Tax Assistance - Foreign Individuals and Entities

Emory University works with people and groups from around the world and continues to expand its reputation as a globally engaged institution. To pay international visitors, students, employees, and entities, Emory must follow tax and immigration laws and regulatory procedures and collect specific documentation to support each payment. 

The Emory Tax Department in the Office of the Controller offers valuable assistance with navigating the rules and regulations for making these payments. 

Paying Foreign Individual Employees

Emory employs many international students and scholars through university payroll, and while some of the procedures for placing non-U.S. employees on payroll are similar to paying visitors, there are some differences as well. Tax withholding rules for compensation to foreign individuals depends on U.S. tax status as a resident or nonresident alien as well as other factors.    

Please refer to the international employees & treaty exemptions page for more details as well as the process to help onboard these individuals.

Paying Foreign Visitors to the U.S.

Foreign individuals come to Emory for a variety of activities, including guest lecturing, performing, training, or study. Whether we can legally pay fees and honoraria or reimburse expenses to the individual and the tax treatment of the payment depends on many factors including (but not limited to) visa status, length of travel to U.S., purpose of visit, country of tax residency, and prior visits to the U.S. Payment of fees, honoraria, scholarships, awards, and even some expense reimbursements are taxable income to these visitors and require tax withholding. In addition, certain documentation must be provided for every payment regardless of purpose.

Please refer to paying foreign individuals through Compass for more details and links to necessary forms.

Paying Foreign Individuals located outside the U.S.

Emory makes payments to individuals that remain outside the U.S. Different rules apply to each type of payment. Generally, if the individual has not traveled to the U.S., there is no tax withholding required. However, if paying for online subscriptions or software access or purchases of copyrights, trademarks, film viewing rights, or other items deemed to be payment of royalties, Emory is required to withhold and remit taxes to the IRS.

For all payments to foreign individuals that have not traveled to the U.S., a Foreign Source Statement and Form W-8BEN must be attached to the payment request in addition to the invoice/support. See the nonresident alien section on the forms page.

See paying foreign individuals through Compass on how to complete the payment request in Compass.

Paying Foreign Entities

For payments to all types of entities not based in the U.S., Emory is required to have certain documentation on file regardless of whether the entity is a foreign corporation, partnership, government, or university. These rules apply no matter the purpose of the payment including the purchase of services, goods, inventory, equipment, materials, or supplies. Documentation for all payments includes a Foreign Source Statement as well as the appropriate IRS W-8 Series form. This documentation should be attached to each payment request whether created in Compass or Emory Express. See the nonresident alien section on the forms page.

Some of these payments are also subject to withholding of U.S. tax, even though the entity is located outside the U.S. These are generally payments that relate to online subscriptions or software access or purchases of copyrights, trademarks, film viewing rights, or other items deemed to be payment of royalties. Tax determination will be made by the Emory Tax Department, including the application of any treaty exemptions, and must be done prior to sending payment. Emory must remit tax withholdings to the IRS on a weekly basis for payments made the prior week.

Resources

• See our special rules chart for visa types and payments allowed.
• See the global services fees and honoraria for more details on paying international visitors.
• See expense reimbursement for more details on reimbursement of expenses.
• See paying foreign visitors through Compass for step-by-step instructions on completing a payment request in Compass.
• See the international student and scholar tax FAQs for general information and frequently asked questions regarding tax filings and forms for foreign individuals.
• See the forms page for the foreign individual and entity payment cheatsheet as well as links to the required forms.