A new university policy has been approved regarding cell phones. The full policy is included as a link on the right and also available at: http://www.usu.edu/hr/policies/section500/518.pdf. Although the new policy is effective immediately, it is expected that the implementation will be gradual over the next three to four months. The purpose of this policy is to eliminate IRS tax concerns related to the personal use of employer-provided cell phones.
The main concept of the new policy is the introduction of a cell phone allowance paid to employees whose job functions require the frequent use of a cell phone. The allowance amount will be paid to an employee as compensation for the business use of a personal cell phone rather than the employee receiving a university provided cell phone. The allowance amount will be paid through the payroll process and will be included in the employee’s taxable income. This change will allow the employee to use the phone for both business and personal use since the cell phone plan will be a personal plan, not a university plan.
In order to simplify the transition process, representatives from Verizon, AT&T/Cingular, Sprint, and T-Mobile have provided basic information on voice and data plans as well as other popular options. A link to the plan comparison sheet is available on the right. (A downloadable Microsoft Excel file is also available.) Each provider has also offered discounted pricing for USU employees that closely matches the discounts currently offered to the university. In order to receive the discounted pricing, it is imperative that employees contact the appropriate educational representative listed on the plan comparison sheet.
If you have additional questions that are not answered in the Frequently Asked Questions, please contact the IT Service Desk (435.797.HELP).
Verizon |
AT&T (Cingular) |
Sprint |
T-Mobile |
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Current Verizon customer, Current Verizon customer,
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David Wolsey |
Rana Aguirre |
Karen Barton |
