The university has published guidelines on the submission of requests for stipends or reimbursements related to business costs incurred by employees for home internet or cell phone access charges. The guidelines are available as a supplement to the existing Employee and University Guest Reimbursement policy. Employees have two options when seeking a reimbursement for these charges:
Taxable stipend: Payable through payroll, this option requires an annual authorization application in which the employee and manager agree on an estimated monthly amount based on per diem rates outlined in the guidelines. This stipend will remain in effect for one calendar year, at which point the stipend must be requested and authorized again. This option is only available to full-time faculty and staff.
Non-taxable reimbursement: Employees may also submit monthly reimbursement requests via BlueSky for actual cell phone or internet access charges. This includes all relevant support -- monthly statement and percentage of business use calculation. These requests may be submitted using the Expense Module (Home > Me > Expenses) and selecting the template “DePaul Travel and Procurement," type “Mobile Benefit – Reimbursement Use Only." Maximum reasonable reimbursement amounts have been established in the guidelines. This option is available to all employees incurring access charges for home internet or cell phone service while conducting university business.
New requests for stipends or reimbursements may be submitted back dated to Jan. 1, 2021. Back dated requests must be submitted no later than May 15. Please review the published guidelines in full before submitting requests.