Gifts to Government Clients and Federal Employees: The $20 Rule, the $50 Yearly Cap and What Isn't a Gift
Updated
In short
5 CFR 2635.204(a) lets a federal employee accept unsolicited gifts worth "$20 or less per source per occasion" from a company that does business with their agency, up to $50 a year from one person, and says the employee "may not pay the excess value over $20". Greeting cards aren't gifts under the rule at all.
On this page11 sections
We sell a $35 logo mug gift box, printed, packed and shipped to each person's address, so we have a stake in gift rules. This page quotes the federal rule and does not tell you what you may give.
Key facts (5 CFR part 2635 as printed in the eCFR, up to date as of October 27, 2026; read October 29, 2026):
- The $20 exception: "$20 or less per source per occasion", and no more than "$50 in a calendar year" from any one person (5 CFR 2635.204(a)).
- No topping up: the employee "may not pay the excess value over $20" to keep part of a bigger gift (same paragraph).
- Two small items add up: the rule's own Example 2 says an employee given an $18 framed map and "a ceramic mug that has a market value of $15" may accept "the map or the mug, but not both" (same section).
- Cards are not gifts: the definition excludes "Greeting cards and items with little intrinsic value" (5 CFR 2635.203(b)(2)).
- Gifts to a boss: between federal coworkers, the line is "$10 or less per occasion" (5 CFR 2635.304(a)(1)).
Part of our gift rules and taxes section: every rule quoted from the source and dated.
Can I Send a Holiday Gift to a Federal Employee?
Start with the prohibition, because the $20 figure is an exception to it. 5 CFR 2635.202(b) says an employee may not "Accept a gift from a prohibited source" or "Accept a gift given because of the employee's official position", except as the rules allow. Then 2635.204(a) carves out small gifts:
"(a) Gifts of $20 or less. An employee may accept unsolicited gifts having an aggregate market value of $20 or less per source per occasion, provided that the aggregate market value of individual gifts received from any one person under the authority of this paragraph (a) does not exceed $50 in a calendar year. The exception in this paragraph (a) does not apply to gifts of cash or of investment interests such as stock, bonds, or certificates of deposit. When the market value of a gift or the aggregate market value of gifts offered on any single occasion exceeds $20, the employee may not pay the excess value over $20 in order to accept that portion of the gift or those gifts worth $20. When the aggregate value of tangible items offered on a single occasion exceeds $20, the employee may decline any distinct and separate item in order to accept those items aggregating $20 or less."
5 CFR 2635.204(a) (eCFR, up to date as of October 27, 2026). Read October 29, 2026.
The section's own example is a mug. A cartographers' association gives a speaker "a framed map with a market value of $18 and a ceramic mug that has a market value of $15. The employee may accept the map or the mug, but not both, because the aggregate value of these two tangible items exceeds $20."
This is information, not legal or tax advice. Check the current rule (or check with the recipient's agency ethics official) before you send.
Who Counts as a "Prohibited Source"?
The rule applies to gifts from a prohibited source and to gifts given because of the person's federal job. Both are defined:
"(d) Prohibited source means any person who: (1) Is seeking official action by the employee's agency; (2) Does business or seeks to do business with the employee's agency; (3) Conducts activities regulated by the employee's agency; (4) Has interests that may be substantially affected by the performance or nonperformance of the employee's official duties; or (5) Is an organization a majority of whose members are described in paragraphs (d)(1) through (4) of this section."
"(e) A gift is given because of the employee's official position if the gift is from a person other than an employee and would not have been given had the employee not held the status, authority, or duties associated with the employee's Federal position."
5 CFR 2635.203(d) and (e). Read October 29, 2026.
| You are | Under the definition |
|---|---|
| A contractor, or a company bidding for agency work | "Does business or seeks to do business with the employee's agency" |
| A company the agency regulates or inspects | "Conducts activities regulated by the employee's agency" |
| Applying for a grant, permit or license from the agency | "Is seeking official action by the employee's agency" |
| The employee's relative or close friend, paying yourself | 2635.204(b) covers gifts "motivated by a family relationship or personal friendship rather than the position of the employee" |
The definition of "person" includes a company's people too. In Example 3 to 2635.204(a), four $10 gifts from four employees of one contractor "must be aggregated" toward the $50 yearly limit, "because a person is defined at § 2635.102(k) to mean not only the corporate entity, but its officers and employees as well."
This is information, not legal or tax advice. Check the current rule (or check with the recipient's agency ethics official) before you send.
Can a Federal Employee Pay the Difference?
