Standard Allowable Travel Reimbursement Rates Effective September 1, 2011 PDF Print E-mail

9/21/11

Today, the Texas Education Agency posted a TO THE ADMINISTRATOR ADDRESSED letter that announced updated travel reimbursement rates.  Effective September 1, 2011, the standard rates are up to $77 per night for lodging and up to $46 per day for meals (decreased from $86 per night for lodging and increased from $36 per day for meals) for locations in counties not listed in the General Services Administration (GSA) rate tables (or the rates in local policy, whichever are less).  The mileage rate remains 55.5 cents per mile or the rate in local policy, whichever is less.  The allowable travel reimbursement rates are applicable to charges to state and federal grants.  The rates also apply to charges to State programs accounted for in the General Fund (expenditures charged to Program Intent Codes 21-32).

Information on meal and lodging reimbursement rates and other information can be accessed on the Texas State Comptroller's website at http://window.state.tx.us.  Follow these steps to locate information on the comptroller's site regarding specific aspects of travel reimbursement:

  1. Click the "Finances & Economy" tab at the top of the home page.
  2. Scroll down to the "Fiscal Management" section, and click "State of Texas Travel Information."
  3. In the "Resources" section, click the "Textravel" logo.
  4. At the top of the chart that opens, click “Domestic Maximum Per Diem Rates.’
  5. On the page that opens, locate the traveler’s destination by clicking the appropriate state on the US map.
  6. Find reimbursement rates as follows:
  • Find the city to which you are traveling, and use the rate given for that city.
  • If the city to which you are traveling is not listed, check the county list. If the county to which you are traveling is listed, use the rate given for that county. 
  • If neither the city nor county to which you are traveling is listed, use the current maximum rate of $77 for lodging and $46 for meals.

The TO THE ADMINISTRATOR letter also contains additional instructions for maximum allowable reimbursement rates that may be charged for lodging that are excerpted  below: 

"For both in-state and out-of-state travel, the traveler may apply funds available for meal reimbursement (i.e., up to the rate specified in the Federal Rate Schedule or $46, depending on whether the destination is specified in the Federal Rate Schedule) toward  lodging. For instance, if the traveler chooses for the sake of convenience to stay in a hotel that costs $10 more a night than the allowable maximum for lodging, the traveler can apply $10 of the maximum available for meal reimbursement toward the lodging rate. If the traveler chooses to apply meal reimbursement to lodging, the maximum meal reimbursement rate is reduced by the same amount (applying $10 of the meal reimbursement to lodging would reduce the meal reimbursement by $10). NOTE: The opposite case does not apply; that is, a traveler may not reduce the amount spent on lodging and increase the amount spent on meals. Under no circumstances may a traveler be reimbursed from grant funds for meals at a rate that exceeds the rate given on the Federal Rate Schedule (or $46, depending on whether the destination is specified in the Federal Rate Schedule)."

To access the TO THE ADMINISTRATOR ADDRESSED letter regarding travel reimbursement rates, click on the link below.

http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/taa/grantsadmin092111.html