Administrative Policies and Procedures Manual - Policy 2170: Honorarium Payments

Date Originally Issued: 10-15-1995
Revised: 07-01-2004, 05-22-2006, 12-01-2016

Process Owners: University Controller and HSC Senior Executive Officer for Finance and Administration

1. General

Departments may pay an honorarium to an individual of special achievement or renown, in return for that individual's willingness to visit the University and participate in a University event of short duration (such as a speaker, reviewer, or seminar participant), with the understanding that the payment does not constitute compensation commensurate with the actual services provided. An honorarium payment can only be presented to the recipient upon conclusion of the event. An honorarium is not intended to be a payment for services rendered by either an independent contractor or an individual working in an employment relationship.

Honoraria cannot be paid to UNM employees by the University. In addition, according to a New Mexico state statute, employees cannot request or receive an honorarium for a speech or service rendered that relates to the performance of public duties.

2. Payment Procedures

To request an honorarium payment, the department must complete a request in Chrome River Expense.  A detailed description of the purpose or function of the honorarium payment must be included  in the request.  The requestor should provide some biographical information on the payee, to establish how the payee met the criteria noted in section 1 above.  All honorarium requests must be approved in Chrome River by the applicable dean, director, or department head (or delegate).

3. Taxability Reporting

The University must report honorarium payments to the payee and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) on Form 1099.  The payee must complete IRS Form W-9, and be set up as a vendor, to facilitate this reporting.  The department has the option to reimburse allowable travel expenditures, in accordance with UAP 4030 (“Travel”) and accountable plan guidelines, in addition to providing an honorarium payment.  Separately documented travel expenses that are submitted for reimbursement will not be included in the amount reported on the Form 1099.

3.1. Foreign Nationals

Payments made to foreign nationals must comply with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and IRS  regulations.  Advance planning (up to two [2] months in some cases) is critical to ensure that foreign nationals can fulfill the intended purpose of the trip and the University can comply with any applicable agreements. Foreign nationals frequently need to apply for tax identification numbers, which can take up to eight (8) weeks to obtain.  Contact the Taxation Office prior to making any commitment for an honorarium payment or expense reimbursement to a foreign national.

4. References

NMSA 1978, § 10-16-4.1, NM ST § 10-16-4.1