Inside Iowa State

Aug. 12, 2005

New mileage, meal reimbursement rates take effect Sept. 1

by Anne Krapfl

Beginning Sept. 1, Iowa State employees who must use their personal vehicles for work-related travel will be reimbursed at a higher rate. The Board of Regents, State of Iowa, approved the change at its Aug. 4 meeting.

The new rate ties Iowa State's mileage reimbursement rate to the rate set by the federal government (currently 40.5 cents/mile). Iowa State's mileage reimbursement rate, in effect since November 1997, has been 31 cents/mile -- the federal rate at that time.

The reimbursement rate for employees who have access to a university fleet vehicle and opt to use a personal vehicle for travel will go from 25 cents/mile to the federal rate of 28.5 cents/mile.

The estimated cost to the university of the new rates in FY06 is $327,087. Approximately a third of that will reimburse ISU Extension employees around the state who use personal vehicles on a daily basis. Extension field staff requested reimbursement for 1.5 million miles last year, an average of about 14,300 miles per field employee who used a personal vehicle on the job.

Meal reimbursement

A second part to the proposal raises the maximum reimbursement rate for meals, during work-related travel in Iowa, from $26 to $31 per day. The new rates are a dollar higher for breakfast (to $6) and $2 higher for lunch and dinner (to $9 and $16, respectively.) The current rates have been in place since 1991. Reimbursement rates for meals outside of Iowa aren't being changed at this time.

The new meal reimbursement rates will cost the university an additional $64,237 next year.

Chapter 7 (Business Procedures) in the Board of Regents Policy Manual will reflect the changes.

New reimbursement rates go into effect Sept. 1 for work miles put on personal vehicles and meals eaten while traveling in Iowa for work.