When it comes to employee recognition awards, it's important to understand the tax implications. In general, rewards, bonuses, and gifts are taxable, with some limited exceptions. Cash rewards for exceptional performance are considered taxable income for employees, and non-cash gifts for the duration of service or safety awards are accepted, provided they are not too valuable. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) states that cash awards and the fair market value of non-monetary awards are generally subject to federal income tax withholding and to FICA and FUTA taxes.
However, the cost of awarding tangible personal assets under the limits set by the IRS is not taxable for the employee. All other prizes are considered compensatory, including travel and gift certificates, and are subject to payroll taxes. Similarly, awards of tangible personal property awarded to employees for security reasons are not considered employee income if the value of the compensation does not exceed the limits specified in the Internal Revenue Code. Incentive companies must be very careful that awards for security achievements qualify for preferential tax treatment under section 274 (j) of the Code, or the employer could lose its deduction and be responsible for paying additional overtime to its employees under the FLSA, and the employee may need to include compensation in their income.
The IRS defines the employee achievement award to include specific terms for seniority of service awards, security awards, and awards given during significant presentations. The company must present the awards with enough fuss to show that they are special, not just a sneaky form of tax-free wage awards. For example, an incentive grant will not qualify for favorable tax treatment if it is granted at the same time as the annual wage adjustments are made or if it is used as a substitute for a cash bonus program. By giving employees the option of distributing the withholding attributable to the reimbursement of an award over several pay periods or, alternatively, allowing employees to include the value of a non-monetary award in income at the time they receive a cash bonus, employers can help alleviate some of the negative cash flow problems caused by withholding additional non-cash benefits.
Seniority awards awarded to a person before five years or two awards have elapsed in a five-year period are fully taxable. Tangible golf clubs, a tablet, a watch or Godiva chocolates may be exempt from taxation if they are not awarded for their achievements but rather as a reward for safety or seniority. The most common problems with security achievement plans are that rewards are sometimes awarded to more than 10% of eligible employees, or that the prizes are not merchandise or other tangible personal assets (e.g., travel, vacations, meals, lodging, tickets to theater or sporting events). If you receive several awards in a year, those figures apply to the total amount received rather than each individual award. Assuming that points are exclusive to an employer's rewards program and that an employee cannot transfer them, they only have value in the context of that program under which they were awarded.
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