Reimbursement Policy

Please complete this form (link below) and upload your itemized receipts within 30 days after the last day of the program you attended at NITMB.  

https://www.nitmb.org/convening-activities/reimbursement

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ELIGIBILITY

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To be eligible for reimbursement you must be a funded participant in an NITMB program (Conferences, Workshops, SURP, etc.). NITMB does not reimburse travel expenses for family members or additional research group members - only those individuals invited and accepted to attend as a funded participant an NITMB conference, workshop, or another program. 

 

To be eligible for travel reimbursement, you must live over 50 miles from the workshop or activity event site. 

 

You must provide a receipt for each expense showing 1) the date of the charge; and 2) method of payment (usually this means the last four digits of a credit card number). t. All receipts must be itemized. Your reimbursement will be processed and paid by either Northwestern University or The University of Chicago in accordance with its travel policy and procedures. If you are not able to submit an itemized receipt, NITMB cannot reimburse your expenses. 

 

The reimbursement guidelines for the most common types of travel expenses are as follows: 

 

1. FLIGHTS:

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Flights to attend an NITMB workshop are typically booked through Travel100 although some programs may allow participants to book travel themselves and be reimbursed at the conclusion of the event 

 

If you are booking your own flight, please review the following requirements PRIOR TO your purchase. If your chosen flight does not meet any of the following criteria, please find an alternate flight or seek pre-approval for an exception through our Pre-Approval Request Form. (https://app.smartsheet.com/b/form/f5b16a8dac734564b1fd2a77c9892e7c.) 

 

All flights must: 

1) Be booked by a US carrier*;  

2) Be booked at least 14 days in advance of the NITMB event;  

3) Be economy seating only; 

4) Be a round-trip, direct flight from your home or home institution to Chicago; 

5) Include no more than one bag of checked luggage per person per flight; and 

6) Not be purchased with airline travel certificated or vouchers. 

 

For workshop participants, flights must additionally: 

1) Be a maximum of $1,200 dollars for international participants; or 

2) Be a maximum of $800 for domestic participants; and 

3) Arrive in Chicago 1 day before or the first day of a workshop; and 

4) Depart from Chicago on the last day of a workshop or the day after the end of the workshop

 

*For a list of US carriers, please follow this link and click on the Cert Carrier List document link: 

https://www.transportation.gov/policy/aviation-policy/certificated-air-carriers-list Due to the nature of our grant, NITMB is only able to reimburse for flights booked in accordance with the Fly America Act. 

 

NITMB cannot reimburse airline travel certificates or vouchers.  

 

2. HOTELS:

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Hotel rooms may be booked in advance by the workshop at no cost to the participant until the hotel block is filled. 

 

If a workshop has no hotel block or the block is filled, participants must book their own lodgings and NITMB will only reimburse up to the gsa.gov rates for Chicago, IL. Note: Hotel Invoices must show nightly rates, as GSA rates apply a maximum to per-night costs. 

 

https://www.gsa.gov/travel/plan-book/per-diem-rates/per-diem-rates-results?action=perdiems_report&city=Chicago&fiscal_year=2025&state=IL&zip=

 

3. GROUND TRANSPORTATION:

 

3.1 Taxi/Uber/Lyft/etc: Ground transportation up to $250.00, to/from home to airport and to/from airport to hotel is reimbursable; this may include parking at airport. Ground transportation to/from dining is not reimbursable. 

 

3.2 Driving to NITMB: Driving with a personal vehicle to NITMB is automatically approved if the proposed route from your home to NITMB (875 N Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60611) is under 300 miles away, and will be reimbursed at the current IRS rate of $0.70/mile. You will need to provide NITMB with a map of your anticipated route showing mileage prior to the event. 

 

If the route is over 300 miles away, provide (1) a map showing the anticipated route and (2) a screenshot of a comparable round trip economy flight for the same dates taken at least 14 days in advance. NITMB will likely not be able to fully reimburse the cost of driving if the cost of driving calculated at $0.70/mile exceeds the cost of the example flight. You can send this request to reimbursements@nitmb.org. 

 

Traveling with a personal vehicle to and from the airport to your home is also reimbursable. 

 

Parking at NITMB if using ground transportation is reimbursable up to a total amount of $250 on ground transportation costs. 

 

3.3 Rental Cars: NITMB does not reimburse car rentals. 

 

3.4. Bus and/or Train: NITMB will reimburse the cost of economy/coach fare for alternative modes of transportation (e.g. buses or trains) to Chicago, up to the amount of a round trip airline ticket from the same location or $300, whichever is greater. 

 

You will need to provide a screen shot or pdf documentation of a comparable round-trip airline ticket from the same location with your reimbursement submission. We highly recommend you secure this documentation prior to traveling. 

 

The bus and/or train receipt/ticket must show dates of travel, the company name, and a transaction receipt of the amount paid. 

 

5. RECEIPTS:

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Itemized receipts (e.g. meals, flights, ground transportation) are required. Receipts must also show proof of payment, the last four digits of your credit card; if payment information is missing from receipt a copy of your redacted credit card bill showing the amount is acceptable. Per diem reimbursements are not an option. Meals are reimbursed at gsa.gov rates for Chicago, IL. 

 

6. ALCOHOL and ENTERTAINMENT:

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Neither alcoholic beverage nor entertainment expenses will be reimbursed. Please remove them from your request. ​

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7. CURRENCY:

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Report all expenses in the currency used to pay them. Your reimbursement will be processed and paid in US Dollars. If you paid in another currency we use OANDA to determine the conversion. Your reimbursement will be mailed directly to the address you provide on the reimbursement request form. Direct deposit can be facilitated with a personal email address linked with a US bank account. Upon request, wires in US Currency can be arranged for international travelers - please note, there is a fee charged for international wire transfers and this will be removed from your total reimbursement. 

 

8: POSTER PRINTING:

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Poster printing is not reimbursable. Please remove them from your request. ​

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9. DOCUSIGN:

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After review of your receipts, we will send you a reimbursement request form via Docusign for signature, and, if needed, a W-9 form. Docusign emails are often miscategorized as spam; please remember to check your spam folder. You do not need a Docusign account to sign. 

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10. FORMAT:

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Please upload all documents as PDFs.

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11. PROCESSING TIME:

All reimbursement requests MUST be received within 30 days from the last date of travel. 

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Please email reimbursements@nitmb.org if you have any questions, with the name of your workshop and your name in the subject line.