Travel Pay: Strategies to Ease One of Payroll’s Biggest Headaches
Employee travel, reimbursements, and deductions are some of the most confusing parts of HR and payroll. And they’re only getting murkier.
Post-pandemic, some organizations reduced employee travel thanks to newly adopted technology. However, for many, business travel is still a vital component of the job. On top of that, new travel needs have arisen. Trips for remote employees to meet and connect blur the line between business expense and company-sponsored vacation. These new gray areas have drawn increased government attention and scrutiny.
Aside from the headache of figuring out what travel time is compensable and what expenses are reimbursable, getting things wrong can mean an FLSA lawsuit from employees or, worse, the Department of Labor. Not to mention, you risk an IRS audit of your employees’ travel expenses. That could result in the IRS disallowing your expenses, making employee travel reimbursements taxable, employees angry come tax season, and management asking how you let this mess unfold. Talk about a nightmare.
While keeping up with employee travel expenses and policies can be confusing, it doesn’t have to feel like a tangled mess of changing rules and impossible-to-navigate criteria. In this newly updated workshop, you’ll learn how to fix your travel policy to comply with the latest laws. Beyond that, you’ll master the steps needed to assess expenses, determine what laws apply, classify each properly, navigate common causes of confusion, and more.
Mistakes happen, but reimbursement errors can lead to million-dollar class-action lawsuits and a career black eye for you. Know the HR and payroll rules before employees head out the door, not after.
Webinar Agenda
- When must travel reimbursements be counted as a commuting cost (taxable wages) instead of an allowable travel expense?
- When must employees’ travel time be counted as compensable working time instead of noncompensable commuting time?
- When is employee travel a legitimate business expense and when is it a vacation?
- The IRS allows two different types of per diem plans, both of which can save substantial travel dollars, but the payroll rules aren’t straightforward.
- How quickly receipts must be provided by an employee, how often expense reports must be submitted, and the two safe harbors that will save you from taxing reimbursements when employees are late with their travel documentation.
- What are the IRS guidelines on "commuting" costs and how do they apply to work-from-home employees?
- Common pay- and FLSA-related problems that arise with employee travel, such as meals during travel.
In this 75-minute interactive online training, you'll learn:
- Which workers are entitled to travel time and at what rate. A mistake in travel pay or reimbursements can cause huge expenses.
- The tracking and paperwork necessary to compensate traveling employees correctly. Hint: The IRS still likes paper receipts.
- What is considered “business travel” versus what is a vacation — plus what’s an allowable expense and not a taxable wage.
Get answers to YOUR questions from presenter…
Alice Gilman, Esq., is an expert in payroll and tax compliance who has covered payroll issues for more than 35 years. She's written and edited several leading payroll publications, including Payroll Legal Alert, the Research Institute of America's Payroll Guide, the American Payroll Association's Basic Guide to Payroll and the Payroll Manager's Letter.
Registration bonuses included:
Everyone who signs up will receive a copy of Payroll Checklist, a 19-page step-by-step compliance guide detailing every deadline and action item required for every pay period, month and calendar quarter of the year. Use the checklist as a guide to total payroll compliance for the rest of the year.
You'll also receive one month of exclusive access to Payroll Legal Alert – our comprehensive online resource with timely advice, helpful articles, forms, tables and charts that will help you improve every aspect of your payroll operation. So that you continue to benefit from Payroll Legal Alert, we will continue your subscription after that for the then current rate, unless you tell us "no, thanks" – your choice.
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If Travel Pay: Strategies to Ease One of Payroll’s Biggest Headaches fails to meet your needs in any way, we will refund 100% of your tuition – every penny you paid – but your course materials and registration bonuses will be yours to keep. No hassles, no questions asked.
Professional Recertification Credit Hours Included
Business Management Daily is recognized by SHRM to offer Professional Development Credits (PDC) for SHRM-CP® or SHRM-SCP® recertification activities.
HR Certification Institute’s® (www.HRCI.org) official seal confirms that Business Management Daily meets the criteria for pre-approved recertification credit(s) for any of HRCI’s eight credentials, including SPHR® and PHR®. This program has been pre-approved for 1.25 HR-General recertification credit hours.