What is the General Services Administration threshold for foreign gifts and how has it changed over time?
Executive summary
The General Services Administration (GSA) sets a "minimal value" threshold that determines which gifts from foreign governments federal employees must report or turn over; statute requires GSA to recalculate that threshold every three years using changes in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) [1] [2]. Over the past decade the minimal-value figure has risen in stages—examples in official guidance and notices show $285, $335, $415 (effective Jan. 1, 2020), and a later administrative figure of $480—reflecting the statutory CPI-based adjustments and agency rulemaking [3] [4] [5] [6].
1. What the law requires: triennial CPI redefinition
Congressial law (Foreign Gifts and Decorations Act, 5 U.S.C. 7342) and implementing regulations direct the Administrator of GSA, in consultation with the Secretary of State, to redefine the “minimal value” for foreign gifts every three years and base that change on the CPI for the immediately preceding three years; GSA publishes the new threshold in rulemaking or notices [1] [2] [5].
2. How the threshold works in practice: reporting and retention rules tied to the number
Gifts and decorations that exceed the GSA-defined minimal value are treated differently: agencies must report non‑monetary gifts above that value to GSA and monetary gifts (unless historic or numismatic) are deposited with Treasury, and agencies commonly require recipients to report such gifts to their employing agency within deadlines (for example, within 60 days in GSA guidance) [4] [6] [7]. The minimal value also anchors ethics reporting thresholds under the Ethics in Government rules, influencing what officials must disclose on financial reports [2].
3. The documented trajectory: sample data points showing increases over time
Official materials and agency directives in the source set show multiple historical values: one document cites a minimal value of $285 in an older Department of Commerce notice language (noting it was subject to redetermination every three years) [3], another Federal Property Management Regulation text refers to $335 as the minimal value before later adjustments [4], the Federal Register noted the minimal value was $415 effective January 1, 2020 and that a 15.33% CPI increase for the prior three years required redefinition as of January 1, 2023 [5], and a Treasury administrative edit lists minimal value as $480 as of its March 31, 2023 update [6]. These points illustrate a stepwise upward movement consistent with the CPI-based formula [5] [6].
4. Why the number changed: CPI math and timing
GSA’s statutorily mandated mechanism is mechanical: every three years the agency applies the percentage change in CPI for the preceding three-year span to the existing minimal-value dollar amount and issues a redefined figure [1] [5]. The Federal Register notice made that process explicit for the 2020-to-2023 interval, citing a 15.33% CPI rise over the three years and identifying the need to reset the threshold as of January 1, 2023 [5].
5. Consequences, criticisms, and management realities
Raising the minimal-value threshold through CPI indexing reduces the number of gifts that trigger mandatory reporting or custody transfer, a result that critics argue can decrease transparency about foreign gifts to officials while defenders emphasize the statutory, inflation‑sensitive design; the sources show both the legal rule and practical concerns—GSA’s own Office of Inspector General found program control weaknesses in inventorying and securing foreign gifts, which complicates oversight regardless of the dollar cutoff [1] [8]. The GSA directive and inspector general reporting together highlight that a numeric threshold is only one piece of program integrity; administration, inventory controls, and interagency reporting practices determine how well the system works [9] [8].
6. Limits of available reporting and what remains unclear
The documents provided give multiple snapshots of the minimal-value figure at different times but do not present a single continuous table of every three-year recalculation or the precise Federal Register final rule text that published the post‑2020 numeric amount; therefore, while the statutory mechanism and sample historical values are clear from GSA, Federal Register, and agency directive materials, a definitive full timeline of every prior numeric threshold and exact effective dates beyond the cited examples is not fully documented in the supplied sources [1] [5] [4] [6].