Cell phones and other portable electronic resources (commonly referred to as “tech tools”) are necessary for certain university employees to perform their business responsibilities. The Tech Tools Policy provides units with the flexibility to provide cell phones and other portable electronic resources to employees when there is a legitimate business need, while complying with current tax rules and regulations.
Under the Tech Tools Policy, units may choose to provide employees with stipends to compensate for business use of personal cell phones, up to a maximum of $600 per year. For bi-weekly employees, the usual maximum per-pay period stipend is $23.07, based on the usual 26 pay periods in a year.
In FY 2023, however, there are 27 bi-weekly pay periods instead of 26. Units must adjust the amount of employees’ bi-weekly stipends with Payroll for FY 2023 to not exceed the maximum annual stipend of $600. This affects employees paid bi-weekly only, not staff paid monthly (the maximum monthly stipend remains $50/month).
Units must ensure that the total annual stipend per employee does not exceed $600 per fiscal year. For more information on the Tech Tools Policy, please visit this webpage.