Per-Person Limits
Recipient
|
Gift or Award Type
|
Per-Person Limit
|
Tax if Limit Exceeded (See Notes)
|
| Employees |
Recognition |
Less than $100 |
1 |
Employees
|
Length of service (tangible personal property only)
|
$400 |
2
|
| Employees |
Retirement (tangible personal property only) |
$400 |
2 |
| Employees |
Raffle prizes and incentives
|
Less than $100 |
1 |
| Non-Employees |
Appreciation, goodwill, recognition, etc |
$250 |
3 |
| Students |
Academic achievement, raffle prizes, incentive, etc. |
Less than $600
|
3 |
| All recipients |
Sympathy—tangible personal property
|
Less than $100
|
1 or 3 |
| All recipients
|
Sympathy—contribution to a tax-exempt organization
|
$250 |
4 |
The gift and award limits do not include incidental costs such as the cost of engraving, packaging, insurance, sales tax, mailing, and the cost of gift wrapping that does not add substantial value to the gift.
Notes:
- If the cost of the gift or award exceeds $100, the entire amount would be reportable on the employee’s IRS Form W-2 as additional wages subject to withholding.
- If the cost of a length of service or retirement award exceeds $400, only the amount in excess of $400 is taxable to the employee as wages.
- If the total cost of all gifts and awards provided to an individual in one calendar year is $600 or more, the entire amount would be reportable to the IRS on Form 1099. In such cases, the department must obtain the name and campus-wide identification number of the recipient or social security number (on a Form W-9) if the recipient is not a University employee or student.
- Since a contribution made to a charity must be made in the name of the University, there are no tax consequences if the limit is exceeded.
