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Policy

Please review the associated Missionary Expense Reimbursement and Expense Recovery Bonus Policy. 

Stewardship Responsibility

Missionaries are expected to employ sound expense management practices and exercise prudent financial management in their stewardship of Reliant resources. As such, missionaries share the responsibility of ensuring that these resources are used appropriately, support the ministry, and comply with Reliant policies, applicable laws and regulations, and donor restrictions. All missionaries and central employees are expected to exercise due diligence when generating, reviewing, and approving transactions that commit to the expenditure of Reliant Funds. Missionaries must use discretion and also consider the reputation of the ministry when determining how much to spend on any given expense. Excessive and unnecessary expenditures must be avoided, and Reliant may, in its sole discretion, decline to reimburse excessive expenses. 

General Criteria For Determining A Permissible Expense 

In order to be reimbursed to an individual, a ministry expense must be:

• Necessary to perform a valid ministry purpose fulfilling the mission of Reliant; and
• Reasonable in that the expense is not extreme or excessive, and reflects a prudent decision to incur the expense; and
• Appropriate in that the expense is suitable and fitting in the context of the valid business purpose.

Necessary

An expense is necessary if there is a valid ministry purpose required to fulfill the mission of the Reliant. The primary beneficiary of a necessary ministry expense is Reliant or the participants in the ministry activity, not the individual. A necessary expense is a minimum purchase or service required to achieve a valid ministry objective.

Reasonable

Reasonable means that the amount being spent reflects the value that normally would be spent in that specific situation. An expense is considered reasonable if it is not extreme or excessive and reflects a fair and prudent decision and action to incur the expense. A cost may be considered reasonable if the nature of the goods or services acquired, and the amount involved, therefore, reflect the action that a prudent person would have taken under the circumstances prevailing at the time the decision to incur the cost was made. Major considerations involved in the determination of the reasonableness of a cost are: (a) whether or not the cost is of a type generally recognized as necessary for the operation of the ministry; (b) whether or not the individuals concerned acted with due prudence in circumstances, considering their responsibilities to the ministry, its employees, its participants, the Federal Government, and the public at large; and (c) whether or not the cost represents fair value for the good or service provided.

Appropriate

Costs are appropriate if they are suitable or fitting for a ministry purpose. For a cost to be appropriate it is also presumed that there is a valid ministry purpose, which is normally the responsibility of the missionary to determine.

The following questions should be considered when determining the appropriateness of costs:

• Could the cost be comfortably defended under public scrutiny?
• Would you be confident if the cost was selected for audit?
• Would you be comfortable reading about it in the newspaper?
• Would you be comfortable explaining to a donor that their donation was used this way?
• Does the supporting documentation align with the reimbursement policy?

 Reliant reserves the right to determine whether or not an expense fullfills the above criteria. 

Reimbursement Types

Expenses that qualify under IRS guidance for non-taxable reimbursed business expenses are referred to as a “Reimbursement”.

Requests for recovery of expenses that do not qualify for non-taxable reimbursement under the IRS guidance are referred to as “Expense Recovery Bonus” or ERB. These expenses will be recooperated through a bonus which will be considered additional taxable wages for the missionary. 

Up-To-Date Time Cards Required

Reliant hourly employees must have submitted a time card by the deadline in order to be eligible to receive reimbursements the next month (this rule applies to both employees in the scenario of a dually employed couple). No reimbursements may be paid if a time card was not received or if a time card was received late. 

For example, if the time card with November hours is considered "late," the employed missionary (and spouse in the scenario of a dually employed couple) will not be eligible to receive reimbursements in the month of December (this same rule applies to backpay).     

Accountable Reimbursement Plan Guidelines

In the course of raising financial support and conducting ministry, it is reasonable to expect that missionaries will incure legitimate ministry-related expenses. Any expense that does not support the ministry of Reliant and does not reflect proper stewardship is considered non-reimbursable and non-recoverable regardless of the source of funds. Reliant expects that missionaries will demonstrate scrupulous integrity when deciding whether an expense is ministry related or personal in nature. Missionaries may not use, or attempt to use, Reliant's non-profit status for personal benefit (e.g. avoiding state sales tax on personal or ministry items). Misuse or attempted misuse of Reliant's non-profit status is grounds for discipline, up to and including termination, in Reliant's sole discretion. 

