24+ Sample Travel Receipts

What Is a Travel Receipt?

A travel receipt is like your average official receipt that displays the value of costs and different purchases made in a transaction; however, what makes it different from other receipts is that only travel expenses are covered in a travel receipt. This is basically an itemized document that houses the costs of plane tickets, lodging, and other examples spent during the tour. In the case of business travel expenses, a travel receipt is required if there is a need to reimburse the said expenses afterward.

Why Are Travel Receipts Important?

A travel receipt is created and designed carefully, meaning its content is more than just for aesthetic display as it is mainly used to inform about travel costs or spending. Along with the travel itinerary, you’d better prepare copies of travel receipts from now on because of the following essential reasons:

Standard Requirement for Reimbursement

The Internal Revenue of Service or IRS made it clear that an official travel receipt is needed to comply with the reimbursement requirements. In case you’ll come across an international business tour that takes a lot of your personal money to cover the whole travel budget, be sure to specify with your company if you will get reimbursed. As you receive the go signal, track and keep all your receipts during the whole travel period and collate them in a travel receipt so the company would know how much they owe you back.

Official Acknowledgment of Travel Expenses

Like an acknowledgment receipt, a travel receipt acknowledges all expenses you made. Keep the receipt as your official evidence when asked if you actually went on tour as promised or if how much money you said you spent throughout the journey is actually true. You’ll appreciate travel receipts for being transparent about the breakdown of figures from the start and end date of your venture.

Has Important Policies of Expenses to Cover

A travel receipt itself is a nuanced document, meaning it has a lot of intricate details and significant policies to cover besides simply noting the expenses you made during a venture. Don’t take the policies for granted because, for example, certain rental car mileage logs, meals, and credit card statements might not be covered. Know what’s allowed or not allowed to cover or reimburse first such as how package deals are generally unfit for reimbursements.

Easy Tracking and Monitoring of Travel Expenses

Similar to any type of business receipt, the travel receipt contains expenses and other crucial data used for tracking or monitoring. Refer to the travel receipt anytime in checking how much total costs, taxes, deductibles, and other expenses were. Besides the spending amount, you can even track the travel schedules or dates as well, thus, making the document more important than just a piece of blank paper.

The Travel Expenses to Outline in Every Travel Receipt

Indeed, it has been reiterated how travel receipts recognize the many travel expenses made by a person or a group of people, but what exactly are they? Expect an average travel receipt to outline the following aspects:

Transportation Costs: The most notable expense to cover in a travel receipt is the transportation cost. This factor highlights airfare or flight ticket receipts, boat fee receipts, bus ticket receipts, taxi receipts, and other legitimate documents for different modes of transportation used while traveling.Lodging: When a journey takes two or more days, you are likely going to stay somewhere temporarily may it be a lodge or apartment. Lodging expenses should be highlighted in the receipt such as inserting the hotel receipts, motel receipts, or any other location you pay to sleep for the night; mention the nightly rate, taxes, payment method, etc.Rental Car: Car rentals or any type of vehicle rental are where you jot down the mileage, hourly or daily cost, etc. The original bill, payment invoice, and receipt would be required if the entire vehicle rental expenses total to $75 or more.Meals and Tips: Not all meals require receipts but meals and incidentals should at least be noted, such as using a tracking log as your meal expense organizer. Also, consider the difference in reimbursement policies between domestic travel and international travel because policies may differ.Package Deals: Check the main sample itinerary to be more specific about every cost involved in a travel package deal. A travel agency may give you the total amount but when it comes to reimbursement claims, specific costs should be named one by one.Work Equipment Rental: Those who are taking a business trip might need to rent office equipment or pay for fax service, word processing, and other examples. Be sure to list down what other work items are rented in the travel equipment receipt.Miscellaneous: Other items not yet mentioned would fall under miscellaneous. Examples enlisted here include the monthly delivery fee, passport fee, storage or excess baggage fee, reservation or booking fee, registration fee receipt, etc.

What Are the Inclusions of a Standard Travel Receipt?

There is more to a travel receipt than just the product list of travel expenses. As seen on most standard receipts, travel receipts generally have the following inclusions:

Title

Don’t make people guess what type of Important business document you are submitting because even a receipt has a number of different types. On the top part of the document, input the title clearly which is “Travel Receipt.” The title is often written in bold and capital letters for easy distinction.

