Several policy changes have been made that are relevant to all FP&M employees who travel for work purposes.
Per Diem Calculator for Fiscal Year 2026 travel
With the go-live of Workday July 2025, the way that daily per diems are calculated will change. There is a new UW Per Diem Calculator that should be used to estimate daily per diem for overnight travel and provide travelers with a maximum lodging rate for travel that occurs July 2025 and beyond. The UW lodging policy will remain the same. The meal per diem policy will change in the way deductions are provided for meals and how the first/last day of travel are calculated:
- The 25% first/last day deduction will be retired
- The dollar amount overall for meal reimbursement with no first/last day deduction will increase
- No separate incidental rate will be applied; it is included in the total for per diem
- Flat deductions of 20% for breakfast, 30% for lunch and 50% for dinner
- If all meals are provided, reimbursement of $0 for meals/incidentals for the day
- Domestic – $5
- International – varies, can be a higher dollar amount (i.e., $20)
Travel policy changes
Effective Oct. 1, 2024, the following travel policy changes have been made:
This policy was updated to reduce the number of situations in which a cost comparison is required for air travel.
Specifically, “travel prior to or after the required business travel dates” (e.g., adding personal time to business travel), no longer requires a cost comparison. Travelers also may now depart from or return to any airport within the state of Wisconsin, or within 100 miles from the Wisconsin border, without a cost comparison. But when a cost comparison is required, the cost comparison flight will generally be through the Dane County Regional Airport. The “no exceptions” clause has been removed from the 80% reimbursement statement when a valid cost comparison is not provided with a payment/reimbursement request.
UW-3026 Non-Payable/Non-Reimbursable Expenses
This policy was updated to include a prohibition of payment/reimbursement of travel expenses to an employee’s assigned headquarters location. 
Non-Payable/Non-Reimbursable Expenses Policy
This policy was updated to provide allowable departure and return times for UW business travel. Arrival on the day prior to a business event and departure on the day after business concludes is allowable. For international travel, arrival up to two days prior to the business event is allowable.
This policy was updated to clarify the situations when mileage is a reimbursable expense. In short, commute mileage is never reimbursable and must be accounted for when reconciling business travel expenses.
If you travel, consider bookmarking the links above.
Remote work policy for travel expenses
On Aug. 1, 2024, the Universities of Wisconsin and UW–Madison updated Policy UW-5087 on Remote Work. All UW-Madison employees working remotely must now complete their Remote Work Agreement on the fiscal year timeline. They must establish a Headquarters Location and implement a new Remote Work agreement.
Below is a table describing how payment and reimbursement of travel expenses are handled.
