MIAP Guest Speakers and Independent Contractors

Honorarium: is defined, for purposes of this Policy, as University funds that may be used for a payment or item presented as a gesture of good will or in appreciation of efforts and time given by individuals to the University, such as a guest lecturer or a speaker from outside the University. The University requires that such expenses be reasonable and made under conditions or circumstances that do not create a significant likelihood for the gesture to be deemed a “disguised” payment.

When prohibited by a federal, state, or city agency (e.g., NIH), such costs must not be charged directly or indirectly to a sponsored account. Please consult the applicable sponsor guidelines.

Independent Contractor: is defined, for purposes of this Policy, as an Individual who provides NYU with services for payment, in a capacity other than as an employee, and in such a manner that otherwise satisfies the criteria for classification under this Policy and applicable law. Payment for Independent Contractor services shall be reported to the IRS on a Form 1099 (not a W-2). Independent Contractors are not employees of the University and, therefore, are not eligible for employee benefits or recognition programs, or for titles reserved for employees.

Please see this guide for more.

Step 1: A representative from the department, likely the adminsitrative aide, will contact you via email to begin or update your ibuy registration. If you do not hear from someone, please reach out to the instructor or other university sponsor who invited you.

Step 2: Follow the ibuy email registration link. It likely will come from a no-reply nyu email address. Be sure to click through all the steps and SUBMIT rather than save. If you already have an iBuy profile, please make sure it's up to date with your current address and bank information.

Step 3: Once you are confirmed regsitered, you will be sent an honorarium form to sign and date. This will be submitted for payment after the date of the guest speaker engagement.

Step 4: Payment takes a few weeks. If you are being paid into a non-U.S. bank account or are a nonresident of the U.S., you may have to provide additional paperwork 15 days after payment is processed. Please be on the lookout for an email from Sprintax and follow the promts. Certain payments to nonresident payees may be subject to additional taxation if their home country does not have a tax treaty with the U.S. 

Note: the department will not provide year-end tax forms or provide tax advice based on your individual situation. NYU will provide tax forms to you if applicable. The adminsitrative aide does not handle this process at all.

If you were not provided a budget by the adminitrative aide at the beginning of the semester, please reach out. MIAP sets a class budget each semester which is subject to change slightly from year to year.

As a minimum, MIAP guest speakers are to be paid at least $150.

The administrative aide can look into the status of payment if the form has been completed, returned, and submitted. 

If your invoice for services is unpaid, please reach out. The process takes a bit of time especially at the tax review stage. 

After the payment process is initiated, the tax review step of all payments will check if the payee is a U.S. resident. Those deemed to be nonresidents will be automatically enrolled in Sprintax. You have 15 days to complete the paperwork in that system, otherwise you will be taxed up to 30%. Some coutnries have tax treaties with U.S. and will be expempt, but the forms should be filled out.

MIAP staff cannot give you tax advice, as all situations are compeltely different. We are not tax professionals, therefore please reach out to nyu.sprintax@nyu.edu if you have questions or concerns.