Honorarium Payments

An honorarium payment is typically a small payment made on a special or non-routine basis to an individual who is not an employee of the College, to acknowledge the contribution of gratuitous services to the College. Examples would be a payment to a guest speaker or lecturer as a gesture of goodwill or appreciation, or a token payment for other unique, incidental and infrequent services not traditionally required on an on-going basis.

Honorarium payments are made payable to the individual who provided the gratuitous service. The College does not make charitable contributions to organizations in lieu of an honorarium payment.

The following documents are required to request the honorarium payment.  Please submit the documents to the Controller’s at least seven (7) day before the requested payment date:

• AP Voucher
• IRS Form W-9
• Supporting documentation (e.g., invoice, contract/agreement, Authorization for Payment Form, campus poster, online calendar event screen print, etc.)

Payments to U.S. Citizens/Permanent Residents 

Honorarium payments to U.S. Citizens/Permanent Residents are taxable income and must be reported on Form 1099-NEC if cumulative payments to a recipient in a calendar year are $600 or more. A completed Form W-9 must be obtained from the individual prior to the event.

Payments to non-U.S. Citizens/Permanent Residents

• Service performed outside the US (e.g., Zoom discussion/lecture, translation services, editing services):  Payments made to a non-U.S. Citizen/Permanent Resident for services performed entirely outside of the United States is considered foreign source income and is not subject to U.S. tax withholding/reporting.  A completed Foreign Source Statement must be obtained and attached to the individual’s invoice/AP voucher.  The GLACIER process is not necessary for foreign source income payments.
• Service performed in the US:  If a payment is to be made to an individual who is not a US Citizen/Permanent Resident and who is physically located in the US at the time of service, additional information and signed IRS forms are required prior to payment – known as the GLACIER Process (follow steps below).  Collecting this information should begin as soon as the department starts planning the visit.

GLACIER Process Steps: 

The department contact submits an International Independent Contractor/Guest Speaker Form. Answers to the following questions should be obtained prior to completing the request form.

• The submitted International Payment Request Form results will be emailed to Tama Spoerri in Human Resources, Lynne Toussaint in the Controller’s Office, and the department contact.
• Tama Spoerri reviews the information to determine if the guest’s VISA status permits a payment from Bowdoin. She in turn emails her determination back to the email distribution. Depending on the circumstances, there may be follow-up questions.
• If permitted to pay the guest, the department contact schedules a meeting between the guest and Lynne Toussaint while he/she is on campus to complete the GLACIER online questionnaire, obtain copies of travel documents, and sign applicable forms. The meeting will take about 30 minutes and can be held in either the department’s area or the Controller’s Office.
• The department contact forwards an AP Voucher to Lynne Toussaint prior to the scheduled meeting.