchase in your name
Reimbursement requests are broken down by type:
- Travel (airline tickets, ground transportation, lodging, entertainment while on UC business)
- Entertainment (breakfast, lunch, dinner, light refreshments, bulk food and beverages)
- General (books, course materials, office supplies, computer supplies, conference fees, professional memberships, etc.
Campus has different policies for each type of reimbursement:
Travel (more information here)
Travel reimbursements cannot be processed until after the trip is over. They must be submitted to the department within 30 days of completion on the trip to avoid the reimbursement counting as taxable income. UCOP requires that all travel reimbursements be submitted to them within 45 days of the trip.
The traveler must be at least 40 miles from the headquarter location or home, whichever is closer, to be reimbursed for an overnight stay, unless the stay is required to meet a business need (i.e., an event coordinator must be onsite for late night and/or early morning set-up)
Daily lodging limits for domestic trips under 30 days is set at a $275 room rate, excluding taxes and fees. A traveler who is required to attend a conference where the prearranged conference lodging rate exceeds the $275 per night maximum may stay at the conference hotel without exceptional approval with an explanation and documentation provided with the reimbursement request. Otherwise, when the traveler is unable to secure lodging at $275 per night or less, exceptional approval is required.
If a trip is less than 24 hours, meals are not reimbursable, unless there was a need for an overnight stay.
When traveling within the continental U.S., the daily limit is $62. This limit is not a per diem. Only actual expenses can be reimbursed.
The daily per diem limit when traveling internationally or offshore U.S. varies by location and is based on the U.S. State Department per diem rates.
Entertainment (more information here)
Entertainment reimbursements cannot be processed until after the event is over. They must be submitted to the department within 30 days of completion on the trip to avoid being classified as taxable income. UCOP requires that all entertainment reimbursements be submitted to them within 45 days of the event.
You must submit a guest list of who attended the event including the guests’ names and affiliations.
Per-person Maximums (including costs for labor, sales tax, delivery charges, and other service fees)
Breakfast— $28.00
Lunch— $49.00
Dinner— $85.00
Light refreshments— $20.00
General (more information here)
Electronic devices (such as laptop or tablet) orders should be placed directly through BearBuy and set up with IT to include the campus-managed software. If there is an emergency need that cannot be addressed via a BearBuy purchase, and you are seeking reimbursement for the purchase of an electronic device, you must complete this form when submitting your request for reimbursement. Please make sure the last page of the document is completed and signed by the purchaser of the device.
While the same 45 day UCOP requirement is not in place for reimbursements for general purchases, please submit them in a timely manner. All general reimbursements must be submitted within the same calendar year that they were purchased.
Reimbursement is only permitted for goods required for UC business, not services.