Accounts Payable & Travel Accounting Update for February

[Accounting and Fiscal Services]

 

February 2026 Accounts Payable IRS Increases 1099 Reporting Threshold for 2026 The IRS updated the reporting threshold for 1099 forms effective for the 2026 tax year. The minimum reportable amount has increased from $600 to $2,000. Departments are now only required to issue 1099 forms to individuals and entities who received total payments of $2,000 or more during calendar year 2026 for services rendered. This applies to all 1099-reportable payments, including but not limited to: Independent contractors and consultants Professional service providers Research participants Guest speakers and honorarium recipients Other non-employee service providers Payments below the $2,000 threshold for the calendar year do not require 1099 reporting. Our Accounting team is currently updating all relevant websites and documentation to reflect this change. Additionally, the University of California Office of the President (UCOP) is in the process of revising related policies accordingly. Accounts Payable PaymentWorks: Encourage Payees to Use Direct Deposit If you have suppliers or other payees onboarding in PaymentWorks, please encourage them to sign up to be paid by direct deposit. There are plenty of good reasons for payees to sign up for direct deposit: Fast & Secure: Payments are deposited directly into bank accounts — no waiting for checks or trips to the bank. Convenient: No risk of lost or stolen checks Environmentally Friendly: Reduces paper waste. Enrolling is simple! Payees can sign up through PaymentWorks or contact accounts...@uci.edu for questions regarding direct deposit enrollment. By promoting direct deposit within your department, you help us streamline operations and improve the payment experience for everyone. Accounts Payable Payment Plus: A Faster Way to Pay Suppliers As shared in the previous newsletter, UC Irvine Procurement Services in collaboration with Accounts Payable, has launched Payment Plus, a new program in partnership with U.S. Bank that automates supplier payments via Visa commercial virtual cards. Several suppliers have already signed up for the program. U.S. Bank and Visa will continue to campaign and reach out to additional vendors in collaboration with their third-party vendor ROI Solutions via emails and phone calls. Learn More: Payment Plus Questions? Contact Tanya Harris or Jennifer Chey Travel Accounting BUS-79: Light Refreshments, Hors d’Oeuvres, Appetizers Travel Accounting occasionally gets questions about the reimbursement rate for hors d’oeuvres or appetizers. UC Policy BUS-79: Expenditures for Business Meetings, Entertainment, and Other Occasions details which expenses can be reimbursed as meals, light refreshments, or other entertainment expenses. Please keep the following in mind: Hors d'oeuvres or appetizers served at an event or shown on an invoice/receipt are considered “Light Refreshments” per BUS-79, and the maximum per person light refreshments rate is $24.00. Serving only hors d'oeuvres or appetizers, even “heavy” hors d’oeuvres or appetizers, during the dinnertime period or at a reception is not considered a “Dinner” per policy and cannot be reimbursed at the maximum per person dinner rate. Per UC Policy BUS-79, pg.3, “Light Refreshments” include coffee and other beverages, snacks, hors d’oeuvres, pastries, cookies, crackers, chips, fruit, etc.: For more information, see the Meal Expense Maximums for Meetings and Entertainment page for the current maximum per person reimbursement rates for different types of meals or light refreshments. Travel Accounting 2026 New Mileage Reimbursement Rates The UC Office of the President recently announced updated mileage rates. Effective Jan. 1, 2026, the reimbursement rate for the use of private automobiles for university business travel increased from 70 cents a mile to 72.5 cents per mile. The mileage rate for move/relocations decreased from 21 cents to 20.5 cents per mile. For a listing of current rates, visit the Mileage Rates webpage. Mileage Reimbursements in KFS UC Irvine was notified of the new rates on Jan. 28, 2026. Because KFS cannot be backdated, any mileage with an Actual Expense date entered as 01/01/26 – 01/28/26 will use the prior rate that existed/stood at that time. You may add the “Mileage Difference” as an OTHER expense type for the additional few cents if the date of the travel occurred between 01/01/26 – 01/28/26. If your Actual Expenses date shows that the driving date occurred on or after Jan. 29, there is no need to enter a mileage difference expense. For additional questions about KFS, please contact the experts at the KFS Help Desk by emailing k...