Business Travel Policy

[Marion Salmon]

#97370

Forum: Community

We have a hybrid work policy with most people working from home. Our Travel Policy says we:
…will reimburse employees for all reasonable, business-related expenses incurred while
travelling on company business.
Travelling to and from a local place of work such as a company office or shared office space is not
considered to be business travel. Expenses such as mileage, taxis or toll charges, etc., related to local
travel to the workplace will not be reimbursed.

BUT, we haven’t defined “local place of business” in terms of distance. Do you have some information or best practices on how far someone would need to travel to be considered ‘not local’ e.g 50+KM, 100+KM …? Thank you!

[Haley O’Halloran]

#97371

That’s a great question! Setting a clear definition of “local” helps avoid ambiguity and ensure fairness in your travel and expense policy.
Given your setup — a non-profit in Canada, with hybrid work, most people working from home, two offices (12-staff location + 30-staff location) — here are factors to consider when defining “local place of business”:

Home vs. Office Travel

You’re saying travel to/from a local place of work (office/shared space) is not business travel for reimbursement. So the key is: when does the travel become business travel vs. a commute to the “local place of business”?

In a hybrid model, the employee’s “regular commute” may vary (home ↔ office; home ↔ client; home ↔ field site). You’ll want to clarify whether home → office is considered commuting (non-reimbursable) and home → field/worksite or remote location beyond a threshold is reimbursable.

Distance / radius threshold

~50 miles (~80 km) is a common threshold in US policies.

In a Canadian context, you might adopt a similar metric (e.g., “within 80 km of the employee’s home” or “within 50 km of the office”).

Alternatively, you could use time/duration (e.g., “travel that takes more than X minutes beyond the regular commute”) or distinct purpose (e.g., required visit to a remote work site).

Because your staff are hybrid, you might also define: if the travel is to a site or a meeting beyond the normal home-to-office commute, then it becomes reimbursable. Define “normal commute” for your organization.

Defining “local place of business”

You might say: “For the purposes of this policy, a local place of business is a worksite/office that is within X km / Y minutes of the employee’s home (or their usual office location). Travel to that site is considered commuting and not reimbursable.”

Then: “Travel beyond that radius (or beyond Y minutes) to perform business-related work at a site/location is considered business travel and may be reimbursed per policy.”

Hybrid nuance: home as “workplace”

Since staff work from home much of the time, the “regular commute” concept becomes more complex. For example: if their home is their regular base, and they travel to the office — is that “commute” or “business travel”?

One approach: establish that home is considered the regular place of work unless expressly required to travel to another site. Then travel from home to office (if the office is designated as a “regular” place of work for them) is considered commuting and non-reimbursable. However, travel from home (or office) to a site beyond the defined “local” radius (or to a remote project/field site) would be reimbursable business travel.

Clarity and equity

Whatever threshold you choose (e.g., 50 km, 75 km, 100 km), spell it out clearly in the policy.

Also clarify what “business related” means (i.e., required site, client meeting, training, etc) vs. regular home‐office commute.

Provide examples in the policy (e.g., “If you travel from your home to the city centre office (10 km) this is commuting; if you travel from your home to the project site 120 km away for a one-day meeting, this qualifies as business travel.”)

Consider local geography in BC (rural vs urban) and employee expectations.

My recommendation for your policy

Given your context (Canadian non-profit, two offices, hybrid home working), I’d suggest the following wording:

“Local Place of Business / Commuting Travel”
For purposes of this policy, travel to a regular work location (office or shared workspace) that is within 75 km (≈ 46 miles) of the employee’s home (or their designated regular work location) will be considered a normal commute and is not eligible for travel reimbursement.
Travel beyond 75 km (or an equivalent defined time, e.g., more than 1 hour one-way) to attend a worksite, client meeting, remote project location, or other business-related site is considered business travel and may be reimbursed for reasonable, business-related expenses.
This threshold may be adjusted by role/location based on operational needs (e.g., remote or field-based staff) and must be approved in writing by the Director/HR manager/Supervisor.

You can adjust the number (e.g., 50 km, 100 km) based on what makes sense for your region, staff spread, and travel patterns. If most staff are within a short distance of the offices (e.g., 20–30 km), you might set a lower threshold; if many commute from further away, you might use 100 km.

Some caveats to watch for

Ensure you define how “distance” is measured (e.g., by road from home address → travel destination using most direct route).

Consider exceptions: what if the travel is outside the “local” threshold but the employee’s home is farther away (e.g., rural)?

Ensure clarity on whether travel from home to office is always non-reimbursable or whether exceptions apply (for example if the employee’s home is remote and the office is the main worksite).

Also, ensure that the policy aligns with any relevant government funder requirements (especially for your non-profit funding). The reference to the federal cost principles in OMB Uniform Guidance 2 CFR 200 states that costs must be consistent with the entity’s written policies.

Keep in mind tax/benefit implications (especially for reimbursement of travel vs commuting). For example, as the IRS says, travel must be “away from the general area of your tax home” for deductions.
IRS
While this is US tax law, similar underlying logic may apply in Canada (CRA views) when assessing the nature of commuting vs business travel.

I hope this helps!

-HRInsider Staff

[Author]

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