Meal Reimbursement


How do I get reimbursed for meals?

Trying the local cuisine is probably one of the most exciting parts of traveling. Of course, you're there on official FSU business, but that doesn't mean you can't dine out! Meals are reimbursed at specific, set-in-stone rates.

Breakfast: $6 (as long as your travel begins before 6am and extends past 8am)

Lunch: $11 (as long as your travel begins before 12pm and extends past 2pm)

Dinner: $19 (as long as your travel begins before 6pm and extends past 8pm)

Since meals are reimbursed at pre-established rates, you will not need to worry about submitting receipts for meals after you return. If you spend more on a meal than you can be reimbursed for, we cannot reimburse you for the extra money. Please note that you must be traveling overnight in order to be reimbursed for meals.

 

There are circumstances where you cannot be reimbursed for a meal. If the hotel you are staying in provides a complimentary breakfast, you are not eligible for a breakfast reimbursement, because that meal has already been paid for in your hotel bill. Also, if you are attending a conference or similar event, and meals are provided in the registration fee, you cannot be reimbursed for those meals. Receptions, on the other hand, do not count as a meal.

 


What about foreign travel?

Calculating how you will be reimbursed for your meals while in a foreign country depends heavily on what country you are visiting and when. Travel representatives have to utilize the U.S. Department of State's official per diem rates to figure out how much you can be reimbursed. You can visit their website here to see how the process works.

First, you look at "Foreign Per Diem Rates by Location". This allows you to look at a country and see what the per diem rates are for major cities. If the city you are visiting isn't listed, you would look at "Other." Then, using "Breakdown of Meals/Incidentals," you would calculate how much you can be reimbursed for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It's easy once you learn how to do it, but also easy to make a mistake. Please note that as the traveler, you do not have to calculate your own meals; your travel representative is happy to do it for you.

Since foreign meals are also reimbursed at set rates, you don't have to submit your receipts for any meals. As with domestic travel, however, please note that we cannot reimburse anything extra for meals that you paid more for.