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Policy Notes
Awards	Other
Contracts	Parking
Grad Asst.	Payroll
Match	Sales Tax
Meals	Tickets
Memberships	Travel
Moving	X-Coding

 

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Awards:

• Gift certificates & items donated to PSU for award to employees must follow policy FN10 Awards taxable rule
• Employee award programs must be approved for the expense to be paid on general funds
• Employee award expenses may not be on the purchasing card - must use a SRFC or cash advance and list receipient and amount for payroll taxes

 

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Contracts:

• South Hills internship agreements do not need to go to legal counsel
• The Financial Officer may sign the standard University MasterEntertainment Agreements up to $10K

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Graduate Assistants:

• Graduate recruiting expenses should be x-coded 50%
• Non- international Graduate Assistants may receive wages for work that is above and beyond their current graduate assistant appointment.International graduate assistants may not receive wages - only stipend.
• Graduate moving expenses are not reimbursable
• Graduate application fees may be paid from general funds as part of recruiting but the expense must be x-coded
• Grants-in-aid may not be used for fellowships

 

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Match:

• Matching on the FANS window is only for capital equipment - object codes 705, 710, and 751

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Meals:

• Group meal costs up to $44 (per diem rate of location) may be charged to general funds. Any amounts over $44 per person and any expense for alcohol must be on a miscellaneous unrestricted donor funds. Group meal costs may not exceed $80 per person.
• Group meal expense for a faculty's spouse may be paid from unrestricted donor funds if there was a business purpose for the spouse to be at the meal. ie:an authorized business function where a University guest brings their spouse/significant other.
• One-day travel meals are taxable unless it’s a group meal. Traveling and eating together on a business trip does not make it a group meal - a group meal must have a legitimate business purpose. Traveling together does not qualify.
• Food provided to students during classes must be on unrestricted donor funds
• For visitors (non recruiting), we can not reimburse for any expenses for the spouse/child except when the spouse/child is included in a group meal. All expenses are assumed to benefit the visitor, so no spouse/child VISIT form is required. All spouse/child expenses must be charged to unrestricted donor funds.
• Faculty candidate's spouse/significant other's expenses (travel & meals) may be reimbursed on general funds and must be x-coded; but expenses of children must be on unrestricted donor funds.
  

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Memberships:

• Memberships are personal expenses for grad assts and postdocs
• Memberships should have at least 20% of the cost x-coded due to lobbying activities at most organizations. If the membership indicates the amount or percent of lobbying costs, this is what will be x-coded.
• Individual memberships should be x-coded 100% if the organization offers an institutional membership
• Memberships should only be paid for one year at a time because person may leave and PSU would be paying for a non-employee membership
• A Controller's Office exception has allowed for memberships to be charged to purchasing cards in the College of Science, effective 4/17/07

 

 

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Moving:

• Postdoc moving expenses must be x-coded. Exception: if you know for sure at the time you are processing the moving expenses, that the person will be here for one year (365 days) or more, then the expense does not need x-coded.
• Graduate moving expenses are not reimbursable
• Rental car expenses incurred after a new employee arrives at PSU will not be paid for more than 3 days.
• Hotel expense on first night after arrival is part of move and is not considered temporary living. All subsequent nights are temporary living.
• Temporary living which would exceed 3 days must have prior approval from the Dean's office.
• Storage limited to 30 days for reimbursement.
• Moving expenses can be charged to a grant if the individual is appointed for one year.

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Other:

• Copying of thesis is an allowable expense on any funds; however it must be a reference for university work and copy becomes university property, not property of student.
• An outside group or business may not be hosted on a PSU site. PSU site may not be used for employee income producing purposes
• Cap and gown rentals are allowed on general funds but must be x-coded
• All SRFCs for services must have a purpose of 1099PROSVC except for corporations and educational institutions
• No proxies on NTUA form
• Honorarium payment may be made without an SSN, but need to withhold 30% for taxes. Use 111-11-1111 for SSN on the form. For the fund field use #0692 with no budget and enter as a negative.
• Rebates and incentives belong to PSU and must be treated as PSU property. The Financial Office must be notified of amount and vendor when a gift card is received. Also, when the gift card is used notification must be sent to the Financial Office.
• Food sales in the break rooms are allowed as long as it is not for the profit of an individual or group. Student clubs may sell food in break rooms if the funds are used for the club.
• Food or refreshments purchased for student academic club meetings is allowed on General Funds and must be "X"-coded.

