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As noted in the policy linked above, field staff are workers are expected to utilize sound judgment and careful financial prudent financial management regarding ministry-related expenses. This means ensuring that Reliant's financial resources are used appropriately; supporting support the ministry; complying comply with Reliant policies, applicable laws, regulations, and donor restrictions; and considering the consider the ministry's reputation in the sense that we strive for propriety in both fact and appearance. Our stewardship responsibility also means utilizing Reliant's non-profit status for ministry purposes alone and not for personal benefit (e.g., avoiding state sales tax on the purchase of personal items or reimbursing personal expenses).
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Reliant employees with a fixed-term support goal (interns and residents) are only eligible to submit expenses that have been pre-approved in their program parameters. Most interns and residents are not eligible for submitting expense submissions. |
Submission Request Types
Payment of a ministry expense may be completed through the following types of submission requests:
- Reimbursement: Submission of expenses that qualify under IRS guidance as non-taxable reimbursable business expenses are 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 IRS under IRS guidance are referred to as “Expense Recovery Bonus” orERB. ERB payments take the form of a bonus, which which will be treated as additional taxable wages (compensation) for the field staff. Since only paid employees can receive a taxable bonus, associates are not eligible to submit a request for an ERB or any expense with a taxable (ERB) component.
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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. |
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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. |
As with other taxable wages, estimated income taxes will be deducted from the employee's payroll for the item purchased and recovered using an ERB based on the employee's current tax settings. To help offset the amount of tax that will be deducted, an automatic 25% bonus will be added to all ERB submissions. For example, an ERB submission for a $100 expense would result in an ERB of $125 to account for the estimated taxes associated with this taxable bonus. Employees may opt out of the 25% bonus for estimated taxes by selecting to exclude the tax bonus in the expense submission.
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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. All unused portions of an advance must be timely returned to Reliant. 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 travel expenses. Grant: For expenses related directly to a ministry project fund, field staff and associates can request payment through a "Grant" rather than a project fund Reimbursement. (See Reimbursements vs. Grants for more details.) Grants are typically used for the expense of an item that will belong to the broader ministry/project on a long-term basis. Bonus: For International workers, a separate bonus can be requested for certain expenses not available for submission through the expense submission form Support Goal: Certain recurring monthly expenses can only be recovered through submitting an updated support goal. We encourage employees to use this benefit to offset recurring monthly costs. Associates are not eligible for this benefit and, therefore, will not be able to recover certain recurring monthly expenses. |
AnchorForms Forms
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Expense Submission Forms
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Links for Applicable Expense Submission Forms Current approved Expense Submission Request Forms are required for expense submission.
Expense Advances, primarily relating to large, expected travel expenditures, will be considered on a case-by-case basis. International Bonus is available to International workers for expenses not eligible for inclusion on the International Expense Submission Form and not included in their monthly salary. The bonus can be received before the expense purchase, as receipts are not used for requesting the bonus. Moving Bonus is available to U.S.-based employees incurring moving costs for moving from one ministry location to another Exception Requests are available for submission in the event of a denied submission or to request special exceptions Grants are available for expenses related directly to a project fund. The full grant process involves submitting a grant request and following the Board's policy on grant reporting Per Diem (U.S.) & Per Diem (International) is available to use for travel expenses incurred during longer periods of travel (5 days or more) Support Goal- support goal submission is specific to program teams. Please reach out to the appropriate program liaison for assistance With each expense submitted on the relevant form, there should be:
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It is Reliant's intention that the ERB will eventually be routed through our payroll process (as shown below). However, Reliant has not fully integrated our processes into the new system. Therefore, the explanation for the expense submission order of pay below is what we expect to occur soon once the process has been integrated. Until then, the ERBs will remain in the Reimbursement category and follow the current order of pay for Reimbursements and Back Reimbursements, respectively. |
Current ERB
Back Pay (if applicable), including any previously submitted ERB waiting for funding, as long as the bonus remains eligible for Back Pay (See Back Pay for ERB above for more detail)
Back Reimbursements (formerly known as cabinet expenses), meaning unpaid Reimbursements waiting for funding and paid in the order they were received, as long as the Back Reimbursements remain eligible for Reimbursement (See Back Reimbursements above for more detail)
Current Reimbursement (Again, reimbursements are paid in the order they are received)
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As a reminder, timecards must be up to date for hourly employees to be eligible to receive Reimbursements and ERBs. |
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Receipts must include the following itemized details:
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, hotel, rental car, etc.)
If there are multiple types of expenses on one receipt then the expenses should be separated by category on the expense submission form. If the amount that is being submitted on the expense form is less than the amount for the item listed on the receipt that is submitted, please add a note to the top of the receipt explaining why the request for submission is a different amount.
