Description

University funds cannot be used to purchase gift cards or certificates from any account including PCard, expense reimbursement, hosting, supplier invoice request, journal, or travel expense.

What are gift cards and certificates?

Gift cards and certificates are prepayments for goods or services that can be transferred to one individual or another. These may or may not be for specific items.

Some examples include:

  • Gift cards and certificates at any retail store, including on-campus locations

  • Car wash coupons

  • Food service tickets for university or non-university locations

  • Movie passes

Policy

Internal Revenue Service (IRS) regulations place strict reporting requirements on the university when persons, be they faculty, staff, students, independent service providers, or volunteers, receive gifts of miscellaneous income. Gift cards and certificates are considered miscellaneous income by the IRS.

We are unable to accurately report these payments for tax purposes.

  • The purchase of gift certificates and certificates are not permitted from any university operating account.

  • Gift cards, gift certificates, coupons, prepayments, (and anything similar in nature) may not be given as awards or incentives to employees and others.

  • If these items are purchased by an individual, they will not be reimbursed.

  • Requests for these items will be returned to the submitter or department, noting that they cannot be paid.

  • Questions concerning this policy may be directed to accountspayable@unlv.edu or 702-895-1157.

Monetary Awards

Please contact Human Resources for directions on issuing a monetary award to a UNLV employee.

Contact Accounts Payable for issuing monetary awards for a student, volunteer, or another person. The individual must register on (payment registration system) and the department needs to submit a Supplier Invoice Request through the UNLV financial system.

Please contact the Office of Research Integrity regarding the UNLV procedure for providing, monitoring, and reporting research participant incentives reimbursements. The following links will provide some basic information:

Non-Monetary Awards

Non-monetary awards/giveaways are periodically awarded by departments to contest winners during a campus promotional event or activity. Awards/giveaways are required to be reported to the IRS when the value(s) accumulate to $600 or more. Individuals accepting an award/giveaway must complete a Non-Cash Giveaways Form and submit it to Accounts Payable. A form is required for every giveaway, regardless of the amount. Questions may be directed to accountspayable@unlv.edu or 702-895-1157.

Please review policies regarding hosting purchases on the Hosting Policy webpage.