• All reimbursements must be submitted within 60 days of the expense date or return from travel date. Late submissions may be not be reimbursable or may be subject to taxes on imputed income toward the purchaser per federal IRS guidelines. Departments typically have internal deadlines in advance of 60 days to ensure timely submission

• The use of alcohol for business meals and entertainment purposes should be kept to a minimum and must comply with the policy on Substance Abuse and Alcoholic Beverages

• NYU recommends a maximum of two drinks per person at events/meals

• Alcohol charges are generally unallowable on Federally funded awards (Fund 25)

• Subscriptions are allowed for teaching/research related subscriptions, such as “Economics Today,” but not for general use subscriptions such as the Wall Street Journal and the NYTimes. General use subscriptions have too much risk of personal use from a compliance perspective

• NYU provides free access to the NYTimes and WSJ

• Books should be purchased via Amazon Business through iBuy. Reimbursement is allowable as a method to purchase books, but iBuy is preferred

• Computers and other technology (including Apple products) should be purchased through NYU iBuy per the policy on Computer & Software purchases.  Computers should not be purchased directly using a personal credit card. Mobile phones, personal printers and home office equipment/furniture are also not supported/reimbursable

For research trips that are not related to an event/conference, but are related to archive or field work:

1. • Please create a research itinerary for the trip and delineate the proposed personal vs research days. The Department Chair can then confirm the project and the itinerary

   • Note that per diem is typically not allowed during research leaves and sabbaticals. Faculty can claim business meals if these are documented

   • Housing is also limited to two months during sabbaticals and leaves, per our clarification communication

• All business travelers are expected to travel via economy flights or trains using mid-range hotels.  

• If purchased outside of the Concur travel tool, hotel reimbursements are capped at the GSA per diem rates for domestic or $300/day for international  

• If the funding source is a sponsored project (Funds 24/25), then hotels are capped at the GSA per diem rates for domestic and Department of State rates for international. Only economy flights and trains are allowable on sponsored projects

• Exceptions are granted to travel premium economy and business class under certain circumstances. First class travel is never allowable. Cost caps for non-economy travel are outlined in the NYU Travel & Expense Policy. Please also see the Dean's Memo & Guidelines for Business Expenses for additional exceptions within Arts & Science

• Home office furniture, including printers, are not supported by Arts & Science

• All on-campus office furniture purchases and renovations must be approved by Lisa Huntington, Senior Director, Space Planning 

• Furniture for medical reasons must be first approved by the Office of Equal Opportunity

• iBuy must be used for all purchases

• Payments to independent contractors must comply with NYU's policies and must be paid through iBuy and not via personal check

Business meals have different guidelines to meals while traveling for business, research or professional development. NYU strictly caps tips at 20% pre-tax

• • Meals while traveling may be processed as per diem or as reimbursement for actual expenses.  

    • Domestic travel meals should follow the GSA per diem rates or if using actual expenses should not be more than $75 USD/day 

    • International travel meals should follow the Department of State per diem rates or if using actual expenses should not be more than $125/day USD 

    • Travelers cannot switch between per diem and actuals in the same trip. The Concur software system pre-populates per diem rates where applicable. 

  • Business meals (non-travel) are subject to different cost limitations and attendee restrictions

    • • Business breakfast or lunch should not exceed $50 USD per person (approx. $35 excluding tax & tip)

      • Business dinner should not exceed $100 USD per person (approx. $75 excluding tax & tip)

      • Business meal caps (above) should not be used for meals while traveling

      • There should be no more than four (4) NYU hosts per external guest for business related lunch or dinner meetings or events (excluding students)

      • The most senior representative present for meals must submit the expense

      • The Dean's Memo & Guidelines for Business Expenses provides higher thresholds for "strategic" meals, such as faculty recruitment or the hosting of visiting scholars

• PayPal, Venmo and other 3rd party payment apps are typically not allowable. See PayPal policy

• Please review our guidelines for Research & Professional Development Funds for full policy descriptions

• For A&S specific exceptions, please review the Dean's Memo & Guidelines for Business Expenses

• For additional requests, please contact your home department or A&S Fiscal Affairs (fas.fiscal@nyu.edu)