How do I determine the employee’s portion of actual monthly service charges and select the appropriate Mobile Communication Device (MCD) allowance on the eForm?

The University provides MCD service allowance amounts that are structured to compensate employees for business use of their personal mobile communication devices when employees incur service plan costs associated with the device.

  1. Use the employee’s most recent cell phone bill or contract to locate the service charges specifically associated with their phone line.  

    MCD equipment charges, including insurance/protection plans, are NOT covered by the MCD allowance.

    Examples for Verizon & AT&T:
    screenshot of phone bill example    screenshot of phone bill data usage example

  2. Include the employee’s portion of any shared data charges, surcharges, taxes, and fees by dividing those charges by the number of adult phone lines shared on the service plan, if not already separated out by phone line (an “adult” is defined as any person 18 years of age or older).

    Examples for Verizon & AT&T:
    example of Verizon shared data charges, surcharges, taxes, and fees    example of AT&T shared data charges, surcharges, taxes, and fees

  3. Choose an appropriate allowance amount in the "Allowance Rate per Month" field to cover only the employee's anticipated business-related MCD service charges. Select one of the rates listed, or choose “Other Amount” and enter a specific amount, rounded to the nearest whole dollar. Refer to this FAQ to understand how the MCD allowance rates are determined.

    Departments may establish their own internal guidelines and/or definition of "business-related" when considering an acceptable percentage of total costs incurred by the employee; however, the allowance should not exceed the employee’s portion of actual monthly service charges incurred. Contact your Department Head or Delegate (e.g., Business Officer) for more details on your department’s internal guidelines.

    MCD electronic form allowance rate per month screenshot

    If the amount entered exceeds the “Average” rate, or if the "High” (Exception Rate) is selected, additional approval from the Vice Chancellor for Business Affairs is required.

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