Overview
UC Berkeley is committed to establishing policies and practices that support faculty in their efforts to balance the needs of career and family. The Chan Zuckerberg Biohub, in consultation with UC Berkeley and its other partner universities, has established the policy that Biohub Investigator Award gift funds may be used to reimburse appropriate costs for child and dependent care, subject to an annual cap and the applicable policies of an Investigator’s home institution. UC Berkeley has accordingly developed the following guidance to support and implement this policy.
Eligible Faculty and Annual Cap on Reimbursements
Eligible faculty are those with Biohub Investigator awards. Eligible faculty can request reimbursement for child and dependent care expenses up to a maximum of $10,000 per calendar year. For households where both caregivers are eligible faculty, each caregiver is eligible for up to $10,000 per calendar year. The child and dependent care reimbursement maximum is not determined by the number of dependents. The infrastructure fee on Biohub Investigator gift funds applied to reimbursed amounts will not be counted towards the annual cap.
Qualified Children and Dependents
Individuals for whom eligible expenses can be reimbursed are defined below:
- Children up to age 13 who are in your custody and claimed as dependents on your tax return;
- A spouse who is physically or mentally incapable of self-care; or
- A dependent who lives with you (such as a child 13 or older, parent, sibling, in-law or domestic partner) who is physically or mentally incapable of self-care and claimed as a dependent on your tax return.
If care is provided outside your home for a spouse or dependent over age 13 who is incapable of self-care, the spouse or dependent must live in your home at least eight hours a day.
Eligible Expenses
Eligible child and dependent care is care that is licensed and/or regulated by state and/or local authorities.
Examples of Eligible Expenses
Some examples of eligible expenses for qualifying dependents include:
- Before and afterschool care
- Preschool and nursery school expenses
- Extended day programs
- Au pair and nanny services (the amounts paid for the care of the dependent)
- Babysitting expenses (both in and outside of your home)
- Summer day camp for a child under 13
- Elder day care expenses
Examples of Ineligible Expenses
Some examples of ineligible expenses include:
- Amounts paid to your spouse, your child under age 19, a parent of your child who is not your spouse, or a person for whom you or your spouse is entitled to claim as a dependent on your tax return
- Expenses attributable to a disabled spouse or tax dependent living outside your household
- Educational expenses
- Tuition for kindergarten and above
- Food expenses, unless inseparable from care
- Incidental expenses such as extra charges for special events or activities, unless inseparable from care
- Overnight camp
Requesting Reimbursement
All reimbursement requests require a completed Child and Dependent Care Reimbursement Request Form attached to the Biohub Investigator’s expense report in the Reimbursement System. Please be sure to submit reimbursement requests using the “Other” section of the reimbursement system and when selecting an expense type also select “Other”. Requesters must describe their circumstances and need for reimbursement. Eligible faculty must pay the dependent care and/or caregiver expenses directly and seek reimbursement. Appropriate expense documentation and proof of payment is required and must accompany the reimbursement request form. Under no circumstances will the university issue payment directly to dependent care providers and/or caregivers.
Calendar Year Limitation
Reimbursements are limited to the calendar years when the Biohub award is active plus the calendar year following the award end date (for example, reimbursements can be made for the calendar years 2022 to 2028 for awards that start on March 1, 2022 and end on February 28, 2027).
Reported as Taxable Income
All child and dependent care reimbursements are considered by the IRS and the State of California as taxable income and will result in the applicable tax withholding and reporting.
What is the withholding tax rate?
- 22% federal and 6.6% state
When will I see it on my paycheck?
The taxable income will typically be reported on your paycheck within two months of the date that your reimbursement is paid out to you. If it is a large taxable amount, we will do our best to prorate the withholding amounts across two paychecks. You will be able to identify the imputed income from the earn code on your pay statement of FMV-fringe benefit-taxable.