Dates

Besides the price list , showcase the dates of the journey as well as when payments were made. There are many dates to cover such as how many days a business tour went, when was the arrival and departure time of a flight, or the exact time and date of any other receipt attached to the travel receipt. Highlight those dates for tracking purposes.

Name of Traveler

Who is traveling in the first place? Write the traveler’s name or all the travelers if there is more than one person in the entire expedition. Don’t forget other supporting details such as the job position, address, contact list, email address, and other identifiers.

List of Expenses

The meat of the travel receipt would be travel expenses which were discussed earlier. Be sure to present them in an easy-to-read manner such as using Unit Circle Charts & Diagrams, or tables in grouping the different travel expenses. Also, mind the calculations involved for those expenses because any incorrect detail may bring trouble later on.

Recipient’s Name and Signature

To acknowledge that everything written in the travel receipt is true or confirmed, affix your name and signature at the bottommost part of the document. This part clarifies that you have reviewed and promised that you are being truthful with the data of your travel receipt. In some cases, there could be extra space to write DAP notes on the travel receipt.

How to Make an Effective Travel Receipt

Now that everything is perfectly clear as to what a travel receipt is, why it is essential, or what its standard inclusions or Value list of expenses are, it is time for the real deal. In just six simple steps, learn how to create a travel receipt that works according to professional standards.

Step 1: Determine the Right Size for the Document

A travel receipt is often bigger than standard purchase receipts because there are lots of travel expenses to summarize in the document. Hence, the appropriate sizes to use for a travel receipt document follow the three main standard paper sizes. You can use either the letter (8.5″ × 11″), legal (8.5″ × 14″), or A4 (8.3″ × 11.7″) travel receipt size. The document size matters a lot because maybe you end up with the wrong size which makes texts hard to read or end up with an incomprehensible format.

Step 2: Consider the Purpose of Making the Receipt

You might be concerned about making a travel receipt to fulfill a reimbursement requirement, to make an official travel expense report for your company, to support your proof of traveling, or any other reason. Nonetheless, remembering your purpose in making the receipt is important so you won’t lose track of how the content and layout of your travel receipt should be. Focus on those goals so you’ll know how to ace a travel receipt that meets your purpose shortly.

Step 3: Download and Edit a Sample Travel Receipt Template

Check out any of the travel receipt samples enlisted in this article. Choose your preferred template to work with, especially the one that you can mold and fit your purpose. Then, edit the format, content, and overall design review of your travel receipt template so you can make it your own.

Step 4: Complete the Inclusions of the Travel Receipt

Insert the standard inclusions of the travel receipt which are the title, date, traveler’s name, list of expenses, etc. Then, use graphic organizers such as tables in presenting the categories of expenses because that is how you achieve an easy-to-follow document. Never miss out on important travel expenses because those are the main dish of your receipt.

Step 5: Print the Document or Send It as an Email

Once you are done designing the whole travel receipt, don’t forget to finalize the format and it is ready to print. Print the file whether you use MS Word, PDF, or any other version applicable. Or, you just save a soft copy of the travel receipt and send the file to the management or supervisor via email and Pdf.

FAQs

How much does the IRS require receipts?

IRS requires receipts for expenses below $75 but be sure to be updated with the current policies as they may change.

How long should I keep my travel receipts?

The IRS suggests that any official receipt you have should be kept for up to three years in case you’ll be asked for proof.

What are other alternatives for receipts when it comes to proof of expenses?

Canceled checks, bank accounts, credit card statements, debit statements, and other financial Affidavit records are acceptable alternatives to verify certain expenses.

How much travel expenses can I claim?

Business trips allow you to deduct 100% of travel costs no matter what mode of transportation you use, as long as it was already part of your common agreement.

Does IRS accept photos of receipts?

Yes, scanned pictures or digital images of receipts are acceptable as long as they contain the official receipt contents.

What can be used as alternatives for the proof of travel?

Proof of travel plans can be confirmed using plane tickets, business letters, or HR employment letters.

Traveling can either be fun, exhausting, or just another ordinary experience, but if you know that you’d be reimbursed or are responsible to record your whole travel journey for financial or work purposes, be a responsible traveler. Always track of your expenses while traveling, keep copies of different payment receipts during the expedition, and create a detailed travel receipt afterward. Thankfully, you’ll have a breezy experience since downloadable and editable sample travel receipt templates make your job quick and easy.