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- Reasonable in that the expense is not extreme or excessive, and it reflects the amount that would normally be spent in that specific situation;
- Ordinary in that one would normally expect this kind of expense to occur when performing ministry work;
- Necessary to achieve a valid ministry objective consistent with the mission of Reliant and its ministry partners;
- Directly related to the job/ministry of the field staff; and
- Sufficiently documented and timely submitted
Note: Reliant reserves the right to determine whether or not an expense fulfills the above criteria and to decline reimbursement of expenses that do not meet the criteria.
Ministry Expense Bonus
Reliant provides an optional monthly taxable Ministry Expense (ME) bonus for paid employees to help cover routine recurring monthly expenses associated with the ministry. Full-time employees are eligible for requesting up to $500/month. Part-time employees (20 hours or less) are eligible for requesting up to $200/month. Due to the taxable nature of the ME bonus, associates are not allowed to request this bonus. Paid employees that opt out of a monthly ME bonus are not eligible to submit these expenses through any other submission types.
The ME bonus accounts for the following recurring monthly expenses along with other routine monthly expenses particular to the individual Reliant field staff to be recovered through a recurring bonus rather than through a monthly reimbursement submission.
These expenses include:
- Meals with coworkers
- Gifts for coworkers and ministry contacts
- Monthly internet costs
- Local mileage (definition?)
- HSA employee contribution
The above expenses are designated for recovery solely through the ME Bonus and are not eligible to be submitted for reimbursement through any other submission types. Reliant does not need receipts submitted for expenses included in the ME bonus. Field staff may set the amount that they think is appropriate to cover their typically incurred monthly expenses (up to the designated amount for full-time/part-time employees). Beyond this, if there are unique one-time expenses that clearly significantly exceed what each staff deems normal recurring expenses then they have the option to submit the following expense request types below.
Submission Request Types
Payment of a ministry expense may be done through the following four types of submission requests:
- Reimbursement: Submission of expenses that qualify under IRS guidance as non-taxable reimbursed business expenses is referred to as a “Reimbursement.” Please note that, although Reliant Reimbursements are processed in such a way that they are not included in the employee's taxable income, the employee bears ultimate responsibility for her/his income tax return(s), including the proper tax treatment of all payments received from Reliant, and should consult with her/his tax adviser as needed to determine the appropriate reporting and treatment of such payments.
- Monthly Phone Reimbursement:
- Expense Recovery Bonus: Submissions requesting recovery of expenses that do not qualify for non-taxable reimbursement under the IRS guidance are referred to as “Expense Recovery Bonus”or ERB. ERB payments take the form of a bonus which will be treated as additional taxable wages (compensation) for the field staff. Due to the fact that only paid employees can receive a taxable bonus, associates and project funds? are not eligible to submit a request for an ERB. Add 20% bonus.
- Expense Advance: Field staff may request advance payment for anticipated reimbursable expenses through an "Expense Advance." Advances are not available in all cases but will be considered for approval on a case-by-case basis.
- Per Diem:
- Grant: For expenses related to a ministry project fund, field staff also have the option of requesting payment through a "Grant" rather than a Reimbursement. Grants are often used for the expense of an item that will belong to the broader ministry/project (rather than the individual) on a long-term basis. (See Reimbursements vs. Grants for more details)
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Key Change to the Standard: Expense Recovery Bonus (ERB) is the new term for what was formerly known as a taxable reimbursement. These bonuses are now being routed through payroll rather than through the reimbursements queue. An unpaid bonus due to insufficient funds is now short-checked and held in the backpay queue. Please review the Order of Pay below for more detail. |
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Expenses incurred by Reliant field staff, should be directly related to the job or ministry of the field staff. Expenses incurred related to family members (spouses that are not Reliant employees/associates and/or children) that coincide with a field staff's job/ministry may potentially be eligible for recovery, but typically only as a taxable expense. Sometimes spouse expenses are eligible for non-taxable reimbursement when the spouse is fully, actively participating in the event. As a reminder, Reliant does currently offer Child-Care Reimbursement through our Cafeteria Plan (tax saving benefit). (See Spouse and Family Expenses for more details.)
Note: Reliant reserves the right to determine whether or not an expense fulfills the above criteria and to decline reimbursement of expenses that do not meet the criteria.
Ministry Expense Bonus
Reliant provides an optional monthly taxable Ministry Expense (ME) bonus for all paid employees to help cover routine recurring monthly expenses associated with the ministry. Full-time employees are eligible for requests up to $500/month. Part-time employees (20 hours or less) are eligible for requests up to $200/month. The bonus request is submitted through employee support goals. Associates are not allowed to request this bonus. Paid employees that opt out of a monthly ME bonus are not eligible to submit these expenses through any other submission types. (See Ministry Expense Bonuses for more details.)
The ME bonus accounts for the following recurring monthly expenses along with other routine monthly expenses particular to the individual Reliant field staff and their specific ministry to be recovered through a recurring bonus rather than through a monthly reimbursement submission.
