Rice University General Policy No.
831-96
PERSONAL USE OF UNIVERSITY
PROPERTY
APPLIES TO ALL RICE UNIVERSITY FACULTY, STAFF, AND
STUDENTS
Property other than automobiles
Property owned by the university is intended to be used for
university business purposes only. This includes telephones,
copiers, fax machines, printers and other equipment provided in the
workplace, as well as computers, cellular phones, pagers and any
other equipment which may be in the employee's custody outside the
workplace.
In the event of occasional personal use which results in
additional cost to the university (copying, personal cellular phone
calls), the employee must reimburse the university for the
additional costs incurred. Personal long distance calls should be
placed from university phones only under unusual circumstances;
when such calls are necessary, they should normally be charged to a
personal credit card.
Because of IRS regulations, special rules apply to university
property in the custody of an employee. Normally, only very minor
personal use incidental to business purposes is allowed. Exceptions
to this policy may only be granted by the Vice President for
Finance and Administration; the employee must provide a written
justification when requesting the exception. If the request is
approved, the employee must track the amount of personal use and
report it to the Controller's Office annually, so that the value
may be added to the employee's W-2 as a taxable fringe benefit.
Automobiles
Detailed IRS regulations apply to the use of university
automobiles. Therefore, for all automobiles and other vehicles
owned by, leased by, or lent to the University, the following rules
will be observed:
1. Personal use of University
automobiles is a taxable fringe benefit and an appropriate amount
will be included in the gross income of each employee receiving
this benefit.
2. Unless special arrangements are made with the University Risk
Manager, University automobiles must be removed from the campus at
night. As a result, employees using University automobiles are
required to commute to and from work.
3. Personal use must be limited to commuting and de minimus
personal use (such as a stop for a personal errand between a
business trip and the employee's home). Exceptions to this policy
must be requested in writing from the Vice President for Finance
and Administration.
4. Record keeping requirements are detailed in the procedures
document. Employees in possession of university vehicles will be
classified in one of two categories:
a) Category I employees are those who
are not officers of the University, whose salary is under $100,000,
who have a valid business reason for having a university
automobile, and whose personal use is limited to commuting and de
minimus personal use.
b) Category II employees are those who are university officers,
those whose salary exceeds $100,000, those who do not have a valid
business reason for having a university automobile, or those who
have been authorized to use a university vehicle for personal use.
Any employee who does not meet all four tests for Category I is a
Category II employee.
5. The amount added to income for each class of employee will be
determined as specified in the IRS regulations. The university has
elected not to withhold federal income tax on this income;
therefore, the employee is responsible for insuring that his/her
withholding and estimated tax payments are adequate to avoid
penalties and interest for underpayments. On the final paycheck of
each calendar year, FIC and FIM (formerly FICA) will be deducted as
applicable.
Special Accounting Period
In accordance with IRS regulations, the University has elected
to adopt a special accounting period for purposes of calculating
the amount which will be added to income for personal use of
university property. All reporting will be based on a year which
begins November 1 and ends October 31. Income for this period will
be added to the employee's W-2 in December of the year in which the
reporting period ends.
Policy No. 831-96
October 3, 1996