{"id":3789,"date":"2024-12-30T13:19:02","date_gmt":"2024-12-30T20:19:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/compt.io\/is-a-cell-phone-stipend-a-taxable-benefit\/"},"modified":"2025-04-21T12:37:04","modified_gmt":"2025-04-21T18:37:04","slug":"is-a-cell-phone-stipend-a-taxable-benefit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/compt.io\/blog\/is-a-cell-phone-stipend-a-taxable-benefit\/","title":{"rendered":"Is a Cell Phone Stipend a Taxable Benefit? What You Need to Know to Stay Compliant"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A staggering 4.7 million people (and counting!) work remotely at least half of the time in the United States alone. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to insights from Standford’s Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR), around 80% of U.S. companies<\/a> offer some form of remote or hybrid work option, which the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates to be 27% of the total workforce<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That is a lot<\/em> of people working from home. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A lot of employees are powering up a personal workstation, logging on from a company-provided desktop or laptop, and answering Slack messages from their phones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It makes sense that there’s some gray area regarding what costs the employee is responsible for covering and what the company should pay for, especially when it comes to remote work perks<\/a> like internet reimbursement<\/a> and phone bills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For remote-first and hybrid companies that may not want to ship a cell phone to every new employee, a stipend is a perfect solution to cover the cost of using personal cell phones for work calls. The right employee perks software<\/a> can help disperse these funds and keep companies tax compliant \u2014 a massive plus for U.S.-based businesses with employees in the states and overseas. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Has your team asked for this stipend in your recent employee benefits survey<\/a>? How do you know if a cell phone stipend is the right solution for your business? Read on to find out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is a Cell Phone Reimbursement Stipend?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We keep referring to it as a cell phone reimbursement stipend<\/a>, but you may be more familiar with the term ‘cell phone allowance.’ <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Either way, we\u2019re talking about a sum of money a company gives its employees to purchase cell phone plans or pay their bills.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Typically, these stipends are distributed monthly (thus covering the monthly bill!). According to a study from Samsung and Oxford Economics, U.S. companies that offer cell phone stipends to employees typically provide an average of $40.20 per month<\/a>, which amounts to approximately $482 annually per employee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And while it could be seen as additional employee compensation, if you’re wondering, “are cell phone allowances taxable?” the answer is no<\/strong>. According to the IRS<\/a>, cell phone stipends are a non-taxable benefit, which is excellent news for both your company and your employees. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Example of a Cell Phone Stipend<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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