Administrative Service Center
235 Sage Hall
Phone : 607- 255-7541
Fax : 607-255-2823

Payments To Nonresident Aliens

The University defines a short term Visitor as one who enters the U.S. on a "visitor/tourist" visa (B-1 or B-2) or enters without a normal visa (i.e. from a visa waiver country). The Immigration and Naturalization Service limits the duration of the visit.

Reimbursed Business Expenses

In you plan to provide payments to a Visitor, the University strongly urges we reimburse expenses rather than pay an honorarium. Current procedures for reimbursed business expenses are simple; merely process an Accounts Payable Voucher (APV), document the business purpose, provide receipts or IRS per diem rates. If per diem rates are used, because they change monthly, they are available on line at http://www.state.gov/www/perdiems/1999/9911bperdiems.html#rates, include a statement on the voucher indicating that Cornell is not otherwise paying for food or lodging to assure that there are no duplicate payments.

CAUTION: Do not process payments to students (undergraduate or graduate students) as reimbursed business expenses; the IRS generally does not consider students to be in a trade or business.

Honoraria

Based on recent legislation, it is not legal under immigration law for an educational institution to pay an honorarium to a foreign national on a B-1 or B-2 visa. The privilege, however, remains somewhat limited. To be eligible, Visitors must not have received more than five (5) such payments (including reimbursed business expenses) from U.S. sources in the past six (6) months. Therefore the University requires an attestation from the Visitor. The attestation is included as part of the information on paying honoraria on the University's Tax Department home page: http://www.payments.cornell.edu/Honoraria.cfm. Thirty percent (30%) federal U.S. tax on all honoraria is withheld. Visitors will NOT be subject to double tax because they can either claim a foreign tax credit on their domestic return for taxes paid in the U.S. or they can file a U.S. tax return to claim a refund.

CAUTION: The IRS will not process a tax return or refund unless the individual has a U.S. Federal ID number (Social Security Number).


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Last Modified: May 9, 2008

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