Payment of Honoraria

Honoraria for US Citizens

An honorarium payment is a payment made as an expression of thanks or recognition for engaging in a University sponsored activity. Common examples are:

• Guest lecturers, speakers or panelists participating in a campus symposium.
• Awards to an individual for a special achievement or renown for participation in a short-term activity or event that is of an educational, research, or public service nature and no specific deliverable or specific result is requested or expected.

Honorariums are being paid to parties external to the University (i.e. those who are not University employees or students). An honorarium is considered taxable income and is reportable to the Internal Revenue Service (if the sum of an annual payment(s) to the person is $600 or more for domestic individuals and any amount for foreign individuals) and may require withholding.

Payments Not Qualifying for Honorarium

• No honorarium payments may be made to a current employee, permanent, part-time, full-time or temporary.
• An honorarium may not be based on a negotiated amount between the individual providing services and the individual seeking services.
• Any verbal or written negotiated agreement in which the university will be obligated to pay for services is a contractual arrangement and must be made in accordance with procurement regulations.
• Honorarium payments may not be paid to independent contractors or consultants or students.
• Honoraria may not be paid to Suppliers for Goods and Service who have an active business relationship with the University.
• Payments to University staff or Faculty members must be processed through the Human Resources Processing Center (HRPC) as additional compensation.

In accordance with the Taxpayer Identification Number Form (W-9) Requirement policy, U.S. payees that are interacting with the University must provide a completed and signed form W-9.

Completion of the W-9 forms is the responsibility of the payee. This includes accuracy of the payee’s name, address, and IRS acceptable form of signature. Candex will verify this form for accuracy and compliance to IRS rules and regulations.

An honorarium is taxable income that is reported to the IRS on Form 1099 if the sum of payment(s) to the vendor is $600 or more annually. However, expenses reimbursed to an honorarium recipient are not considered taxable income.

Foreign Individuals who traveled to the United States

In accordance with the Payments to Foreign Nationals and Entities Policy, Nonresident aliens doing business with the University are required to provide a completed and signed Form W-8* to Candex along with evidence of immigration status.

*For those who wish to have tax withholding waived because of a tax treaty between the US and the individual’s country of naturalization, the IRS form 8233, along with subsequent documentation, must also be provided.

Completion of the W-8 forms is the responsibility of the  honoraria recipient.  This includes accuracy of the payee name, address, and appropriate IRS compliant signature. Candex will verify this form for accuracy and compliance and work directly with the Honoria recipient.

The following documents will be required for submission during the registration process with Candex , from the individual depending upon the individual’s country of residence, as this will be required before payment is issued:

• Passport and one of the following:
  • Passport page reflecting Homeland Security
  • ESTA
  • Copy of I-94 Departure Card (official documentation of immigration status)
  • Visa

Depending on the type of payment, all payments made to or on behalf of a nonresident alien or foreign individual are generally subject to income tax withholding unless specifically exempted, either by U.S. tax law or an income tax treaty. Generally, payments not exempt from withholding, are subject to 30% federal income tax withholding, in accordance with Internal Revenue Service (IRS) regulations. To claim an exemption from tax withholding under an income tax treaty, the payee must submit the appropriate exemption request form, 8233, along with IRS compliant subsequent supporting documents to Candex.

Prior to agreeing to pay an honorarium payment to a non-resident alien, you must confirm that the individual is present in the United States under an immigration status that allows him or her to perform an activity for which a payment may be made. Foreign individual visitors (including visa exempt Canadian citizens who enter with only a passport and who have declared their reason for visiting the U.S. is business or Mexican citizens with Border Crossing Cards) that meet certain criteria may receive honoraria payments, even though they are not otherwise authorized to work in the United States and are not eligible for a social security number (SSN). Prior to agreeing to pay an honorarium payment to a non-resident alien, the individual will be verified as not subject to U.S, economic or trade sanctions under the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). A listing of sanction programs can be found on the OFAC website.

The four criteria that must be met for foreign individual visitors on a B-Visa are:

• “Usual academic services” (typically lectures);
• for periods up to nine days at a time during any six-month period;
• for no more than five institutions per six-month period; and
• for higher education or nonprofit/government research institutions.

The University maintains a chart that demonstrates the type of payment that is intended to be made and the non-immigrant status, indicating whether a payment may be made. The chart can be found here.

Per U.S. Department of State regulations, a J-1 professor, research scholar or short-term scholar not sponsored by Columbia University Program Number P-1-00381 must provide a statement from their J-1 Sponsor (either the Responsible Officer or an Alternate Responsible Officer may sign) granting permission for them to receive payments from Columbia University.

Honoraria for Foreign Individuals who did not travel to the United States

In accordance with the Payments to Foreign Nationals and Entities Policy, Nonresident aliens interacting with the University are required to provide a completed and signed Form W-8.

Completion of the W-8 forms is the responsibility of the vendor.  This includes accuracy of the payee name, address, and appropriate signature. 

Please note: Under IRS regulations, honoraria payments are considered taxable income. Therefore, as a matter of policy, the recipient of an honorarium payment may not transfer the payment to another organization or individual. If the honorarium recipient wishes to transfer the payment to another organization or individual, he or she must receive the money and then donate it. The only exception to this rule is employees of certain Federal Government Agencies.

Using Candex for Honoraria Payments

Beginning in 2025, all honoraria and related expense reimbursement payments will be processed through Candex, an enabled supplier in the CU Marketplace. 

Documentation Requirements for Honorarium Payments Submitted via CU Marketplace Punchout

• The business purpose and description of services must be provided in Candex. 
• Provide all available details for the honorarium payment.  The requisition request must be accompanied by documentation (e.g. memo, flyer) describing the event and reason for payment.
• All foreign expenditures must be converted to USD along with a copy of the Oanda conversion supporting the amount to be reimbursed.

Please note: you must acknowledge by various check boxes for Honoraria and/or Reimbursement before you will be able to continue with the Candex requisition process.

Please refer to the attached link for specific processing details https://www.finance.columbia.edu/content/using-candex-honorarium-payments  

Expense Reimbursement associated with Honorarium Payments through Candex.

Prior to  committing to an Honoraria payment please keep in mind that any expense for reimbursement that requires segregation (amounts that exceed policy thresholds, alcohol, business/first class airfare, etc. ) is not reimbursable. All other travel expense and/or business-related expenses permitted in the University’s Travel and Business Expense policies (other than expenses that require segregation) may be submitted through Candex and will be audited to ensure compliance.  All documentation requirements noted in the policies must be adhered to.  

It is strongly recommended that airfare for those external parties receiving honorariums with expense reimbursement should be booked by a School or Department’s travel arranger using Columbia University’s air/rail central pay mechanism through World Travel. Please click here for more information on the University's Travel Expense policy.  

Exceptions to Expense Reimbursement associated with Honorarium Payments through Candex.

In rare circumstances, any exception to the expense reimbursement associated with honorarium guidelines, must be reviewed and approved by the VP for Procurement Services or Executive Director Accounts Payable.