Problematic Expense Guide - A to Z
- Cell Phone Expense Reimbursement – The direct reimbursement to employees for University business use of their personal cell phones, related equipment, supplies or service is prohibited, although the University does instead offer a Cell Phone Allowance Program for employees paid through UNM Payroll which is intended to cover these costs.
- The Reason this is Unallowable – While reimbursing University employees for the business use of their personal cell phones isn’t a direct violation of law or policy, there can be taxable implications for employees without proper documentation. In addition, it is also cumbersome to process 12 monthly reimbursements per year per employee. As an alternative to direct reimbursement of these expenses, the University instead offers a much more user-friendly Cell Phone Allowance Program which pays recipients an automatic monthly allowance on their UNM paycheck through Payroll. The documentation for the allowance substantiates the business need for the payment in order to exempt the employee from income tax.
- Possible Allowable Alternatives - Try this Instead:
- UNM Cell Phone Allowance Program – Monthly allowance paid to employee through Payroll for business portion use of their personal cell phones.
- As an alternative, UNM Information Technologies offers Cell phones & Cellular service plans which can be purchased for University business use.
- The Reason this is Unallowable – While reimbursing University employees for the business use of their personal cell phones isn’t a direct violation of law or policy, there can be taxable implications for employees without proper documentation. In addition, it is also cumbersome to process 12 monthly reimbursements per year per employee. As an alternative to direct reimbursement of these expenses, the University instead offers a much more user-friendly Cell Phone Allowance Program which pays recipients an automatic monthly allowance on their UNM paycheck through Payroll. The documentation for the allowance substantiates the business need for the payment in order to exempt the employee from income tax.