These expenses include:
- Meals with coworkers
- Gifts for coworkers and ministry contacts
- Monthly internet costs
- Local mileage (normal commutes for local ministry)
- HSA employee contribution (if you are benefits-eligible and are currently on Reliant's medical insurance plan)
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Monthly phone plan costs are calculated separately on the employee support goal to be entered as non-taxable and should not be included in the total amount requested for the ME bonus. |
The above expenses are designated for recovery solely through the ME Bonus and are not eligible to be submitted for reimbursement through any other submission types. Reliant does not need receipts submitted for expenses included in the ME bonus. Field staff may set the amount that they think is appropriate to cover their typically incurred monthly expenses (up to the designated amount for full-time/part-time employees). Beyond this, if there are unique one-time expenses that clearly significantly exceed what each staff deems normal recurring expenses then they have the option to submit the following expense request types below.
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Key Change to the Standard: Previously the ME bonus was broken down into individual expense category max amounts to help determine the appropriate total amount to receive per month. Reliant is now asking the field staff to determine the appropriate amount (up to a specific designated total amount based on their employment type) based on the needs of the individual field staff. |
Monthly Phone Reimbursement: Employees are also given the option to request monthly phone plan reimbursement through a submission request within the employee support goal. Expenses are paid out through a non-taxable monthly recurring payment into the account for which the staff is responsible. Reliant does not need receipts submitted for phone plan payment amounts. Employees will request the appropriate amount needed per month (up to the designated amount for full-time/part-time employees) based on the monthly expenses incurred with their individual phone plans. Full-time employees are eligible for requests up to $100/month. Part-time employees (20 hours or less) are eligible for requests up to $50/month. Associates are not eligible for the monthly phone reimbursement.
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Key Change to the Standard: In order to have fewer taxable expenses added to field staff payroll, Reliant has removed the monthly phone bill expense category from the taxable ME bonus. Paid employees may now submit a one-time Monthly Phone Reimbursement request through their support goals to recover monthly phone payments through non-taxable monthly reimbursement. |
Submission Request Types
Payment of a ministry expense may be done through the following four types of submission requests:
- Reimbursement: Submission of expenses that qualify under IRS guidance as non-taxable reimbursed business expenses is referred to as a “Reimbursement.” Please note that, although Reliant Reimbursements are processed in such a way that they are not included in the employee's taxable income, the employee bears ultimate responsibility for her/his income tax return(s), including the proper tax treatment of all payments received from Reliant, and should consult with her/his tax adviser as needed to determine the appropriate reporting and treatment of such payments.
- Expense Recovery Bonus: Submissions requesting recovery of expenses that do not qualify for non-taxable reimbursement under the IRS guidance are referred to as “Expense Recovery Bonus”or ERB. ERB payments take the form of a bonus which will be treated as additional taxable wages (compensation) for the field staff. Due to the fact that only paid employees can receive a taxable bonus, associates are not eligible to submit a request for an ERB. A 25% bonus for estimated taxes will be automatically added to all ERB submissions to account for the estimated taxes associated with this taxable bonus. Employees that wish to opt-out of including the bonus for estimated taxes will need to select the box on the form that says "only reimburse the core expenses and not the estimated taxes associated with this bonus."
- Expense Advance: Field staff may request advance payment for anticipated reimbursable expenses through an "Expense Advance." Advances are not available in all cases but will be considered for approval on a case-by-case basis.
- Per Diem: Field staff may request per diem while traveling opting to receive a daily set amount for travel expenses (lodging and meals) instead of submitting individual expense receipts for those expenses.
- Grant: For expenses related directly to a ministry project fund, field staff also have the option of requesting payment through a "Grant" rather than a project fund Reimbursement. Grants are also often used for the expense of an item that will belong to the broader ministry/project on a long-term basis. (See Reimbursements vs. Grants for more details)
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Key Change to the Standard: Expense Recovery Bonus (ERB) is the new term for what was formerly known as a taxable reimbursement. These bonuses are now being routed through payroll rather than through the reimbursements queue. An unpaid bonus due to insufficient funds is now short-checked and held in the backpay queue. Please review the Order of Pay below for more detail. |
Sufficient Funds
Expense submission requests for field staff are typically paid from the MTD account for which the field staff or associate is responsible. Expenses for projects/ministries are paid from project funds. Sufficient funds are required before payment for the expense submission is received and order of pay (see below for more details) for paid employees must be followed. (See also "Lack of Funding for Reimbursements and ERBs" below for details on what occurs when sufficient funds are not available.)
Project Fund Reimbursements
Reliant also manages funds for ministries, non-profits, and churches as well as funds for individual MTD accounts. When an expense is not related directly to a field staff's specific job role, but is more directly related to a project or ministry, a project fund Reimbursement can be submitted. Reimbursements from a project require all the same documentation as those from an MTD account and are processed according to the same submission deadlines. Project fund reimbursements also require approval by a designated signer for the fund.
