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Outbyte PC Repair FREEClear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Outbyte Driver Updater FREEFix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Billable travel time is time a business may charge to a client under the applicable agreement; nonbillable travel time is not charged to that client. Those labels do not decide whether an employee must be paid. Under the U.S. federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), some travel that cannot be billed to a client may still count as paid work time. Keep the client-invoice decision separate from the employee-pay decision, and check the trip, applicable law, worker status, contract, and billing policy.
What the two terms mean
- Billable to a client: The engagement terms and any applicable billing rules allow the provider to charge the client for the travel time.
- Nonbillable to a client: The provider does not charge that client for the time, whether because the agreement excludes it, a policy requires a nonbillable code, or the provider chooses not to invoice it.
- Compensable to an employee: The time counts as work time for wage purposes under applicable employment law.
Client billability and employee compensation are separate questions. A business may owe an employee wages for travel even when it cannot invoice the client for that time.
When U.S. federal law generally treats employee travel as work time
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) summarizes the federal baseline this way: “Time spent traveling during normal work hours is considered compensable work time.” The details depend on the trip and what the employee is doing; the summary does not mean every trip is paid. See the DOL’s Travel Time guidance and Fact Sheet #22: Hours Worked Under the Fair Labor Standards Act.
Ordinary home-to-work commute
Travel from home to the employee’s regular workplace, and the return trip, is generally ordinary commuting and not hours worked under the federal baseline. But work duties or other specific facts may affect the analysis.
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Travel between work locations during the day
Travel from one job site to another during the workday generally counts as work time. The DOL says this applies even when the employee is a passenger or uses an employer-provided vehicle.
One-day assignment in another city
Travel for a special one-day assignment in another city is generally work time, but the employer may subtract the time the employee would normally spend commuting to the regular worksite. The treatment is not necessarily the same as an ordinary commute.
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Overnight travel
For overnight travel, time that cuts across the employee’s normal working hours generally counts as work time. For travel outside those hours, the DOL describes an enforcement policy that generally does not count passenger time on an airplane, train, boat, bus, or automobile, subject to conditions such as whether the employee performs work. The transport mode, timing, and whether the employee is working or relieved from duty matter.
Work during a commute or between locations
Work-related duties can change how a travel segment is treated. In a July 22, 2026 announcement, the DOL described opinion letters about voluntary mid-day travel between home and an office where work occurs at both locations, and an employee who receives pages, schedules appointments, and drives from home to the first client appointment. The letters address their particular facts, not every commute or home-to-client trip. Consult the full FLSA2026-10 opinion letter before applying its analysis to a different situation; the announcement is available from the DOL.
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How to decide whether travel can be billed to a client
There is no universal client-billing rule in the federal wage-hour guidance. Check the documents and policies that govern the engagement rather than assuming that employee-pay rules set the invoice treatment.
- Read the signed agreement and statement of work, plus any client procurement or outside-counsel billing guidelines.
- Check whether travel is charged at the full hourly rate, a reduced rate, a flat fee, or not charged; determine whether local and long-distance trips are treated differently.
- Look for client-approval or preauthorization requirements and any distance threshold.
- Confirm whether travel time and travel expenses—such as mileage, airfare, lodging, and meals—are handled separately.
- Apply the worker’s correct timekeeping and pay rules independently of the client invoice policy.
A 2005 SEC-filed professional-services agreement illustrates how specific terms can be: it provides for travel beyond 25 miles from the firm’s office to be billed at half the listed rates, while travel below 25 miles is not charged. That is one negotiated contract, not a general market rule or legal requirement. See the filed agreement.
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Keep travel records that support pay and invoices
Record travel as distinct segments so payroll and billing can apply their separate rules. A useful log identifies the employee, date, client or project, origin and destination, purpose, duration, and any work performed while traveling. Track mileage and other expenses separately from hours, and note any client approval or billing-rate rule applied.
For federal procurement, FAR 31.205-33 addresses allowable professional and consultant service costs and calls for support such as agreement details, actual service information, and invoices or billings with sufficient detail about time spent and services performed. This federal procurement rule is not a universal requirement for private client arrangements. See FAR 31.205-33.
A practical way to classify a specific trip
- Identify the decision: Are you determining employee wages, client invoicing, or both? Make each decision separately.
- Break the journey into segments: Distinguish ordinary commuting, travel to a special assignment, travel between work sites, and overnight travel.
- Check timing and duties: Note whether each segment falls during normal working hours and whether the employee worked, had to remain available, or was relieved from duty.
- Apply the employment rules: Check federal, state, and local law, worker classification, collective agreements, and any applicable employment terms.
- Apply the client terms: Use the engagement’s rate, threshold, expense treatment, and approval requirements to determine what may be invoiced.
- Document the result: Keep the travel hours, work performed, expenses, and client-billing treatment clear enough to explain both the payroll record and the invoice.
The DOL materials provide a U.S. federal baseline, not a fifty-state survey or an international rule. State and local law, worker status, collective bargaining agreements, employment terms, industry rules, and contract language can affect an individual outcome. Fact Sheet #22 is general compliance assistance and says it is not an official position with the force and effect of law; a specific wage dispute may require advice based on its facts.
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