How Honorariums Work: 6 Examples of Honorarium Payments

An honorarium is a voluntary payment made to an individual or organization for performing a special duty or service. Common examples of activities that may warrant an honorarium include being a guest speaker at a university, making a speech at a conference, leading an educational workshop, and academic manuscript appraisals. An honorarium is different from a contractual agreement to an independent contractor as neither party negotiates the amount of the honorarium payment. Rather, the payer offers the sum as a sign of goodwill instead of any other payment for the recipient’s services.

The word “honorarium” comes from the Latin term “honōrārium,” meaning “gift.” The plural form of “honorarium” can take either the Latin ending -ia (for “honoraria”) or the English language ending -iums (for “honorariums”).

An honorarium payment works in a few simple steps:

1. 1. The parties agree on the special duty. Before an organization can make an honorarium payment, they must contract the individual or organization to perform a special duty or service, which can include a speaking engagement, manuscript review, or small workshop. The duty or service must be non-recurring—for example, it can’t be a long-term teaching engagement. Typically, for an honorarium to be appropriate, the rules of decorum would preclude a negotiation between the two parties on the amount of money the payer will offer the payee.
2. 2. The party completes the special duty. Once the two parties agree to the duty, the payee performs the duty essentially in a volunteer capacity, without pay.
3. 3. The organization processes the honorarium. After the contracted party completes their special duty, the organization will conduct the proper paperwork or filing with accounts payable. Many organizations have a predetermined method for payment requests and processing. In the United States, this method may involve an IRS form 1099-misc or another payment form for US citizens, which often requires the payee’s social security number. Organizations may have special rules regarding honorarium payments to foreign nationals or non-resident aliens, requiring particular visa classifications.
4. 4. The payer sends the honorarium to the payee. Finally, the payer will offer the honorarium to the payee as a thank you for personal services rendered. The Internal Revenue Service considers an honorarium part of self-employment, and such payments may be taxable income, subject to income tax in the given calendar year.
   

You can make honorarium payments for several activities:

1. 1. Coaching a sports team: Schools will often pay coaches of after-school sports clubs through honoraria since they perform a special duty and are non-employees.
2. 2. Judging of a contest: If an organization asks a person to judge a school-sponsored or local contest, they may offer an honorarium to thank them for their effort.
3. 3. Manuscript review: Many university employees and other professionals in their fields offer to review book manuscripts before writers submit them to a publisher. They will accept honoraria payments in place of a negotiated payment.
4. 4. Panel discussion: When events conduct panel discussions with several experts in a field, they may pay those panelists with honoraria to thank them for their appearance.
5. 5. Visiting lecture: A lecturer may offer a presentation or small series of presentations at a university or local interest group and accept an honorarium payment for their work, especially as reimbursement for travel expenses or lodging costs.
6. 6. Workshop: If a school or club asks a professional person to offer a one-time or small series of workshops to help instruct aspiring creators, the organization may pay an honorarium for their professional services.

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