With the exception of the research study participant payments and certain award payments and royalties, all payments for services by employees must be processed through Payroll rather than Accounts Payable. To request payment for these services, a memorandum must be sent to Payroll describing the services, dollars to be paid and account information.
Some business expenses paid to or on behalf of employees may be treated as wages, subject to Form W-2 and payroll tax reporting.
This includes indirect moving expenses, all Cash Gifts or cash equivalents such as gift certificates, gift cards, awards or gifts to employees, some Tangible Gifts and other payments which are considered a taxable benefit. Tangible gifts under $100.00 per occurrence are considered De minimis and will not be taxed. (network access required).
The IRS imposes certain requirements on ӰԺ in order for an employee to receive reimbursement for a business expense. ӰԺ has an Accountable Plan for reimbursement. The Plan requirements, which apply in every instance, are defined below:>
- The amount reimbursed to an employee must be for an expense incurred while performing a service as an employee of ӰԺ. ӰԺ requires a clear business purpose for all reimbursements.
- There must be adequate accounting within a reasonable timeframe. To comply with IRS regulations and facilitate timely Department review and authorization, ӰԺ requires expenses be submitted for reimbursement within 60 days of the date incurred. Reimbursements submitted after 60 days will require written authorization from the Authorized Department Representative or Chairperson. Expenses submitted after six months will not be reimbursed.
- Any excess reimbursement or allowance must be returned within a reasonable period of time. The IRS defines a reasonable amount of time as 120 days.
Provided these three requirements are met, ӰԺ will not consider the reimbursement as taxable income to the employee.