Introduction
Recipients of student prizes or awards are typically selected through a contest, drawing, or competition. Students may also be selected in recognition of charitable, scientific, educational, artistic, literary, or civic achievements.
Restrictions are typically not imposed on how a student can use prizes or awards. Thus, student prizes and awards are not restricted to educational purposes.
If the funding source of the student prize or award is a gift or endowment income fund, then the donor may set the criteria for recipient selection but may not select the actual recipient(s).
It is important to distinguish student prizes and awards from other types of payments to ensure proper financial statement reporting and compliance with the applicable Internal Revenue Service (IRS) reporting and withholding rules. Common examples of payments that are not student prizes and awards include:
- Wages and other payments for employment services. These payments must be process through University Payroll and Benefits (UPB).
- Scholarships, Fellowships and Educational Assistance Grants that are required to be used for:
- Educational expenses
- Travel which primarily benefits the student’s education
- Research activities that primarily benefits the student’s education
- Room and board
- See details at Scholarships, Fellowships and Educational Assistance Grants
IRS Reporting
Prizes and awards are reported to the IRS and the recipient on Form 1099-MISC, Miscellaneous Income, by University Payables (UPAY). A SSN is required for IRS Form 1099-MISC reporting. Therefore, payment of prizes and awards will be suspended if no valid SSN record exists in Banner. Before submitting prize and award requests, units are strongly encouraged to check Banner form SPAIDEN for asterisks in the SSN field and to instruct recipients whose SSN field is blank to present documentation of their SSN to their Registrar’s Office.
Note: the IRS imposes different tax requirements for Nonresident Alien recipients of prizes and awards; for details please visit Award, Prize and Human Subject Payments.
U.S. Department of Education (ED) Compliance
Prizes and awards are reported to the Office of Student Financial Aid (OSFA) and considered a resource when determining the student's financial aid eligibility. Therefore, these payments may have an impact on the type and amount of financial aid the student is eligible to receive.
OSFA will make the necessary adjustments to the student’s financial aid upon notification of the payments. These adjustments may create or increase a balance due on the student’s university account. Students are encouraged to view their Financial Aid Award letter and their billing statement periodically throughout the semester.
The University of Illinois System's reporting responsibility with respect to Federal Student Aid (FSA) and any other financial assistance received by students is outlined in the FSA Administrative & Related Requirements (Chapter 3), specifically pages 2-33, "Coordinating Official".
How to Process
U.S. Citizens, Permanent Residents, and Resident Aliens for tax purposes (Resident Aliens)
Prizes and awards paid to U.S. Citizens, Permanent Residents, and Resident Alien students are disbursed to the student's university account and will be applied to any outstanding charges on the student’s account unless the student or unit emails aroperations@uillinois.edu to request the prize or award be refunded to the student.
Nonresident Aliens
Please refer to Foreign National Payments Resource Page for job aids and training materials.
Financial Reporting Guidelines
To ensure compliance with fund accounting and financial reporting requirements and any other applicable guidelines (such as donor intent), student prizes and awards should typically be recorded to Banner using:
- Account code 181700 (Student Prizes and Awards) and
- A program code rolling up to the 1789 (Student Prizes and Awards) NACUBO function.
In addition, if the student prize or award is recorded to a Banner gift or endowment income fund, then it must comply with the donor’s intent.
Gift Cards
U.S. Citizens, Permanent Residents, and Resident Aliens for tax purposes (Resident Aliens)
For gift cards or gift certificates presented to U.S. citizens, permanent residents, and resident aliens equal to or greater than $200, the notification must be emailed to University Payables and the recipient’s campus Office of Student Financial Aid (OSFA).
For gift cards or gift certificates presented to U.S. citizens, permanent residents, and resident aliens less than $200, the notification must be emailed to the recipient’s campus Office of Student Financial Aid (OSFA).
For security purposes, this information is sent using the Protected Email Attachment Application (PEAR) system. The PEAR email must include the dollar value, along with the student's name, UIN, address, and Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN). If unfamiliar with PEAR, consult the AITS PEAR Resource Page. Send the email to UPAY as well as the appropriate Financial Aid email listed below:
For additional information, see Tax Implications for Payments.
Nonresident Aliens
Gift cards or gift certificates presented to nonresident alien students are taxable, regardless of the amount. Therefore, whenever possible, process gifts to nonresident aliens as a prize or award using the Foreign National Payment e-Form, not as a gift card. If a gift card must be presented, report the gift amount on the Foreign National Payment e-Form together with the required documents for tax reporting purposes, especially the W-8BEN. Please refer to Foreign National Payments Resource Page for additional information.
What to Inform Students
When offering a prize or award to a student, units are strongly encouraged to provide the following information to the recipient:
- All prizes and awards are considered a resource when determining the student's eligibility for financial aid. Therefore, they are reported to the Office of Student Financial Aid (OSFA), and may have an impact on the type and amount of financial aid the student receives. OSFA will make the necessary adjustment to the student’s financial aid award upon notification of the prize or award. This adjustment may create or increase a balance due on the student’s U of I System account. The student is responsible for reviewing her/his Financial Aid Award letter and student account billing statement after the prize or award has been paid in order to understand the impact of the payment.
- All prizes and awards paid to U.S. Citizens, Permanent Residents, and Resident Aliens are taxable income and reported to the IRS and the student on Form 1099-MISC. A SSN is required for IRS Form 1099-MISC reporting, so payment of the prize or award will be suspended if no valid SSN record exists in Banner. Students whose SSN field in Banner is blank must present documentation of their SSN to the Office of the Registrar.
- All prizes and awards are disbursed to the student's university account and applied to any outstanding charges on the student’s university account unless the student or unit emails aroperations@uillinois.edu to request the prize or award be refunded to the student; the student must be enrolled in direct deposit to receive the refund.
Please see sample email template to send students who are U.S. Citizens or Resident Aliens for tax purposes, when offering them a prize or award.
Please see sample email template to send students who are nonesident aliens for tax purposes, when offering them a prize or award.