No: 2635.204(a) says so, and the rule's Example 1 shows what paying looks like: two $30 theater tickets are a $60 gift, and "The couple may attend the play only if the employee pays the full $60 value of the two tickets."
| Situation | What 5 CFR 2635.204(a) and its examples say |
|---|---|
| An $18 map and a $15 mug, same occasion | "the map or the mug, but not both" |
| Six contractor employees each chip in $20 for a $120 desk clock | "the employee may not accept the $120 gift because it is a single gift that has a market value in excess of $20" |
| A $15 store gift card to a coffee chain, from a contractor | May accept: "the market value is less than $20" |
| A gift card from a credit card company or bank | May not: "such a card is equivalent to a gift of cash" |
| $10 gifts on four occasions from one contractor's staff | Counted together toward the $50 a year |
"Market value" is what the public would pay, not what the gift cost you: "the cost that a member of the general public would reasonably expect to incur to purchase the gift" (5 CFR 2635.203(c)). Its own example values a logo watch at about $50, the price of "a comparable watch, not inscribed with a logo".
Small gifts can still be too many. 2635.205(c) bars accepting gifts "on a basis so frequent that a reasonable person would be led to believe the employee is using the employee's public office for private gain", even when each one is under $20.
This is information, not legal or tax advice. Check the current rule (or check with the recipient's agency ethics official) before you send.
What Happens to a Gift Over the Limit?
5 CFR 2635.206 tells the employee what to do with it:
"(1) Gifts of tangible items. The employee must promptly return any tangible item to the donor or pay the donor its market value; or, in the case of a tangible item with a market value of $100 or less, the employee may destroy the item."
"(2) Gifts of perishable items. When it is not practical to return a tangible item in accordance with paragraph (a)(1) of this section because the item is perishable, the employee may, at the discretion of the employee's supervisor or the agency designee, give the item to an appropriate charity, share the item within the recipient's office, or destroy the item."
5 CFR 2635.206(a). Read October 29, 2026.
The rule's example: a $25 T-shirt from a prohibited source must be returned, destroyed, or paid for at $25.
If you hold a federal contract, check it for the Gratuities clause. FAR 52.203-3 lets the government end the contractor's right to proceed if the contractor "Offered or gave a gratuity (e.g., an entertainment or gift) to an officer, official, or employee of the Government" and "Intended, by the gratuity, to obtain a contract or favorable treatment under a contract" (48 CFR 52.203-3, eCFR up to date as of October 27, 2026; read October 29, 2026).
This is information, not legal or tax advice. Check the current rule (or check with the recipient's agency ethics official) before you send.
What the Rule Doesn't Count as a Gift
The definition of "gift" leaves out "Greeting cards and items with little intrinsic value, such as plaques, certificates, and trophies, which are intended primarily for presentation" (2635.203(b)(2)).
| What you send | What 5 CFR part 2635 says |
|---|---|
| A holiday card or thank-you note | Not a gift: "Greeting cards" are excluded |
| A plaque or certificate meant for presentation | Not a gift, if of "little intrinsic value" |
| A logo item with real use | Its own example: a $25 logo music player "has a significant independent use", so it is a gift |
| A gift under the $20 exception (2635.204(a)) | "$20 or less per source per occasion", $50 a year |
| Cash, or a bank or credit-card gift card | Not covered by the $20 exception |
Agencies can add stricter rules: 2635.205(f) bars gifts "specifically prohibited by a supplemental agency regulation".
This is information, not legal or tax advice. Check the current rule (or check with the recipient's agency ethics official) before you send.
Gifts Between Federal Coworkers: $10 to a Boss
If you are a federal employee yourself, a different subpart covers gifts up the chain. Employees may not "give a gift to or make a contribution toward a gift for an official superior" (2635.302(a)), with exceptions:
"On an occasional basis, including any occasion on which gifts are traditionally given or exchanged, the following may be given to an official superior or accepted from a subordinate or an employee receiving less pay: (1) Items, other than cash, with an aggregate market value of $10 or less per occasion; (2) Items such as food and refreshments to be shared in the office among several employees"
5 CFR 2635.304(a). Read October 29, 2026.
Its examples: a holiday "small succulent plant purchased for $10 or less" may be given; a $25 bottle of wine for a 50th birthday may not, "because a birthday is not an infrequently occurring occasion." "A gift appropriate to the occasion may be given" for "infrequently occurring occasions of personal significance such as marriage, illness, bereavement" and for "retirement, resignation, or transfer" (2635.304(b)).
This is information, not legal or tax advice. Check the current rule (or check with the recipient's agency ethics official) before you send.
