Cash Gifts

All cash gifts and awards given to employees must be included in gross wages.  Requests for cash gifts and awards must be made in writing to Human Resource Services, Attn:  Payroll, so that they can be paid through payroll and included in gross wages.

Non-Cash Gifts

Non-cash gifts and awards given to employees are considered compensation for services and must be included in gross wages unless they are of nominal value; in which case they are treated as “de minimus” fringe benefits and are not considered wages.  “De minimus” fringe benefits are “property or service the value of which is so small as to make accounting for it unreasonable or administratively impractical”.  The frequency with which similar fringes are provided by the employer must be taken into account in determining excludability.”  Whether an item is considered “de minimus” will be addressed on an individual basis.  The payroll office must be notified, in writing, of non-cash gifts and the associated monetary value so that it can be properly included in the employee’s taxable income.