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Definitions:

Foreign Travel:Travel outside of the CONUS area (48 contiguous states and the District of Columbia).

Per Diem:A traveler may be reimbursed at per diem and subsistence rates established by law. Traveler may not combine FloridaState per diem rates ($80 effective 7/01/06) and foreign allowances, the two methods of reimbursement, cannot be claimed on the same travel day.

Per Diem for Travel

In Foreign Areas:The foreign travel per diem allowance is a payment in lieu of reimbursement for actual subsistence expenses. The costs of per diem of travelers for foreign travel will be reimbursed at the current rates as specified in the federal publication “Standardized Regulations (Government Civilians, Foreign Areas),” and incidental expenses as provided in this section.

The Department of State establishes the locality per diem for foreign countries, including the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands.

The Per Diem Travel and Transportation Allowances Committee of the Department of Defense establishes the locality per diem rates for Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Northern Marianna Islands and territories and possessions of the United States.

The U. S. General Services Administrator (GSA) establishes the locality per diem rates in CONUS (the contiguousUnited States). These CONUS rates are published in the Federal Travel Regulations.

Point of Origin:The geographic location of the traveler’s official headquarters or the geographic location where travel begins, whichever is less distance from the destination.

FAR:Foreign Travel Authorization Request (FAR) number must be issued prior to traveling. AFAR number is the College’s authorization for one person’s specific travel; this number is obtained from the Travel Specialist in the Accounts Payable Department. In addition, the FAR is an estimateof travel expenses; however, the estimates should be as close as possible to the actual costs incurred (i.e. costs of airplane tickets and hotel rates, including taxes and other surcharges can be obtained prior to travel).

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FRV:Foreign Travel Reimbursement Voucher (FRV) form is trip specific and FAR specific, andshall be submitted for reimbursement within ten (10) working days on completion of the travel. The FRVmust be signed by the traveler, and approved by the budget supervisor; pursuant to section 112.61 Florida Statutes, certifying that the travel expenses were actually incurred by the traveler as necessary in the performance of official duties for St. PetersburgCollege and was performed for the purpose of ______.

Vicinity Mileage:Vicinity is defined as the surrounding area or district;travel that is necessary for the conduct of official business is allowable, but must be shown as a separate item on the expense voucher.

Examples of vicinity mileage are mileage from airport destination to hotel; mileage from hotel to convention, seminar or training center.

Procedures:

All foreign travel and non-contiguousUnited States travel must be authorized and approved in advance by the President or his designee.

All foreign travel and non-contiguousUnited States travel thathas been authorized shall be reported to the Board of Trustees. Such reports shall be in advance of the travel whenever feasible.

Grant Accountants must approve all FARs and FRVs if travel reimbursement will be paid from restricted funds. Facilities Accountant must approve all FARs and FRVs if travel reimbursement will be paid from construction funds.

All of the information requested on the FRV form must be accompanied by sufficient information to permit an audit that will associate the charges with the actual travel.

Reimbursement allowances for lodging and meals while traveling in foreign areas are listed in the monthly publication “Maximum Travel Per Diem Allowances for Foreign Areas”. This information is obtained from the following website: USA.gov: The U.S. Government's Official WebPortal. The links are listed on the left side of thepage to the Foreign Per Diem Rates and Other Per Diem Rates.After you select the location, the next page lists the rates by month; click on the appropriate month to find the per diem allowances applicable to the travel period.

This Per Diem Supplement to the Standardized Regulations (Government Civilian, Foreign Areas) lists all foreign areas alphabetically.

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Maximum Per Diem Rates for official travel in Alaska, Hawaii, the Commonwealths of Puerto Rico and the Northern Mariana Islands and Possessions of the United States (by the Per Diem Travel and Transportation Allowance Committee for non-foreign areas outside the continental United States) are also listed in this file.

Per Diem Bulletins published periodically in the Federal Register now constitute the only notification of revisions in per diem rates to agencies and establishments outside the Department of Defense.

The maximum amount that may be reimbursed under actual expenses is limited to 300 percent of the applicable maximum per diem rate. Therefore, it is imperative that specific destinations and locations are listed on the FAR and FRV forms. In accordance with regulations, if a city cannot be located in a particular country on the maximum travel per diem allowances for foreign areas, the “other” per diem rate must be utilized.

For example: Carolina, Puerto Rico (12/24 – 04/10) daily lodging per diem rate is $195; “Other”, Puerto Rico daily lodging per diem rate is $62.

If actual expenses are less than the locality per diem rate or the authorized amount, reimbursement is limited to the expenses incurred.

Rates for foreign travel shall not begin until the date and time of arrival in the designated foreign country from the United States, and shall terminate on the date and time of departure from the foreign country to the United States. For example, if the traveler departed Rome @ 1:00 p.m. for Paris (lands in Paris @ 5:00 p.m.) the Rome allowance for breakfast and lunch would be used and the Paris allowance for dinner and lodging would be used.

After the travel is performed, prepare a foreign travel reimbursement voucher form (FRV);attach all required supporting documentationand submit for reimbursement withinten (10) working days of return from trip.

Requests for travel reimbursement payments must include:

Use of the current FRV form posted on SPC Business Services website;

A copy of the approved FAR form;

  • State the specific location (“ metropolitan areas” is insufficient);
  • State the concise nature of the meeting or reason for travel and the benefit to the College;
  • When currency conversion rates are being used, screen print a copy of the website that was used to determine your estimates; this must be attached to the FAR form; a website for determining currency converter rates is

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Itemized hotel receipts which show the name and address of the establishment, the name of the traveler, the daily rate(s) actually paid, the dates checked in and out (the hotel receipt must be either marked paid, have a credit card number attached, or balance must be zero);

Copy of the passenger travel itinerary which clearly shows billing information; the itinerary should show the name of the traveler, the dates of travel, origin and destination of travel, amount, and method of payment;

Applicable incidental receipts (i.e. taxi fare, road tolls, parking fees, etc.);

  • Actual cost of recommended immunizations, international travel insurance, medical evacuation/repatriation insurance, and visas may be reimbursed, so be sure to include these receipts.

If requesting mileage reimbursement supporting documentation showing how mileage was determined must be attached(i.e. screen print of MapQuest from home base to airport; if applicable, explain any difference between accurate mileage via MapQuestand odometer mileage);

A copy of the itemized agenda or program, syllabus or itinerary of the conference, convention, seminar, or training class attended.

When conversion rates are applicable, a copy of the website showing the conversion rates for the travel datesmust be attached to the FRV form. Remember to use the conversion rates for the day the transaction occurs(i.e.traveling to Japan; arriveon 11/08/07 @ 3:00p.m. and depart on 11/15/07 @7:00a.m., web pages for each day that transactions occurred must be attached).A conversion rate website that provides historical exchange rates and is user friendly is

  • This conversion rate website listscurrency converter help pages which give a quick summary of how to convert currency; there is a link to frequently asked questions for additional information which has a link to a “Cheat Sheet for Travelers” to help with converting currency correctly.
  • If your credit card (i.e. Visa, etc.) statement shows the currency converter rates applicable to your travel, a copy of this bill may be submitted with the FRV form instead of a screen print copy of the website used in determining your estimated exchange rates. Any applicable fees charged on your credit card for determining currency conversion rates shall be included on the FRV form for reimbursement.

If you have any questions or need help, please contact MarkPassmore, Travel Specialist at 341-3225.

MarkPassmore, Travel Specialist, EPISVC

341-3225 or mailto:

Business Services, Revised 0203094