This guide describes how to issue a payment for services (such as an honorarium) to an international guest when services were performed within the United States. Review Completing the Tax Information Section for guidance on determining location of performance for services rendered online.
Visit the Travel Reimbursements for International Guests page for information about booking or reimbursing travel expenses.
Click a button below to learn about that part of the process.
Before the guest arrives
- Consult the Office of International Services for resources and help determining which visa status is most appropriate for your guest. Be aware that there may be significant (90 days or more) processing time if a visa is needed.
- Search for the guest in BUY.IU. If they have an active supplier record, ensure the registration type is Profile – 2 or Individual.
- No record? Submit a new supplier request form.
- Inactive or Profile 3 type record? Submit a Supplier Edit Request Form.
- Review the supplier record and locate their preferred currency. Foreign suppliers can be paid in US Dollars (USD) or a foreign currency. Currency is selected by the supplier during the registration process.
- Determine how the supplier will be paid. Payments are processed in BUY.IU via non-catalog order or check request form.
- Use a non-catalog order when: your order involves a contract or you are issuing multiple payments to the supplier. Submit a non-catalog order prior to the supplier's visit. Additional instructions for completing non-catalog orders can be found in the Non-Catalog Order Resource Center.
- Use a check request when: you are issuing a one-time payment that is less than $5,000 USD and does not otherwise require a contract. Generally, check requests are submitted after the supplier's visit.
- Is the supplier being paid $5,000 USD or more? Submit a Contract Request Form in BUY.IU. Reference the Contract Request Form number in the comments of your non-catalog order and submit the non-catalog order as soon as possible. International contracts require considerable processing time.
- Make supplier aware that their payment is subject to U.S. taxes. Their home country may have a tax treaty with the United States, and if they wish to pursue that they must submit information via the Foreign National Information System (FNIS).
- Within your department, discuss whether you will “gross up” the payment(s) to cover any applicable taxes. Use the NRA Calculator to determine the additional expense to your department, should you pursue this.
During the visit
An international guest being paid for services performed within the U.S. must provide documentation proving they had a right to enter the county. This documentation is submitted to University Tax Services by the hosting department.
- Collect a copy of the guest’s passport with entry stamp. If the passport isn’t available, request Form I-94.
- An international guest can visit CBP online I-94 to retrieve a copy of their most recent Form I-94.
- Complete the International Tax Coversheet.
- Passports, I-94 cards, and the Tax Coversheet for International Guests contain critical data and should never be emailed. Instead, upload these documents to the Tax Immigration Document Uploader.
- Securely store this documentation until confirmation that the payment was generated.
- If you are issuing payment via check request and using a the payee certification form, collect a signed copy of the Payee Certification Form from the guest.
After the visit
If you are paying an international guest via check request, you can now submit your check request form. Review the Check Request Resource Center for additional guidance on check requests.
If you are paying an international guest via non-catalog order the guest must submit an invoice. Provide the guest with the PO number for their payment. Double-check the currency of the PO and remind the guest that their invoice must be stated in the same currency.
Payment processing
An invoice must be submitted to invoice@iu.edu to generate payment against a non-catalog order. A check request does not require the submission of an invoice.
An invoice document in BUY.IU, which starts with the characters “SI” routes for approval. Review the invoice workflow to track the payment’s status.
The image to the right displays an example invoice workflow. The action required at each step is described below. You may see all or only some of these workflow stops, depending on the details of your payment situation.
- Hold for Receiving: Payments entered in foreign currency stop at this workflow stop. Any payment made in a foreign currency, regardless of value, requires a receipt. Visit the When is Receiving Required? page to learn more.
- FO Treaty Check: An invoice routes to FO Treaty Check if the “gross up?” question in the Tax Information section of the order was left blank. An approver should log a comment on the invoice verifying whether the payment should be grossed up.
- Tax Review-Initial: The payment is reviewed by Accounts Payable and Tax staff. Back office fields are updated.
- Tax Review-Foreign Supplier: Here, Tax reviews the Tax Immigration Document Uploader and verifies that the necessary immigration documentation was submitted. Tax will contact the invoice owner via the comments with questions about uploaded documentation or how the Tax Information section of the requisition was completed.
- Treasury Review: Payments entered in foreign currency stop at this workflow stop. Here, Treasury Operations staff access wire transfer details on the supplier record and manually initiates payment.
When workflow is complete, the invoice reaches Complete status. The document’s status is found at the top of the workflow pane on the right-hand side of the document.
Once an invoice is in Complete status, go to the Locate BUY.IU Payment Details page to learn how to find payment details.
Once you have confirmed the supplier has received their payment, securely dispose of Tax Immigration documentation copies.