Federal Gift Rules: What Employees Need to Know

Key Takeaway: Federal employees may accept unsolicited gifts worth $20 or less per source per occasion — capped at $50 per source per calendar year — but never cash or general-use gift cards. Gifts to your boss are limited to $10 non-cash items on holidays, with exceptions for weddings, retirements, and other rare events. When unsure, ask your agency ethics official.

If you work for the executive branch, the gift rules that govern your holiday party, your vendor lunch, and your boss's retirement collection all live in one place: the Office of Government Ethics (OGE) Standards of Ethical Conduct at 5 CFR Part 2635, most recently overhauled in 2024. This guide translates the two subparts that matter most — Subpart B (gifts from outside sources) and Subpart C (gifts between employees) — into plain English, with the dollar figures verified against the current regulation text.

One thing first: this is general information, not legal advice. Many agencies layer stricter supplemental rules on top of the OGE standards, and the penalties for getting it wrong are real. Your agency ethics official is the final word — when in doubt, ask before you accept.

The $20 Rule: Gifts From Outside Sources

The default rule is simple: you may not solicit or accept a gift from a prohibited source, or any gift given because of your official position. The most-used exception is the $20 de minimis rule in § 2635.204(a). You may accept an unsolicited gift if:

• Its aggregate market value is $20 or less per source, per occasion, and
• The total you accept from that one source stays at $50 or less for the calendar year.

A few details trip people up:

• No cash, ever. The $20 exception never covers cash or investment interests like stock, bonds, or certificates of deposit.
• You can't "buy down" a bigger gift. If a gift is worth $30, you can't pay $10 and accept the rest. You either decline it or pay its full market value.
• You can decline individual items. If you're handed an $18 framed map and a $15 mug, you may keep one and hand back the other to stay under $20.
• A "source" is bigger than one person. A company and its officers and employees count as a single source for the $50 annual cap, so four $15 gifts from four employees of the same contractor add up fast.
• Market value is the retail price, not what the donor paid — and a ticket counts at its face value, even if the food and entertainment behind it are worth less.

Gift Cards: The Line Between "Store" and "Cash"

Gift cards are where most well-meaning people stumble. Under OGE Legal Advisory LA-15-04 and the regulation's own examples, a card redeemable only at a particular store or restaurant is treated like merchandise — a $15 coffee-chain card from a contractor at a holiday party is fine. A general-use prepaid card issued by a credit card company or financial institution is the equivalent of cash and can't be accepted at any value.

Who Counts as a Prohibited Source?

Under § 2635.203(d), a prohibited source is any person or organization that:

1. Is seeking official action by your agency;
2. Does business — or seeks to do business — with your agency;
3. Conducts activities regulated by your agency;
4. Has interests that could be substantially affected by how you do (or don't do) your job; or
5. Is an organization whose members are mostly people described above.

Even from a non-prohibited source, a gift is off-limits if it's given because of your official position — meaning it wouldn't have been offered if you didn't hold your federal job. And no exception ever permits accepting a gift in return for being influenced in an official act; that's the bribery line, and it can't be crossed at any dollar amount.

What Doesn't Count as a Gift at All

Some everyday courtesies are excluded from the definition of "gift" entirely, so the limits above don't apply. The big ones under § 2635.203(b):

• Modest food and non-alcoholic drinks offered outside of a meal — the classic coffee and donuts at a vendor meeting.
• Greeting cards and items of little intrinsic value meant for presentation, like plaques, certificates, and trophies.
• Discounts and benefits available to the public or to all government employees as a class.
• Prizes in contests open to the public, as long as entering wasn't part of your official duties.
• Loans from banks on terms generally available to the public.
• Anything you pay market value for, and anything paid for by the government.

Gifts Between Federal Employees: The $10 Rule

Subpart C flips the direction: it governs gifts inside the workplace, and the core concern is gifts flowing up the chain of command. The general standards in § 2635.302:

• You may not give a gift to an official superior, contribute toward one, or solicit contributions from coworkers for one.
• A supervisor may not knowingly accept such a gift — and may never coerce one.
• You may not accept a gift from an employee who earns less than you, unless there's a personal relationship that justifies it and you're not that person's supervisor.

Gifts flowing down the chain are fine: a supervisor may give gifts to their team.

The everyday exception is the $10 rule in § 2635.304(a). On an occasional basis — including birthdays and holidays when gifts are traditionally exchanged — you may give your boss (and they may accept):

• Non-cash items worth $10 or less in aggregate per occasion;
• Food and refreshments shared in the office among several employees;
• Personal hospitality at your home, of the kind you'd offer friends, plus customary host gifts — OGE's example blesses a $15 bottle of wine brought to the boss's dinner party.

The keyword is occasional. Bringing your supervisor a sub-$5 souvenir mug from every work trip fails the test — recurring small gifts are exactly what the rule is designed to prevent.