@uci.edu. Travel Accounting Tips and Reminders for CTS Ghost Card Users Are you a CTS Ghost Card Account cardholder? Please review the following reminders and tips for working with your CTS account and visit Accounting’s Book Travel for Others with a CTS Ghost Card Account page for more information. CTS Account – Allowed Expenses All expenses charged to a CTS account are automatically debited from university funds, like a debit card. It is important that CTS cardholders charge only allowed expenses to the CTS account in compliance with UC Policy G-28, or the University could permanently lose funds. A CTS account is accepted by travel agencies, hotels, and airlines only and is limited to the following transactions: Economy/coach class airfare Hotel room and tax Associated agency fees In contrast, unallowed expenses on the CTS account include, but are not limited to: NO personal or non-UCI travel expenses, including expenses resulting from the traveler’s personal/non-UCI reasons. If a traveler has a unique travel situation that requires a combination of personal and University business travel, these expenses may not be charged to the CTS account. NO miscellaneous expenses or incidentals, including fees for registration, ground transportation, internet/Wi-Fi, parking, meals, seat fees (economy seat selection, extra legroom, or upgrade), baggage, airfare classes outside of economy/coach class, or any other miscellaneous travel expenses or incidentals. If you are unsure if an expense is allowed on the CTS account, before charging the CTS account, please: Review the “CTS (Ghost Card) Account Training” found in the UC Learning Center. Once logged in, please search “CTS” in the top-right blue search bar, and choose the first option, “CTS (Ghost Card) Account Training”: Email travel-ac...@uci.edu and our team can assist you. CTS Account – Email Notifications CTS cardholders receive an email from KFS (the sender will be travel-a...@uci.edu) each time a charge is made to their CTS account and the CTS charge is in KFS ready to be reconciled. Please be sure to review these emails closely to not only reconcile the CTS expense within 45 days as required by university policy but also to prevent any possible fraudulent activity on your CTS account. CTS Account – Reconciliation and Fraud Prevention CTS expenses are direct charges automatically debited from the University, so it is especially important that CTS cardholders remain vigilant in monitoring their CTS accounts for fraudulent transactions. If you believe there has been fraudulent activity on your CTS account, please contact travel-a...@uci.edu immediately so our team can review and ensure the fraudulent activity is reported to the bank. The bank requires all fraudulent activity to be reported within 60 days, or the department may not be able to recover the stolen funds. Please keep in mind: all CTS transactions must be reconciled within 45 days to be compliant with university policy. If CTS expenses are reconciled within the 45-day deadline, we will be compliant with the bank’s fraud reporting deadlines. CTS Account – Department Tracking Tool: TEM Arranger Dashboard Anyone who has the KSAMS role of “TEM Organization Profile Arranger” has the ability to view the TEM Arranger Dashboard. The TEM Arranger Dashboard is an effective tool for departments to track all CTS and Corporate Card expenses for their cardholders and ensure expenses are reconciled within the 45-day deadline set by university policy. Please visit our website for information on the TEM Arranger Dashboard and how to access it. Questions regarding the TEM Arranger Dashboard or KFS roles can be directed to the experts on the KFS Help Desk at k...@uci.edu. Travel Accounting Reduce Costs! Book in ConnexUC for Cost Savings Enterprise, National Car Rental, Hertz ConnexUC doesn’t just offer discounts and savings on rental cars. Booking with ConnexUC also automatically includes insurance when traveling on UC business, a free vehicle upgrade when available, and you can bypass long lines at most airport car rental counters by making sure you’ve signed up for one of the car rental agency’s premiere level memberships. The membership is complimentary when booking through ConnexUC! Book in ConnexUC to Access Southwest Airlines SWABIZ Savings Book all your air with Southwest SWABIZ. No booking fees. Use the company ID 99723724, when booking in SWABIZ. Domestic discounts range from 8% to 12%. BCD Travel and UC Travel Center Travelers are automatically signed up for the free UC Travel Insurance when booking with the ConnexUC travel agencies. Travel Accounting Travel & Entertainment Reimbursements: Receipts Reminder Receipts are no longer required for specific purchases under $75, including meals and taxi/rideshare fares. The "No receipts required under $75" policy applies only to Travel & Entertainment. No receipts are required for purchases under $75, including: Meals Local transportation (taxi, rideshare, public transit, parking) Miscellaneous expenses Gifts to a host while traveling (in lieu of a hotel stay) under $25 Itemized receipts are required for Airfare, Lodging, and Rental Cars, regardless of cost. Backup documentation is required for all reimbursements, regardless of the reimbursement amount, and must always be uploaded in the 'Image Scanning' tab