| Policy Title | Payment of Honoraria |
|---|---|
| Responsible Office | Director of Procurement |
| Policy Type | Business Affairs |
| Policy Number | 201 |
| Last Revision Date | 10/25/2023 |
This procedure is designed to facilitate the prompt payment of honoraria from State funds to persons such as guest lecturers and consultants, in accordance with State of New York regulations. Any honorarium in excess of $1,000 or honoraria from the same source which totals in excess of $1,000, must also be reported on the annual financial disclosure statement by employees who are required to file such a form. That link is included here: https://ethics.ny.gov/honoraria
Payments to State of New York Employees
What are Honoraria?
Honoraria, include any payment, fee or other compensation given to a covered individual for services that are not related to the individual's official State duties, when that compensation is made as a gratuity or an award of honor.
Examples of honoraria include:
- Compensation for delivering a speech
- Writing an article
- Attending a meeting
- May also include payments for lodging and for transportation
What are not considered Honoraria?
- Travel payments in the form of gifts from relatives
- Payments made to the State or (in lieu of honoraria) for activities which are related to the official duties of a covered individual
- Salary, wages or fees earned from outside employment
- Payments, fees or travel payments by a certified or recognized employee organization
Honoraria may be paid to State employees for lectures and professional activities at other than home campuses subject to the following limitations:
- If overnight absence from the home campus is not necessary, the maximum honorarium is $75.
- If overnight absence from the home campus is necessary, then the maximum honorarium is
$200 per day. (A day, for this purpose is 24 clock hours and is not synonymous
with a date. Thus, a visit from noon Monday to 6 p.m. Tuesday would be 1.25 days.)
Travel expenses may be handled separately by the host campus through established State procedures. If travel expenses are to be paid by the employee, the limit on the honorarium payment remains as stated above.
Payment of honoraria to State employees through the use of N.Y.S. Standard Vouchers is not permitted. Payment is accomplished by the submission of a Form UP-6 reporting the "extra service" through the home campus Chief Administrative Officer. The host campus must pay the honorarium through a temporary service appointment in the appropriate title.
Employment rules and regulations apply to those receiving honoraria payments. It is necessary to submit a position request through the normal on-line process before a commitment is made to the person receiving the honoraria. Once position approval is received, a smart form must be submitted. Arrangements must be made by the hosting department for the person receiving the honoraria to submit the federal and state mandated employment paperwork such as the I-9 and tax forms. The I-9 must be filled out in person at the Office of Human Resources using original (no photocopies or faxes) documentation. Please contact Human Resources at 76604 for any questions regarding this process. https://www.binghamton.edu/human-resources/payroll/extra-service.html
Payment to Persons Who Are Not New York State Employees
Honoraria payments from State funds should be processed immediately upon the completion of the individual's obligation. Use a State of New York Standard Voucher.
For honoraria in excess of $400 per day, a justification describing how the payment involves appropriate benefits to SUNY and the State of New York must be included. In addition, if the total amount includes travel expenses, it should be detailed. For example:
July 16, 2004 presentation of colloquium to faculty and students of English Department
Honorarium $150
Expenses $75
Total $225
Note: Because the final determination regarding the appropriateness of the amount of the honorarium paid from State funds will be made by the State Department of Audit and Control, it is recommended that you send this justification to the Business Office, either via interoffice mail or emailed to payable@binghamton.edu make arrangements with the Business Office, Accounts Payable Section (607-777-2358), to request prior approval of honoraria substantially higher than $400. This will avoid the potential of embarrassment if the Department of Audit and Control refuses payment of a major honorarium.
Reporting Requirements:
Honoraria are coded as 1099 eligible for tax purposes. 1099's are sent automatically from the Office of the State Comptroller (OSC) to the payee's home address for accumulated incomes of $600 or more for a particular social security number for a calendar year.
Any person designated to receive an honorarium needs to be added to the NYS Statewide Financial System's Vendor Management Unit. You can submit the vendor information to the supplier listserv by emailing: supplier-l@listserv.binghamton.edu. Once the vendor has been approved by NYS, a Req/PO/Short form receipt needs to be created in order to process any payment to the vendor.
You can view requirements for vendor addition by clicking here .
All Honoraria should identify the account to be used, include aNYS Standard Voucher or vendor invoice detailing service and dates of service, with name, home address and the NYS Statewide Financial System's (SFS) vendor ID number of the non-State employee. The person allowing the funds to be used needs to sign the NYS Standard Voucher for approval flow and a flyer, itinerary, or agenda describing the event also needs to be submitted.
Related Policies:
Binghamton University, Office of Human Resources: Honoraria Payments for Guest Speakers:
https://www.binghamton.edu/offices/human-resources/employees/international/honoraria-payments.html
