De Minimis (Minimal) Benefits

You can exclude the value of a de minimis benefit you provide to an employee from the employee's wages. A de minimis benefit is any property or service you provide to an employee that has so little value (taking into account how frequently you provide similar benefits to your employees) that accounting for it would be unreasonable or administratively impracticable. Cash, no matter how little, is never excludable as a de minimis benefit, except for occasional meal money or transportation fare.

Examples of de minimis benefits include the following.

• Copying machine use. Occasional personal use of a company copying machine, if you sufficiently control its use so that at least 85% of its use is for business purposes, is a de minimis benefit.
• Holiday gifts. Holiday gifts, other than cash, with a low fair market value are de minimis benefits.
• Life insurance on spouse or dependent. Group-term life insurance payable on the death of an employee's spouse or dependent is a de minimis benefit if the face amount is not more than $2,000.
• Meals. De minimis meals are discussed under Meals, later.
• Parties and picnics. Occasional parties or picnics for employees and their guests are de minimis benefits.
• Tickets for entertainment or sporting events. Occasional tickets for entertainment or sporting events are de minimis benefits.
• Transportation fare. De minimis transportation fare is discussed under Transportation (Commuting) Benefits, later.
• Typing. Occasional typing of personal letters by a company secretary is a de minimis benefit.

Employee. For this exclusion, treat any recipient of a de minimis benefit as an employee.

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