The Foundation’s expenditure policy allows for expenses that have a supportable business purpose and do not result in the personal benefit to any individual, including employees of the University of Georgia. If the Foundation’s Expenditure Control department determines that a UGA employee has derived personal benefit from an expenditure of the Foundation, that information will be reported to the University of Georgia Payroll Department and may be included in the employee’s taxable income reported on their W-2. The Foundation follows the guidelines explained in Internal Revenue Service Publication 15-B (as revised annually). For policies related to non-employees, please see policy 8.17 for reporting income on IRS Form 1099 MISC Income. Given the time needed to compile this information from Foundation expenditures, the period from November 1 to October 31 is used for taxable fringe benefit reporting for each calendar year ending December 31. Expenditures commonly considered to result in benefit to an individual include the following:
- Scholarships/tuition for employees (NOTE: per UGA TAP policy, this type of expense must be paid directly through UGA)
- Spousal travel that is not business-related
- Travel on a chartered plane for employee’s spouse and other family members, if certain qualifications are not met
- Car allowances (to the extent not used for a business purpose)
- Personal portion of social club memberships (social memberships as approved by the Foundation’s Executive Committee)
- Moving expenses (NOTE: UGA Relocation and Moving Expense policy should be followed and the Foundation can only fund certain exceptions)
- Immigration/visa fees
- Personal/unauthorized use of Foundation property
- Athletic tickets not utilized for business purposes
- Entertainment tickets such as dinners, theatre, etc. not utilized for business purposes
- Internet/telecommunications service provider fees (portion not used for business purpose) (NOTE: per UGA Telecommunications Policy, this type of expense must be paid directly through UGA)
- Reimbursements submitted more than 60 calendar days after the expense has been incurred, if reimbursed, are taxable income per the IRS
Any such payments would be reported to UGA Payroll Department and could have an adverse effect on the employee’s W-2 form or year-end paycheck. UGA Payroll Department will determine if any of the above items reported are considered fringe benefits to the employee and the effect it will have on that employee’s W-2 or paycheck. The Foundation complies with UGA policy by reporting all potential fringe benefit type expenses by employee each year by November 30th.
In some cases the amount considered taxable to the employee must be estimated based on percentage used for business and personal purposes, such as car allowances and reimbursements.
Please contact the Foundation for questions regarding potential fringe benefits not listed above.