Reimbursements are paid directly from the project fund, based on available funds as well as based on the order in which they were received. The MTD account balance the field staff is responsible for does not incur the expense for these reimbursed costs, therefore the order of pay from the MTD account does not apply. It is possible for an employee who has backpay and back Reimbursements to receive payment for a Reimbursement that was submitted to be paid from a project fund. Reliant pays project fund Reimbursements if there are available funds in the project fund. It is possible for a project to accumulate back Reimbursements. Taxable expenses cannot be reimbursed from a project fund. (See Project Fund Reimbursements for more details.)
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| Sometimes, field staff will incur an expense on behalf of a project that is not generally approved under the Reliant Reimbursement and ERB Standards due to taxable reasons. These expenses, as well as a few other specific types of expenses, may instead be approved through Reliant's Project Fundraising and Grants Program. For further information on how to determine if an expense should be processed as a reimbursement or a grant, see Reimbursements vs. Grants. |
Relevant Forms
All expense submissions should use the appropriate form, each of which is listed below with accessible links. Please open a brand new form for each month's expense submission (rather than copying a form that has previously been submitted) in order to ensure the use of updated forms and to aid accurate and timely expense processing.
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- Current approved Expense Submission Request Forms are required for expense submission.
- U.S. Expense Submission Form
- International Expense Submission Form
- Continuing Education Form
- Expense Advances, primarily relating to large, expected travel expenditures, will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
- Exception Requests are available for submission in the event of a denied Reimbursement or a late submission.
- Add link to grant form here
- Requests are available for submission in the event of a denied Reimbursement or a late submission.
- Grants are available for expenses related directly to a project fund that are typically taxable and therefore can not use a project fund reimbursement
- Per Diem - U.S. / Per Diem - International is available to use for travel expenses incurred during longer periods of traveling (5 days or more)Add link to per diem here
Included on the form with each expense should be:
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- Description of the expense
- Whom the item is for:
- First and last names of the people involved
- The ministry relationship of the person(s) to the field staff. If the expense relates to five or more people, list them as a group with the a specific number in the group (e.g. 12 ministry partners). Actual names are not necessary for groups of five or more people. Otherwise, the use of actual first and last names is required, if the relationship is not uniform with all members of the group.
- Specific ministry purpose of the expense (be as detailed as possible). For more secure locations, please see Secure Lexicon for more details.
- Cost of the item (the portion of the cost that is ministry related if not 100%)
- Date of the expense (a new Reimbursement form is needed for each month in which an expense is incurred)
Itemized original receipts and other appropriate substantiating documentsand other appropriate substantiating documents (if applicable) must be submitted with the form.
*Please refer to all Reimbursement Standards below, which detail receipt information and other specific criteria.
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| Reimbursement Submitted By... | Paid to the Bank Account of Field Staff By... |
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| Between 1st - 15th of the month | The last business day of the same month |
| Between the 16th - 31st of the month | The 20th of the following month, or the preceeding preceding business day if the 20th falls on a weekend or holiday |
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As a reminder, timecards must be up to date for hourly employees to be eligible for receiving reimbursements and expense recovery bonuses. |
Lack of Funding
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for Reimbursements
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and ERBs
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Reimbursements and ERBs for field staff are normally paid from the staff's MTD account. They may also be paid from a project fund if approved by the project fund approver. If the funding source (i.e., MTD account or project fund) lacks sufficient monies to cover the submitted expense, then the expense submission is considered a back reimbursement or back pay, as described below.
Back Reimbursement
If the funding source (i.e., MTD account for which a field staff is responsible or approved project fund) does not contain sufficient funds to provide full reimbursement for the amount on an expense submission request form, Reliant will hold the form and delay reimbursement, storing the expense submission as a "back reimbursement" until sufficient funds are available in the funding source, according to Reliant's order of pay protocol. If a field staff has more than one back reimbursement, they will be paid out in the order in which the reimbursement submissions were received once funds become available for the whole amount of each individual reimbursement.
If the funding source covers only a portion of a back reimbursement, Reliant will not automatically partially pay the reimbursement. Field staff may request a reduction in the back reimbursement for a partial payment or completely remove it from the queue, but in such cases, the remaining portion of a partial back reimbursement or the back reimbursement removed from the queue will not be eligible for reinstatement should funding become available later. To illustrate the process for a partial reimbursement, suppose a field staff submits a $1,000 reimbursement that is next in line for the order of reimbursement payout and only $650 is available to pay out. The field staff 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 the field staff forfeits any un-reimbursed portion of that reimbursement. Note: this action is completely voluntary and at the discretion of the field staff.
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- What was purchased
- Total amount paid
- Date
- Name of the company (or person) that was paid
- Name of field staff (if applicable such as for a flight or hotel, hotel, rental car, etc.)
Hand-Written Receipts
On the rare occasions when a field staff is unable to obtain a formal itemized receipt, hand-written receipts are acceptable as long as they contain the following information:
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