What are Reimbursements and Expense Recovery Bonuses?

• Reimbursement: Submission of expenses that qualify under IRS guidance as non-taxable reimbursable business expenses are referred to as a “Reimbursement" on the new Standard and Form.
• Expense Recovery Bonus: Submissions requesting recovery of expenses that do not qualify for non-taxable reimbursement under IRS guidance are referred to as “Expense Recovery Bonus” or ERB on the new Standard and Form. Expense Recovery Bonus (ERB) is the new term for what was formerly known as a taxable reimbursement. ERB payments take the form of a bonus, 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.

You will enter both reimbursements and expense recovery bonus expenses onto the same expense submisson Form. There will be separate expenses submission Forms for U.S., International, and Project fund expense submissions. The new Forms will be available on Solomon starting at the beginning of January.

Highlights of Significant New Changes in 2023

• The Ministry Expense bonus amounts have changed and we have separated monthly phone service expenses to allow for the ability to receive that expense as non-taxable. This form of support goal expense submission outlines specific routine and ongoing expenses that are designated for recovery solely through the ME Bonus and Monthly Mobile Phone Service submissions that are not eligible for submission through the normal expense submission form. The ability to create a new support goal (for U.S. field workers that are career workers not in an internship or residency program) using the new ME bonus and monthly phone service amounts will be available for submission on staffnet beginning mid-late December. Please review Ministry Expense Bonuses for more details on both the ME bonus and monthly phone service changes before submitting a new support goal. 
• Computers/Equipment/Mobile Phone/Furniture for ministry gatherings: These categories have changed from 100% taxable to 75 % non-taxable and 25% ERB (taxable) with the requirement that you intend to work (at 20 hours or more) with Reliant for the next 12 months in order to qualify. We have also increased the max limits to be greater and changed the number of years before you can purchase the items again. There is no longer a separate form for these categories of expenses, they will be submitted on the normal expense submission form. Please review the Standard for specific details for each type.
• Local mileage for necessary ministry-related trips is now 50 miles each way from the starting ministry location (rather than 100). Remember, you should be subtracting the local mileage each way from your total mileage submitted on the expense submission form. 
• We have added a new form for all expenses related to spiritual retreats. With the spiritual retreats, there will be a new requirement called a Personal Development Plan connected to those types of expense submissions in order to complete submission.
• There are many other smaller changes that you will find within the Standard such as we no longer need you to collect W-9s from vendors (professional fee) expenses. Please review the Standard to see the many highlighted changes.

Please don't hesitate to contact your Program Team Liaison (listed at the bottom of this page) if you need help navigating the new policy, standard, or form.

What Do I Need To Do?

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