Administration Services

Travel

Filing a Request for Travel Authorization (RTA)

UT policy requires that faculty, staff, students, visitors, and others submit a Request for Travel Authorization (RTA) prior to a business trip and that the RTA be approved by UT prior to your starting your trip. 30 day minimum is required for foreign travel.

An RTA should be submitted whether or not you are requesting reimbursement.  Contact the administrative staff at service@prc.utexas.edu to submit your RTA.   UT requires the following information for RTAs; it will save time if you include this information in your email requesting an RTA:

Filing a Faculty Travel Grant Application

The PRC administrative staff will file this application for you.  When you make an RTA request and are presenting a paper, you will asked if you have used your faculty travel grant.  UT provides up to $1200 for transportation and registration to present original research to two meetings per academic year.  Eligibility requirements:  your name must be on the program and your RTA needs to be filed at least three weeks in advance of the trip.

Allowable Costs 

Allowable costs on most grants include airfare, hotel, local transportation, car rentals, airport parking, individual meals (without alcohol), business phone calls, and registration fees.  Unallowable costs include alcohol, group meals, payments made on behalf of another individual, dry cleaning or laundry services, maid service, fees to local events, personal phone calls, in-room movies, non-business internet fees, travel insurance, medical insurance, and other personal expenses. 

You must have an overnight stay to claim meals or lodging.  Vaccinations are reimbursable if required to enter the country.  Automobile insurance to Mexico is reimbursable but automobile insurance is not reimbursable for travel to other locations.   You must have receipts for inter-city transportation (i.e., bus, train, or taxi receipts). There are further restrictions on state money.

State tax at Texas hotels is not reimbursable to UT or State employees.  UT or State employee travelers staying in Texas hotels should prepare and sign a Texas Hotel Occupancy Tax Exemption Certificate (PDF) and submit it to the hotel. 

Making Airline, Hotel, and Car Rental Reservations

Once your RTA is submitted and approved, you may make your airline reservations by contacting Carlson Wagonlit Travel (CWT) at 459-8203.  Alternatively, you may make your reservations via CWT Online Reservations  or the  Quick Trip Reservation website.  Reservations made through CWT will be directly billed to the appropriate PRC grant.  You may also make reservations through on-line agents such as Orbitz and Travelocity.  In these cases, you pay for the ticket and are reimbursed after the trip.

State tax at Texas hotels is not reimbursable to UT or State employees.  UT or State employee travelers staying in Texas hotels should prepare and sign a Texas Hotel Occupancy Tax Exemption Certificate (PDF) and submit it to the hotel.   

UT has special procedures concerning car rentals. Approved vendors are Advantage, Avis, and Enterprise.  If you wish to rent a car for your trip, the PRC admin staff will need information to complete the required Rental Car Request Form (DOC).

Reimbursements, Receipts,  and Documentation

We request that you submit your receipts and informal log within 10 days of returning to Austin to ensure reimbursement before the end of a grant or funding period.   Receipts submitted after 60 days are taxed by UT.

Your receipts should be in your name and you should not pay for the travel expenses of other people.  For instance, if you turn in a hotel or meal receipt that indicates that you shared your room or meal with three others, you will be reimbursed 25% of the total bill.  Hotel and restaurant receipts must be itemized.   

Although faculty can be reimbursed $41/day for meals without receipts, PRC policy requires that students submit meals receipts.  We also request that students turn in transportation receipts where feasible.  Some expenses are not permissible (e.g. group meals, laundry services); however, we make every effort to reimburse you for your full cost.  It helps if you keep an ongoing record of your expenses.  This is not mandatory but it allows us to make adjustments, where allowable, to reimburse you for your full expenses.  Travelers frequently forget about subways, shuttles, and taxis as these receipts are not required for reimbursement for intra-city trips.  An informal log will help us figure in these reimbursable expenses. Receipts for bus, subways, shuttles, train, and taxis are required for inter-city trips.  More information about travel reimbursements and allowable costs .

If you receive a package deal through Expedia or other on-line travel service, please submit a breakdown of the expenses to expedite your reimbursement.