Travel payments reportable on Schedule E include advances and reimbursements for travel and related expenses, including lodging and meals.

Gifts of travel may be subject to the gift limit. In addition, certain travel payments are reportable gifts, but are not subject to the gift limit. To avoid possible misinterpretation or the perception that you have received a gift in excess of the gift limit, you may wish to provide a specific description of the purpose of your travel. (See the FPPC fact sheet entitled “Limitations and Restrictions on Gifts, Honoraria, Travel, and Loans” to read about travel payments under section 89506(a).)

You are not required to disclose.

• Travel payments received from any state, local, or federal government agency for which you provided services equal or greater in value than the payments received, such as reimbursement for travel on agency business from your government agency employer.
• A payment for travel from another local, state, or federal government agency and related per diem expenses when the travel is for education, training or other inter-agency programs or purposes.
• Travel payments received from your employer in the normal course of your employment that are included in the income reported on Schedule C.
• A travel payment that was received from a nonprofit entity exempt from taxation under Internal Revenue Code Section 501(c)(3) for which you provided equal or greater consideration, such as reimbursement for travel on business for a 501(c)(3) organization for which you are a board member.

Note: Certain travel payments may not be reportable if reported via email on Form 801 by your agency.

To Complete Schedule E

• Disclose the full name (not an acronym) and address of the source of the travel payment.
• Identify the business activity if the source is a business entity.
• Check the box to identify the payment as a gift or income, report the amount, and disclose the date(s).
  • Travel payments are gifts if you did not provide services that were equal to or greater in value than the payments received. You must disclose gifts totaling $50 or more from a single source during the period covered by the statement. When reporting travel payments that are gifts, you must provide a description of the gift, the date(s) received, and the travel destination.
  • Travel payments are income if you provided services that were equal to or greater in value than the payments received. You must disclose income totaling $500 or more from a single source during the period covered by the statement. You have the burden of proving the payments are income rather than gifts. When reporting travel payments as income, you must describe the services you provided in exchange for the payment. You are not required to disclose the date(s) for travel payments that are income.

Example 1

City council member MaryClaire Chandler is the chair of a 501(c)(6) trade association, and the association pays for her travel to attend its meetings. Because MaryClaire is deemed to be providing equal or greater consideration for the travel payment by virtue of serving on the board, this payment may be reported as income. Payments for MaryClaire to attend other events for which she is not providing services are likely considered gifts. Note that the same payment from a 501(c)(3) would NOT be reportable.

The image shows that City council member MaryClaire Chandler entered Health Services Trade Association in the name of source field. 1230 K Street, Suite 610 in the address field, Sacramento, CA in the city and state field, Association of Healthcase Workers in the describe business activity field, and $550 in the amount field. She checked on the Income checkbox and the other radio button, and entered Travel reimbursement for board meeting in the other description field.

Example 2

Mayor Kim travels to China on a trip organized by China Silicon Valley Business Development, a California nonprofit, 501(c)(6) organization. The Chengdu Municipal People’s Government pays for Mayor Kim’s airfare and travel costs, as well as his meals and lodging during the trip. The trip’s agenda shows that the trip’s purpose is to promote job creation and economic activity in China and in Silicon Valley, so the trip is reasonably related to a governmental purpose. Thus, Mayor Kim must report the gift of travel, but the gift is exempt from the gift limit. In this case, the travel payments are not subject to the gift limit because the source is a foreign government and because the travel is reasonably related to a governmental purpose. (Section 89506(a)(2).) Note that Mayor Kim could be disqualified from participating in or making decisions about The Chengdu Municipal People’s Government for 12 months. Also note that if China Silicon Valley Business Development (a 501(c)(6) organization) paid for the travel costs rather than the governmental organization, the payments would be subject to the gift limits. (See the FPPC fact sheet, Limitations and Restrictions on Gifts, Honoraria, Travel and Loans, at www.fppc.ca.gov.)

The image shows that Mayor Kim entered Chengdu Municipal People's Government in the name of source field, 2 Caoshi St, CaoShiJie, Qingyang Qu, Chengdu Shi, in the address field, Sichuan Sheng, China, 610000 in the city and state field, September 4th and September 8th in the date field, and $3874.38 in the amount field. He checked on the gift checkbox and other radio button. He entered Travel reimbursement for trip to China in the other's description field, and Sichuan Sheng, China in the travel destination field.

End of Title Page, Schedule E, Travel Payments, Advances, and Reimbursements Instructions, HTML text-only version of Form 700, Years 2021 and 2022