Anchor Shared Shared Anchor Hand-Written Hand-Written
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Hand-Written Receipts On the rare occasion 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:
Name of field staff What was purchased Total amount paid Date Type of payment (check #, cash, etc) Name of the store (or individual) who received the money; please also include contact info (phone/email) if payment was made to an individual A verification statement from a worker at a store or an individual who was paid for their service should also be included on the written receipt, along with a signature to verify the statement. Or the field staff can have the person email the verification statement needed from their personal email address (instead of receiving their signature in person) and attach a copy of that email along with the handwritten receipt when submitting the expense
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Receipts from Mobile/Banking App For receipts from mobile apps (such as Venmo, Square, Apple Pay, PayPal, Google Wallet, or a banking app, etc.), field staff should be sure to include a clear description in the memo or "what's it for?" section of the transaction, to document what expense the payment is related to. The expense submission should also include any information required for a valid receipt that is not visible on the mobile app "receipt" (see the guidelines above for what details must be included on the itemized receipt for it to be acceptable.) Please see the section below for details on receipts needed for shared expenses. |
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Expense Category | Summary of Allowable Costs | Key Details | |||||||||||||||||||
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Ministry Expense (ME) Bonus | The ME Bonus is for field staff to cover routine, ongoing ministry expenses. Staff may request the following through support goal submission: Up to $600/month for staff working 20 or more hours per week Up to $300/month for staff working fewer than 20 hours per week International workers' amounts are needs-based |
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Monthly Mobile Phone Service | U.S. employees may request through support goal submission to cover monthly mobile phone services Up to $100/month (staff working 20 or more hours per week) Up to $50/month (staff working fewer than 20 hours per week) |
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Expense Category | Summary of Allowable Costs | Key Details | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Mobile Phone Device | $1,000 max limit to purchase a phone Only eligible once every two years Recoverable as 75% nontaxable Reimbursement and 25% taxable ERB |
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Apps | One-time purchases and subscriptions for apps directly relevant to field workers' job responsibilities are allowed. |
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Computers & Computer Equipment | Computers (desktop/laptop/tablet), computer equipment (e.g., monitors, printers, hard drives), and warranties, to the extent they are required to perform ministry responsibilities. Each type of item above is only eligible once every three years 75% nontaxable Reimbursement and 25% taxable ERB. |
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Software | One-time outright purchases of software: Recoverable as 75% nontaxable Reimbursement and 25% taxable ERB. Only eligible once every three years per software type Monthly Software subscriptions are 100% nontaxable |
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Internet Access | Website hosting services or email distribution services that are directly related to the worker's ministry role Charges for internet and email fees while traveling for ministry purposes. |
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Media Downloads (Downloads | Media downloads, such as books, digital photos, graphics, etc. | )Media downloads, such as books and other resources required for ministry-role. |
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Expense Category | Summary of Allowable Costs | Key Details | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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Hotel/Lodging | Up to $250/night for ministry trips |
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Flight | Airfare Baggage Seat upgrade, if needed TSA pre-check or CLEAR |
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Rental Car/Borrowed Car |
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Mileage/Carpooling | Mileage for necessary ministry-related trips in excess of (not including) the first 50 miles one way per trip (which is already included in the support goal bonus). |
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Parking & Tolls | Parking costs of more than $10 when conducting ministry work in a location that is not the local place of work. Parking costs incurred during travel (airport parking costs, hotel or conference center parking, etc.) Parking permits at the primary place of ministry can be recovered through an ERB. Tolls when traveling on a ministry trip are reimbursable. |
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Other Transportation | Taxi, bus, rideshare, train, water transportation, etc., when traveling on a ministry trip | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Covid Testing | Mandated testing in order to travel | Only testing not covered by Reliant's health plan can be reimbursed. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Travel Fees and Immunizations (short-term international trips) | Visa Fees and related documentation Passport fees and related documentation (taxable ERB) Vaccinations and immunizations required for international travel (taxable ERB) Certain medications required for International short-term travel related to mission trips are reimbursable |
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Meals During Travel | Meals during ministry trips |
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Weddings and Funerals | If the criteria (under Key Details) for the wedding/funeral are met, then airfare, mileage, lodging, rental cars, meals, and other travel-related expenses, etc., can be reimbursed. |
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Expense Category | Summary of Allowable Costs | Key Details | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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Conferences and Event Fees | As a general rule, most conferences, retreats, and events are reimbursable as long as the field workers substantiate why attendance at the event was necessary for their current ministry role. |
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Mission and Outreach Trips | The fee(s) for the Mission and Outreach Trip are reimbursable. |
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Spiritual and Ministry Planning Retreats | Spiritual and Ministry Planning Retreats are intended to be dedicated, focused, and intentional times of immersion in the Word, prayer, and/or ministry preparation. Costs associated with the retreats may be reimbursed with pre-approval on a Personal Development Plan. |
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Expense Category | Summary of Allowable Costs | Key Details | |||||||||||||||
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Supplies | Due to the different job responsibilities of Reliant Employees, the types of supplies used for ministry purposes are vast and varying. It is the field worker's responsibility to use discretion when purchasing supplies to ensure the items are truly reasonable and necessary for ministry expenses. |
