USAF Adjusts TDY Expense Policy

The Air Force announced two temporary duty policy changes targeting travel reimbursements. The first change, which took effect Oct. 1, affects incidental travel expenses. Under new regulations, expenses for laundry in the contiguous US, tips to baggage handlers by uniformed members, and ATM fees are now considered incidental expenses and are not reimbursable as separate miscellaneous expenses. Instead, these expenses are on a list that includes other items such as tips to porters, baggage carriers, hotel maids, stewards, and stewardesses. The proposed changes will have little impact on service members, states an Oct. 8 release, which notes a review of travel vouchers revealed only 13 percent claimed ATM fees, four percent claimed CONUS laundry and less than one percent claimed transportation tips (the rate for incidental expenses will remain at $5 a day for CONUS locations and vary outside CONUS). The second change will affect flat-rate per diem expenses based on length of TDY stay, and take effect Nov. 1. A variable scale of reimbursement for travel days is now in place, depending on length. The new policy encourages service members to take advantage of cost saving for long-term travel—spending more than 31 days in a TDY location, for example. For more information on the changes, see the Defense Travel Management System website.