Special Occasions: When Bigger Gifts to a Boss Are Allowed

Section 2635.304(b) permits a gift "appropriate to the occasion" — no fixed dollar cap — in two situations:

1. Infrequent events of personal significance: marriage, serious illness, bereavement, or the birth or adoption of a child.
2. Events that end the reporting relationship: retirement, resignation, or transfer.

OGE's examples make the boundaries concrete: a $70 china place setting for a lab director's wedding is fine, and so is a $19 book for a retiring supervisor. But a $25 bottle of wine for a boss's 50th birthday is not — birthdays recur annually, milestone or not, and so does Christmas.

Group collections follow the same logic. Coworkers may pool money for a boss's gift only on those special occasions (or for shared office refreshments), contributions must be voluntary and nominal, and anyone solicited must be told they're free to give less or nothing at all. Collecting for the boss's promotion within your own chain of command doesn't qualify — though buying refreshments for the whole office to celebrate does.

Quick Reference: Common Scenarios

What to Do With a Gift You Can't Accept

Receiving an improper gift isn't a violation — keeping it is. Under § 2635.206 you must act promptly:

1. Tangible items: return the item to the donor or pay them its market value. If it's worth $100 or less, you may destroy or discard it instead.
2. Perishables like flowers or food baskets: with your supervisor's or agency designee's approval, share them in the office, donate them to charity, or discard them.
3. Intangibles you've already consumed (a dinner, an event): reimburse the donor the market value. Returning the favor later doesn't count.
4. Gifts from foreign governments follow a separate disposal regulation (41 CFR part 102-42).

Employees who promptly handle a gift this way — or who ask an ethics official and follow their advice — are considered compliant. OGE also encourages keeping a record, even just an email to your ethics official describing what you did.

When to Decline Even a Permissible Gift

The regulation explicitly asks employees to consider declining gifts that are technically allowed. The test in § 2635.201(b): would a reasonable person who knows the facts question your integrity or impartiality? Warning signs include high market value, suspicious timing around a pending decision, a donor whose interests ride on your duties, or disproportionate access. "Legal" and "wise" aren't always the same thing — ethics officials exist precisely for these judgment calls.

Keeping Office Gifting Easy — and Under the Limit

The dollar caps make federal office gifting a logistics exercise, and that part is solvable. If your team runs a holiday exchange, GiftList's gift exchange tool handles the drawing with a price cap everyone can see — set it at $10 if supervisors participate — or use the free Secret Santa generator, which requires no sign-up at all. For a retirement or wedding collection, a shared GiftList wish list lets the honoree's actual wants drive the group gift, and Genie, the AI gift finder, is genuinely useful when the brief is "thoughtful, non-cash, under $10."

For the unwritten rules that apply in any office — federal or not — see our ultimate guide to workplace gift etiquette, and if you're navigating client or leadership gifting in the private sector, the executive corporate gifting guide covers that terrain.

Reminder: this article summarizes the OGE Standards of Conduct for general information and is not legal advice. Agencies may impose stricter supplemental rules — confirm anything borderline with your agency ethics official before accepting or giving.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can federal employees accept gift cards?

Sometimes. A gift card redeemable only at a specific store or restaurant can be accepted under the $20 exception if it's worth $20 or less and unsolicited. A general-use prepaid card issued by a credit card company or bank is treated as cash, which is never acceptable under that exception.

How much can a federal employee accept from one company in a year?

Under the $20 de minimis exception, gifts from any one source can't exceed $50 in aggregate market value per calendar year — and a "source" includes a company plus its officers and employees combined. Each individual occasion is also capped at $20, and you can't pay the difference to accept something pricier.

Can I give my federal supervisor a birthday gift?

Yes, within the $10 rule: on an occasional basis — including birthdays and holidays when gifts are traditionally exchanged — you may give an official superior non-cash items worth $10 or less in total. Milestone birthdays don't unlock bigger gifts; OGE's own example says a $25 bottle of wine for a boss's 50th is not allowed.

When can coworkers give a boss a bigger gift or collect money for one?

Only on special, infrequent occasions: events of personal significance like marriage, illness, bereavement, or the birth or adoption of a child, and events that end the reporting relationship, like retirement, resignation, or transfer. Group collections must be voluntary, in nominal amounts, and anyone asked must be told they can give less or nothing.

What should I do with a gift I'm not allowed to accept?

Return it promptly or pay the donor its market value. A tangible item worth $100 or less may instead be destroyed. For perishables like flowers, your supervisor or agency designee can approve sharing them in the office, donating to charity, or discarding them. Prompt action on your own initiative means no violation — and OGE encourages documenting it.

Do federal gift rules apply to gifts from friends and family?

No — there's an exception for gifts clearly motivated by a family relationship or personal friendship rather than your position. Ethics officials look at the history and nature of the relationship and whether the friend personally pays. A "friend" whose employer foots the bill doesn't qualify.