Gift Cards Policy

Purchase of Gift Cards is strongly discouraged. If it is determined that the purchase of gift cards is the only viable option, then the process below must be followed. This is necessary in order to comply with university, state and federal policies; as well as IRS tax reporting.

1. A Request to Incur Special Expenses form must be completed and approved by the Director of Business Services prior to the purchase of Gift Cards. A separate request is required for each Gift Card Purchase.
2. Special Expense Forms should include the quantity, amount and Business Entity name at which the Gift Card may be used.
3. Purchase of MasterCard, Visa, American Express, Discover or PayPal Gift Cards is prohibited.
4. If using a PCARD to make the Gift Cards purchase, authorization must also be obtained from the Procurement Card Administrator after the approved Special Expense From is obtained but prior to the PCARD purchase. Gift Cards should not be purchased using a university Travel Card credit card.
5. For IRS tax reporting purposes the purchaser of the Gift Cards is required to complete a Gift Card log listing the parties receiving the gift cards, along with information necessary for IRS tax reporting purposes. The Gift Card Log will need to be emailed to businessservices@stcloudstate.edu within ten (10) business days after all gift cards have been distributed.

The Gift Card Log must include:

• Purpose of payments
• Recipient name
• Federal tax ID number/Social Security Number
• Permanent address (not campus address)
• Payment Amount
• Whether the recipient is a St. Cloud State employee
• Date of disbursement
• Last 8 digits of the gift card number of each gift card
• Signature of the recipient, confirming receipt

This policy/process also covers the Purchase of Electronic Gift Cards. This policy is subject to change at any time.

Further questions regarding the Purchase of Gift Cards should be directed to the Director of Purchasing.