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Office Rent | Office rent is reimbursable when used exclusively for ministry purposes. An office that is only partially used for ministry purposes cannot have rent reimbursed through Reliant. |
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Postage/Shipping/Fax | Postage, fax, and shipping expenses associated with your ministry role are reimbursable. |
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Printing & Copies | Printed prayer letters, magnets, photos, booklets, copies, etc. |
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Equipment (including Furniture) | Recoverable as 75% nontaxable Reimbursement and 25% taxable ERB. |
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Meals & Hospitality (not associated with a ministry trip)
| Meals for ministry contacts, donors, and group events Groceries for prepared meals for ministry purposes One-time special event/celebration meals with co-workers that are out of the ordinary can be submitted through reimbursement Dormitory meal plan passes, when used exclusively for conducting ministry per Reliant worker role (for example on a college campus), can be reimbursed at a max of $480 for a semester pass. |
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Books | Books that are ministry-related (they do not need to be religious in nature). |
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Continuing education courses Course-related books Associated Fees Some other continuing education expenses can also be recovered through an Expense Recovery Bonus, such as school-required health checks and immunizations and related travel costs associated with continuing education. |
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Counseling | Counseling is not eligible for reimbursement or ERB. Short-term counseling is available through Reliant's Employee Assitance Program for those enrolled in Reliant's insurance. However, field workers may qualify for crisis counseling in a ministry-related crisis for a pre-approved duration paid for by Reliant. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Gift-giving is sometimes required to further the ministry of Reliant. Gifts purchased must be clearly ministry-related and also help further that specific Reliant ministry. Gifts must have an intended recipient determined at the point of purchase. Gifts may not be purchased more than 30 days before the date they will be given to the intended party. Gifts cannot be personal in nature (such as for a birthday, baby, wedding, graduation, etc.) There is an annual limit for the amount of gift given per person per year. |
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Gift Cards | A gift card given by a Reliant employee to donors may be reimbursed with a valid ministry purpose, but annual limits for giving (see "gifts" above) apply. As a Standard, Reliant does not allow field staff to give gift cards to other field staff (employee or associate). |
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Moving Costs | Moving costs are not reimbursable through expense submission. A moving bonus is available for moving costs incurred while moving from one U.S. ministry location to another U.S. ministry location. |
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Professional Fees | Professional fees paid to companies, agencies, or individuals for services necessary to conduct ministry are reimbursable.
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Recreation Expenses | Use discretion when submitting requests for reimbursement of recreation expenses. Reliant will carefully review such requests but will not reimburse expenses that are not clearly ministry-related and that do not follow the Standards for reasonable, necessary, etc. |
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Expense Category | Summary of Allowable Costs | Key Reminders | |||||||||||||||||
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Bank Fees | Bank Fees incurred by International field workers as they travel back to the US or other countries for ministry purposes. Bank Fees incurred in situations where the safety of a Reliant International worker is a concern or in which local banking options are either not allowable or unadvisable (e.g., due to the secure nature of their ministry role.) |
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Counseling | Counseling is not eligible for reimbursement or ERB. However, there is a counseling bonus available to International workers (See International Bonuses) Short-term counseling for International workers is available through Reliant's Employee Assistance Program. In the event of an international crisis, International field workers may qualify to receive crisis counseling for a pre-approved duration paid for by Reliant. | ||||||||||||||||||
Global Communication |
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Immigration Fees | Reimbursable costs include visa fees and necessary documentation, postage, photos, etc., for ministry-related international travel. Costs recoverable to international field workers through an ERB include: U.S. Passport fees and necessary documentation, postage, photos, etc. International driver's license fees- initial and renewal Immigration fees for family Related travel for visa runs, etc., for family members. |
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Immunizations, Vaccinations | To the extent not covered by Reliant health plans, pre-field physicals, vaccinations, and immunizations (including oral vaccinations with a prescription) required for international placement or internship can be recovered through an ERB. |
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International Mileage | When the cost of operating a motor vehicle in the international field worker's country of ministry exceeds that of the United States, the International field worker may submit ministry-related mileage at a rate that exceeds the United States IRS’s approved mileage reimbursement rate to be recovered through an ERB. |
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Language Classes | Language classes are reimbursable. |
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Moving, Vehicle, Hardship, etc. | There is a specific International Bonus designed to recover personal expenses for International workers that are not eligible for submission on the International Expense Submission Form. |
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Tutoring | Tutoring fees are reimbursable. |
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Translator Fees | Oral translator fees are reimbursable. Written translator fees are typically reimbursable, depending on the nature of the materials. |
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Storage Fees | Reimbursement may be requested for storage costs for personal items stored in the U.S. while the worker serves at an international assignment when connected to an international move. |
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Expense Category | Summary of Allowable Costs | Key Reminders | ||||||||||
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Counselor Supervision Fees | Available for counselors who require someone to supervise their counseling as part of a mentor/training program. |
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Dues and Subscriptions for Counselors | For those counselors who have dues or fees for professional counseling organizations that provide support, resources, and/or training for licensed professional counselors. |
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Liability Coverage for Counselors | For those counselors who desire additional liability coverage. |
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Office for Counseling | For those who work as counselors as part of their Reliant ministry role, to reimburse office updates and décor. |
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