State, County and City Employees: Different Rules
5 CFR part 2635 is titled "Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the Executive Branch". State and local staff answer to their own laws, and the numbers differ:
| Recipient | Rule | The figure, as written |
|---|---|---|
| Federal executive branch employee | 5 CFR 2635.204(a) | "$20 or less per source per occasion"; $50 a year |
| New York municipal officer or employee | N.Y. Gen. Mun. Law §805-a | No gift of "seventy-five dollars or more" where it "could reasonably be inferred that the gift was intended to influence him" |
| Massachusetts state, county or municipal employee | G.L. c. 268A, §3 | Nothing "of substantial value" for or because of an official act; "substantial value" "shall not be less than $50" |
| A USPS letter carrier | USPS ethics guidance | See holiday gifts for helpers |
Sources: N.Y. Gen. Mun. Law §805-a (last revised 2014-09-22; read October 29, 2026 on the live page, with a web reader because the site blocks scripts) and Mass. G.L. c. 268A, §3 (read October 29, 2026). Other states: not checked here. Every other trade's limit is in client gift limits by industry.
This is information, not legal or tax advice. Check the current rule (or ask the recipient's ethics office) before you send.
Gift deductions are a separate question: see are client gifts tax deductible?.
What to Know Before You Order
- Gift limits. Each box is $35, delivered: the mug, the treats, the gift box, the card, the packing and the shipping, in one figure. Some employers and industries cap the gifts their people may accept; the limits, quoted from their sources: client gift limits by industry.
- Where we ship. The lower 48 states and Washington, DC, except Texas for now. No Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, other US territories, APO/FPO or international. The order page flags any row we can't ship to, so you can fix it or take it out.
Where Personalized Gifts Delivered Fits: One Price, One Box Per Person, One Record
Personalized Gifts Delivered sends a $35 logo mug gift box to each person's own address, from one address list. No minimum: one box is a complete order, with no setup fee and no sales tax added at checkout. You see the mug and every person's card before you pay.
When the boxes ship, you get one email with a spreadsheet of recipient, ship date, carrier, tracking number and $35 per box: one row per person, an itemized record for your files. Every box on an order holds the same things: an 11 oz logo mug, Ghirardelli premium hot cocoa, 4 Lindt LINDOR milk chocolate truffles, a matte-black gift box with a magnetic lid and your printed card. What's in the box and what the price includes: our FAQ.
Frequently asked questions
- Can I send a holiday gift to a federal employee?
- 5 CFR 2635.204(a) lets a federal employee accept unsolicited gifts worth "$20 or less per source per occasion" from a prohibited source, such as a company that does business with their agency, up to $50 a year from one person. Check with the recipient's agency ethics official.
- Can federal employees accept gifts from contractors?
- 5 CFR 2635.203(d) makes a contractor that "does business or seeks to do business with the employee's agency" a prohibited source, and 2635.202(b) says that, "Except as provided in this subpart", an employee may not "Accept a gift from a prohibited source". One exception, 2635.204(a), covers unsolicited gifts worth "$20 or less per source per occasion", up to $50 a year from one person; gifts from the contractor's officers and employees count together toward that $50, as the rule's Example 3 shows. Check with the recipient's agency ethics official.
- Is a greeting card a gift under the federal rule?
- No: 5 CFR 2635.203(b) excludes "Greeting cards and items with little intrinsic value, such as plaques, certificates, and trophies, which are intended primarily for presentation" from what counts as a gift.
- What happens if a federal employee gets a gift worth more than $20?
- 5 CFR 2635.206 says the employee "must promptly return any tangible item to the donor or pay the donor its market value", or may destroy an item worth $100 or less. A perishable item may be shared in the office or given to charity, at a supervisor's discretion.
- Do state and city employees follow the same $20 rule?
- No: 5 CFR part 2635 is the federal executive branch's rule, and states and cities set their own. New York's General Municipal Law bars municipal staff from gifts of "seventy-five dollars or more" where influence could reasonably be inferred; Massachusetts sets "substantial value" at no less than $50.
- What does a Personalized Gifts Delivered gift box cost, delivered?
- Personalized Gifts Delivered charges $35 per box, delivered: an 11 oz logo mug, Ghirardelli cocoa, 4 Lindt LINDOR milk chocolate truffles, a gift box and a printed card, shipped to each person's own address. There is no minimum and no sales tax added at checkout.
Sources
- eCFR, 5 CFR part 2635, "Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the Executive Branch": §2635.202, §2635.203, §2635.204, §2635.205, §2635.206, §2635.302 and §2635.304, up to date as of October 27, 2026. Read October 29, 2026.
- eCFR, 48 CFR 52.203-3, Gratuities (FAR clause, APR 1984), up to date as of October 27, 2026. Read October 29, 2026.
- New York State Senate, General Municipal Law §805-a, last revised 2014-09-22. Read October 29, 2026 (the live page, read with a web reader because the site blocks scripts).
- Massachusetts General Court, General Laws c. 268A, §3. Read October 29, 2026.