Linguistics | College of Liberal Arts
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Entertainment and Meal Reimbursement

Meals with Official Visitors

  • Entertainment expenses are limited to $100/person (including tax and gratuity).  Keep this limit in mind when choosing restaurants as it’s very easy to go over the limit at many venues.
  • Alcohol cannot be more than 50% of the event cost (before tax).  In other words, you can’t spend more on alcohol than on food. 
    • Expenses for alcohol may not be the primary expenditure, that is, greater than the total food expense.  Note: If multiple payment documents are submitted for the same event and alcohol is paid separately, then a copy of all backup documentation related to the event must be included to verify alcohol expense is not greater than food expense.
  • Gratuity cannot exceed 20% of the pre-tax amount.  
    • If you go over the $100 per person limit, the 50% alcohol cap, or the 20% tax limit, the Accounting Office will not reimburse the overage.  
    • To request reimbursement for a meal or entertainment expense, submit the receipt to the front desk (linguisticsreception@austin.utexas.edu) along with a list of attendees and a brief description of the event.

Other Entertainment Purchases 

  • If you are planning an event, check with department staff to determine the best way to arrange rooms, order food, and make any other arrangements.  Do not sign a contract with any vendor yourself; all contracts must be reviewed and signed by the Contracts Office.
  • If you are planning to use the Procard to make any purchases for your event, contact the front desk at least three business days before the purchase as we are required to obtain pre-approval from the college for all entertainment purchases on the Procard. If you check out the Procard to make a purchase, you are responsible for submitting the original receipt and for ensuring that sales tax is not charged on the purchase.  If sales tax is charged, you will have to work with the vendor to get the tax refunded.

All reimbursement requests (travel, meals, or purchases) must be submitted and final approved within 60 days.  The Dean’s Office will no longer approve any late reimbursement requests

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