All excess reimbursements and unspent expense advances must be repaid in a *reasonable time
*A "reasonable time" according to the IRS guidelines are within 60 days after the expense is incurred (assuming expenses are typically incurred within 1 month of when the advance is received by the missionary). 

Reliant's Accountable Reimbursement Plan states that missionaries must follow the following basic rules:

Please refer to Reimbursement Standards, which details receipt limits and other specific criteria. Current approved Reliant reimbursement request forms are required. The following basic items are required with the submission of these forms:

1. 1. Itemized original receipts and all other appropriate substantiating documents must be received by the Reliant finance department within 60 days after the end of the month in which the expense occurs, is incurred or is paid by the employee.
   2. Employees must provide a written explanation of the expense clearly documenting:

      • Description of the item

        
        

      • Who the item is for
      • The ministry relationship of the person(s) to the missionary**
      • Actual first and last names of the people involved
      • Specific ministry purpose of the expense
      • Cost of the item (the portion that is ministry related if not 100%)
      • Date of the expense
      • Portion of the cost that is ministry related if it's not 100%
        **Group items
        • If expense relates to five or more people, list them as a group with the specific number in the group (e.g. 12 ministry partners). Actual names are not necessary for groups of five or more people.
        • The groups must have the same uniform ministry relationship (e.g. ministry partners, members of church music team, etc.). Otherwise, use of actual first and last names is required, if relationship is not uniform.
   3. Expense advances, primarily relating to large, expected travel expenditures, may be available. Please refer to the Expense Advances for details. If advance payments to cover anticipated expenses are made by Reliant, missionaries must return all unused portions within 90 days.

Receipts- requirements/Submission-timeline/where the ERB goes/reimbursement goes- order received, how long

Resolution of Removed or Denied Reimbursement Requests

If expenses are removed from or denied on a reimbursement request, they may be resubmitted or a formal exception request may be made based on the nature of the item. If the item is removed for improper documentation or a similar situation, it may be resubmitted under guidelines provided in the Reimbursement Standards. If the item is related to a policy issue, a formal exception request must be submitted.

Sufficient Funds Required

If the MTD account a missionary is responsible for with Reliant does not contain sufficient funds to provide full reimbursement for the amount requested by the employee on a reimbursement request form, the Finance Department will hold the form and delay reimbursement until sufficient funds are available in the staff MTD account, in accordance with Reliant's approved order of pay.

General Policy on taxable expenses: Although Reliant may normally pay certain expense reimbursements in such a way that they are not included in the employee's federal taxable income, the employee bears ultimate responsibility for the proper tax treatment of all payments received from Reliant, and should consult with his or her tax adviser to determine the appropriate reporting and treatment of such payments.

Requesting a Reimbursement be partially paid out (forfeiting any un-reimbursed expenses)

If a missionary would like to request a reimbursement be partially paid out using the available funds, they must agree to forfeit any un-reimbursed amount from that reimbursement.  For example, if there is a $1,000 reimbursement/cabinet expense that's next in line for the order of reimbursement payout and only $650 is available to pay out.  The missionary may elect to send an email to reimbursements@reliant.org asking the reimbursement team to pay the $1,000 reimbursement using the available funds, and acknowledging that they forfeit any un-reimbursed portion of that reimbursement. Note: this action is completely voluntary and at the discretion of the missionary.  

Here's a sample email of how to word the email.

"I would like to request that my April (Year-20xx) reimbursement totaling $X be paid out on X date using the available funds in the MTD account for which I am responsible.  I acknowledge that any un-reimbursed funds from this reimbursement will be forfeited and unable to be reimbursed at a future date. "

How to use this guide

The Summary Guidance for Reimbursement Standards, is intended as both a table of contents and a quick reference guide. You can click on any Expense Category to see detailed guidance, where applicable. Any items not addressed in this guide require approval from the supervisor and the CFO.

Summary Guidance for Reimbursement Standards