Honorariums

As a gesture of appreciation, the University may pay honoraria to certain individuals such as guest speakers, panel members, peer/program reviewers, or symposium participants. Honorarium payments are paid in lieu of reimbursement of travel expenses or any other payment of fees for service and are tax reportable if the total paid by the University exceeds $600 in a calendar year.

Honorariums, which should generally be a nominal amount, are payments made to individual guest speakers or lecturers as a "thank you" gesture of good will and appreciation. An honorarium is not based on an agreed upon amount between the individual providing services and the individual seeking services (and therefore an invoice should not be received). If payment is agreed upon, this constitutes a contractual agreement which must be formally recognized in some contractual form and should not be treated as an honorarium.

About Honorarium:

  • An honorarium is payment in recognition of an individual's or organization's special service or distinguished achievement where propriety precludes setting a fixed price.
  • Activities for which honorarium payments can be made include:
    • Special lecture, concert, or other creative academic-related activities
    • Short-term participation in a seminar or workshop as a guest speaker
    • Appraisal of a manuscript or article submitted to a professional publication
  • Non-allowable honorarium transactions include:
    • Performance fees for entertainers or speakers at a non-academic based university event
    • Services provided by independent contractors, consultants, or service providers where services are provided in exchange for an agreed upon or expected payment amount.
  • A typical honorarium amount is $250-$500 per day, depending on the fund source and expertise of the speaker. Honoraria should be charged to Account Code 7306. 
  • Please see Human Resources if trying to make an honorarium payment to a university employee.
  • For honorarium payments to international citizens please see additional instructions here.

To make a payment:

  • The individual must complete registration as a supplier with the University (department business office must initiate a request to invite the individual to register).  This process provides a secure and accurate way to collect tax ID and other information from the individual to allow Clemson to make a payment.
  • Once registered, the department will initiate a payment of an honorarium using the Direct Expenditure process.  No PO is required.
  • If only making a payment for travel reimbursement, see process here.

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