Payments to Visitors

General Tax Information U.S. Citizens & Green Card Holders

Visa Categories Non-Resident Alien vs. Resident Alien for Tax Purposes Social Security vs. Taxpayer Identification Number

Receiving Payments in the U.S.

Tax Forms from the College

Going Abroad Filing Your Tax Return Treaties, Forms & Publications Internal Procedures Contact Us

Whether you are a professor or researcher coming to the College or Institute to give a talk/lecture/presentation or whether you are an artist performing or whether you are consultant working on a project, you are considered an independent contractor receiving self-employment income.

You can generally receive an Honorarium and reimbursements for travel expenses. Below is detailed how these payments are treated tax-wise for non-resident aliens. For independent contractor payments to U.S. citizens, green card holders and resident aliens for tax purposes, go here.

Remember, that a visit is always preceded by discussions on the right Visa status to come in on and the documentation required. Treaty benefits can only be given if a social security number or individual taxpayer identification number is available and other restrictions are met. Please always include the Tax Office in your preliminary discussions.

Here is a Voucher Template for a payment that is taxed.

Honorarium

... is processed through the individual departments in Middlebury / the Institute and paid via check or wire;

... is taxed by the College / Institute and the tax is subtracted from the independent contractors' check on behalf of the IRS. The tax rate is generally 30%. Depending on the last tax residence of the individual, a treaty benefit might apply dropping the tax rate to 0%. Because the flat tax rate of 30% is rather high, the IRS often gives you a tax refund once you file a tax return depending on your total income for the calendar year. 30% tax is applied to anybody who does not submit the Foreign National Information Form or the required documents;

... is reported by the College / Institute on Form 1042-S with income code 16 for presenters and income code 20 for artists, exemption code 00 if no treaty benefits have been applied, exemption code 04 if treaty benefits have been applied;

... is reported by you on Form 1040NR or 1040NR-EZ.

Gifts in Lieu of Payment

... are generally discouraged by the College / Institute. Gifts for life events such as marriage, baby, death, etc. are personal expenses and are not paid by the College / Institute.

... are processed through the individual departments in Middlebury / the Institute;

... are taxed by the College / Institute if greater than a de minimus amount set by Accounts Payable and the tax is charged to the independent contractor on behalf of the IRS. The tax rate is generally 30%. Depending on the last tax residence of the individual, a treaty benefit might apply dropping the tax rate to 0%. Because the flat tax rate of 30% is rather high, the IRS often gives you a tax refund once you file a tax return depending on your total income for the calendar year. 30% tax is applied to anybody who does not submit the Foreign National Information Form or the required documents;

... are reported by the College / Institute on Form 1042-S with income code 50 for miscellaneous income, exemption code 00 if no treaty benefits have been applied, exemption code 04 if treaty benefits have been applied;

... are reported by you on Form 1040NR or 1040NR-EZ.

Travel Expenses

... include, but are not limited to, visa fees, mileage, car rental, gas for car rental, toll, parking, air fare, train fare, bus fare, taxi fare, hotel, housing, utilities for housing, hospitality, meals, site visits, special events, conference registration, office supplies, postage, photocopies, printing, binding, per diem payments for meals and incidentals per GSA rate;

... are processed through the individual departments in Middlebury / the Institute and paid via check or wire for reimbursements or directly to the hotel/airline etc.;

... are NOT taxed by the College / Institute as they fall under the accountable plan rules (Treasury Regulation 1.62-2). To honor the accountable plan rules the payee has to (1) establish the business purpose and connection of the expenses; (2) substantiate the expenses (original receipts!) claimed to the payer within a reasonable period of time; and (3) return any amounts to the payer which are over and above the substantiated business expenses within a reasonable period of time;

... are NOT reported by the College / Institute on any IRS form unless payment is per diem or reimbursements are made based on copies of original receipts or amounts are over and above the substantiated business expenses, or not accounted for within a reasonable period of time and are then reportable to the IRS on Form 1042-S and subject to tax withholding like the Honorarium;

... are NOT reported by you on Form 1040NR or 1040NR-EZ unless above exception and may then be claimed as expenses on your personal or business income tax return.

Last Updated: May 18, 2009

Receiving Payments in the U.S.

Documents and IRS Forms needed to get Paid

Social Security and Medicare Tax Exemptions

Payments to Students and Fellows

Payments to Visitors

Payments to Employees

Other Types of Payments