Arrived Alive! Now About Those Expenses

Congratulations and welcome! You have safely arrived in Florida for the start of the APA’s 35th Annual Congress!

Having been to Florida more than a few times, I am well aware—especially in Orlando—of the "currency extraction program" that all visitors must endure here. It’s hard to walk out of a room without throwing some bills at someone for one service or another.

There are myriad ways to account for your expenses while traveling and still have them qualify as tax-free amounts that do not have to be reported on a Form W-2. As payroll professionals, we should be aware of all of them and know which ones are applied under our employer’s policy. 

Are you required to make a full accounting of receipts and of each penny spent? Are you piling receipts into your purse, backpack, or briefcase?

Or are you on a per diem and, if so, what kind of per diem? Knowing this can reduce the need for receipts.

Outside of airfare and some other travel costs, employers can set per diems, or daily maximums, under IRS guidelines, for expenses incurred on overnight trips. This flat amount is based on the locality and it can include lodging, amounts for meals and other “incidental” expenses, or a mix of those three types of costs.

Bloomberg BNA’s Payroll Library has comprehensive coverage on travel expenses. Come by booth #511 at the Congress Expo to check it out!

Michael Baer is managing editor for Bloomberg BNA’s Payroll Library™, Payroll Decision Support Network™, and International Payroll Decision Support Network™ services in the Tax Publishing Division. Baer’s team of editors and writers and research analysts cover compliance and administrative issues to aid employers in their payroll functions.