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Parking:

• No employee parking may be paid from any University funds

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Payroll:

• Adjunct faculty must be paid on wages through payroll.
• Chowla postdoc appointments are all taxable unless offer is split into two contracts. Teaching portion is taxable.
• Summer session pay should not exceed 33 1/3% (equal to 12 weeks) of the 36 week pay.
• Repaying sabbatical (or similar) costs may be from general or unrestricted but unrestricted is recommended

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Sales Tax:

• PSU does not have a sales tax exempt #; only a letter stating we are an instrument of the state

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Tickets:

• Season football ticket purchases must go through the Development Office; single games - Jon Nirnberger

 

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Travel:

• H1-B premium processing $1000 expense must be approved by the Dept head. General funds may only be used if not paying the fee would jeopardize teaching or instruction schedules. General Funds must be approved by human resource rep and finance officer. Continuation visa premium processing is not allowed
• H-1B anti-fraud fee of $500 must be paid by employer since this fee can not be paid for by the employee. Penn State departments may pay for this fee as follows:
• • OGE funds or unrestricted miscellaneous--3576 or 2383: This is the primary source of funding for the anti-fraud fee. For most research faculty and personnel, non-academic staff and other foreign national employees, the anti-fraud fee must be paid on an unrestricted misc fund.
  • General Funds: General funds may be used as the source of funding for new faculty/academic hires and non-academic staff who will be paid primarily on general funds. Given that this is a legitimate and necessary expense in the hiring process, the payment does not need to be x-coded.
  • Restricted Funds: The anti-fraud fee is NOT permitted to be paid on most restricted funds, especially federal grants and contracts. There may be exceptions where the program sponsor would allow for the fee to be paid or where endowment guidelines don't prohibit the expenditures, but the Financial Officer must review the account to be charged to assure its allowability.
• Tax treaty withholding must use 0692 in the fund field with no budget - enter as a negative
• VISA fees may be reimbursed on General Funds as part of moving expense and business related travel
• If a VISA is stamped WB/WT the WT takes precedence unless WB is circled
• Visitors are subject to the same travel policies as employees
• Direct bill lodging must include the VISIT form and backup or the travel reimbursement doc number that was used to reimburse other expenses for the visitor
• Visitor 9-5-6 rule - days at PSU include only days of business activity.
• No VISIT from is required if a person does not enter the US.
• Child care may be paid as part of recruitment on unrestricted donor funds but will not be reimbursed for PSU employees
• Faculty candidate's spouse/significant other's expenses (travel & meals) may be reimbursed on general funds and must be x-coded; but expenses of children must be on unrestricted donor funds.  After hired, spouse expenses on unrestriced donor funds.
• Interview candidates on J-1 Scholar visa are not required to supply an Approval Letter since they may not want their home institution to know of the interview.
• If a visitor's travel is booked by a PSU dept they must follow PSU travel policies for booking airfare
• Airline ticket insurance, also called "flight protection plan" purchased by some visitors/guests. Reimbursement not allowed. Considered a personal choice item
• For visitors (non recruiting), we can not reimburse for any expenses for the spouse/child except when the spouse/child is included in a group meal. All expenses are assumed to benefit the visitor, so no spouse/child VISIT form is required. All spouse/child expenses must be charged to unrestricted donor funds
• International calling cards may be purchased with a purchasing card, IDCC, only from MOC - phone log required
• W-9 forms should be sent to Pat Auker in Accounting
• The travel support form must have the non-employee's signature otherwise the purpose must be 1099 and no travel object codes may be used
• TN VISA is from Canada & Mexico. To be reimbursed for expenses the traveler needs to check all blocks in section IV of the VISIT Form (9-5-6 rule). They will be considered tourists (WT), not business class (WB) and do not need an I94.
• I-551 processed indicates approved application for permanent residence -OK to reimburse expenses
• SEVIS Fee - F-1 or J-1 visa $100 application fee. Departments can pay, but not on General Funds. Reimburse student after arrival on unrestricted misc funds (2383 or 3576)
• VISA type O1 - Extraordinary person, copy of VISA & I-94, can pay expenses only
• Permanent residents should supply a W9 but the resident alien card may also be accepted.
• VISA type Advance Parole - expenses can be paid, but no honorarium, except with employment authorization card, no 9-5-6 rule
• Receipts - must provide receipts or copies of receipts for audit purpose for airfare, train, bus or other mode to verify locations of travel even if reimbursed by host or another organization
• Foreign words - provide translation of key foreign words on receipts
• Immunizations - allowed on General Funds for business related travel
• Memberships in airline travel clubs is not allowed on any University funds and is considered a personal expense.

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X-Coding:

X-CODING ON GENERAL FUNDS

X-coding is used on general funds only.

The fund number does not need to include the "X" any longer. You can put it on paper as a reminder.

X-coding is done in the fans window under "X Excluding Amount"

Items that need to be x-coded for most of our purposes include:

(For complete list see http://guru.psu.edu/policies/FNG05/FNG05_a.html )

          •  Alumni

          •  Fund Raising

          •  Graduate Students recruiting expenses 50%.

          •  Group meal/meetings with 100% PSU employees-no visitors.

          •  Spouse expenses for faculty candidate.

          •  Lobby costs on memberships must be x-coded. Check the organization website for disclosure of their portion of dues for lobbying. If they specify the percent or amount this is what is x-coded. If you can not determine an amount, then 20% of the membership should be x-coded.

          •  Non-refundable tickets.

          •  Prepaid international calling cards.

          •  Student expenses - undergraduate student recruiting expenses x-coded 100%

          •  Tables for your group at a function such as Martin Luther King Day.