of the eDoc. Backup documentation is not limited to receipts. Examples of backup documentation that are not receipts can include: Meeting Agendas Emails Announcements Invitations Daily Meal and/or Transportation Logs Memos Internal Department Forms Mileage Logs or Google Maps Printouts Mileage Reimbursement – Provide a copy of the Google Map printout or mileage log, regardless of the mileage amount claimed. A Google Maps printout or mileage log is NOT a receipt and is required for all mileage reimbursements. Move & RELOs still require receipts for all reimbursements/payments. Disbursement Vouchers still require receipts for all reimbursements/payments. For more information, visit our website: Reference Guide to Required Supporting Documents. Travel Accounting Travel Update from UC Central Travel Management The following updates are from the UC Central Travel Management team: Complete the Annual Travel Survey The UC Systemwide Travel Program provides travelers across all 10 campuses, as well as our medical and research centers, access to a wide range of value-added benefits—including priority boarding, preferred seating, and other upgrade opportunities. To help us effectively manage and strengthen our partnerships with major airlines, hotels, and car rental companies, we invite you to share your feedback by completing our annual survey by February 20, 2026. Prizes for Completing Survey As a thank-you for your time, survey participants will be entered into a drawing for the following prizes: Grand Prize: Two (2) winners will each receive one (1) United Airlines ticket to anywhere United flies, and Five (5) winners will receive a Southwest Airlines “A-List” status upgrade. Full terms and conditions are available through the survey link. Please note that only UC email addresses are eligible for the prize drawing. Your feedback is essential to the continued success of the travel program, and we truly appreciate your ongoing support. Survey Link: https://survey.alchemer.com/s3/8546502/Annual-Travel-Survey-2025 The deadline for completing the survey is Feb. 20, 2026. Southwest: Boost your Rapid Rewards Tier Status An exciting new UC-exclusive Rapid Rewards promotion gives UC travelers the opportunity to earn up to 7,500 bonus points — and those points also count toward tier status. Registration opens: Jan. 15, 2026 Book & fly between: Jan. 15 – April 15, 202 Here’s how it works: Fly 2 qualifying round trips (or 4 one-way trips) → Earn 5,000 Rapid Rewards bonus points Fly 4 qualifying round trips (or 8 one-way trips) → Earn 7,500 Rapid Rewards bonus points PLUS a Promotional Companion Pass valid for travel between May 1-July31, 2026 Registration link and full terms & conditions can be found here. Eligibility requires registration and booking through UC’s preferred travel program channels (agent, online booking tools, or SWABIZ), with qualifying travel completed by April 15, 2026. American Airlines: Go for Gold American Airlines will auto-approve AAdvantage Gold status for eligible UC travelers — giving you access to priority boarding, preferred seating, and more. Important: This status is valid through March 31, 2026, so be sure to enroll soon and make the most of your benefits. Register on the American Airlines website. Terms and conditions apply. Eligibility and benefits are subject to American Airlines AAdvantage program rules. Alaska Airlines: UC Travelers Benefit in Several Ways Alaska Airlines continues to celebrate its strong partnership with UC by offering exclusive promotions and rewards designed to add value and elevate your travel experience. Seattle (SEA) 50% Bonus Status Points Promotion Earn 50% bonus Status Points when flying qualifying routes to or from Seattle. Register on the Alaska Airlines website. New Member Exclusive Offer: Join Alaska’s Atmos Rewards New Atmos Rewards members can receive $50 off their next flight (CA & HI residents) or $25 off (all other locations) when they join. Make the most of these promotions by enrolling in Atmos Rewards. Register on the Alaska Airlines website. Ongoing Promotions: Fast Track Promotion San Diego (SAN) Fast Track San Diego (SAN) Double Miles Promotion Important: To qualify for these offers, bookings must be made through a preferred travel agency. Find links and contact details in the ConnexUC Travel Portal. Good Stewardship Be accurate and ethical. Report actual costs honestly. Be prudent. Avoid unnecessary or excessive expenses. Stay mission focused. Expenses must serve a clear business purpose. Follow the UC Policy G-28 and IRS regulations. Reimbursements must not be considered taxable income, see page five of the policy. Use the Corporate Travel Card. Pay for travel-related expenses with the UCI Corporate Travel card whenever possible. Choose the best value. UC reimburses for the most economical and commonly used travel options.

UC Irvine Accounting & Fiscal Services 228 Aldrich Hall | Irvine, CA 92697-1050 | accounting.uci.edu

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