This site contains compliance related information on equipment purchases on federal sponsored Awards. For more information on equipment, visit the Equipment Inventory Office website.
eLearning
Watch an eLearning on equipment purchases on federal Awards (works best in the Chrome browser):
Definition
The UW has a current capitalization threshold of $5,000 (increased from $2,000 to $5,000 on 7/1/2016). This means that items with a purchase value of $5,000 or more and with a useful life of at least one year are defined as Equipment. Note that the threshold includes both tax and any other ancillary charges. Ancillary charges include items such as battery packs, cables, hard drives, video cards, etc.
Any purchases that meet or exceed the threshold should be treated as Equipment in budgeting and expensing, regardless of whether the cost is allocated to one or multiple budgets.
Process & Documentation
Please visit the Equipment Inventory Office website for information on the process and documentation of equipment purchases.