Can an Honorarium or independent service payment be made to a foreign national who does not have a U.S. Taxpayer Identification Number?
Yes. An Honorarium or independent service payment can be made to a foreign national who does not have an SSN or ITIN.
Is the payment eligible for tax treaty exemption?
In order to claim federal tax exemption based on a tax treaty, generally the Glacier office will require a completed Glacier record. Generally, the Glacier Tax Summary Report will determine if a tax treaty is applicable. In addition, please note a U.S. taxpayer ID number is required in order for UC Berkeley to facilitate a federal tax treaty exemption.
Is the Honorarium recipient or independent contractor eligible for a U.S. taxpayer ID number?
Most B-1/B-2/WT/WB Visa holders are NOT eligible for an SSN or ITIN number. The individual may be eligible for an ITIN number if they meet both of the following criteria:
- Individual is receiving a taxable payment such as an honorarium or independent service payment, and
- Individual is from a tax treaty country and wants to claim U.S. federal tax exemption for their honorarium payment based on the tax treaty
What are the document requirements for the ITIN application for honorarium recipients?
- Completed Form W-7: **prepared by GLACIER
- Completed Form 8233: **prepared by GLACIER
- Original passport
- A letter requesting presence for a speaking engagement: **prepared by department
- A letter from authorized school official verifying that the applicant is not eligible for an SSN: **prepared by department
- **Items 1 and 2 are automatically prepared by GLACIER. Items 4 and 5 are to be prepared by the host department.
What is Glacier?
GLACIER is a secure online tax-compliance system that the University uses to manage tax-related information for foreign individuals who receive taxable income from the University. A GLACIER record is required for all foreign nationals receiving honorarium from UCB – regardless of whether they apply for an ITIN. Payment can be issued once the record is complete. For those applying for an ITIN, they should complete the GLACIER record as well as an ITIN application and submit both paperwork together to Payroll when they are ready.
When will the Honorarium payment be made once the ITIN application is submitted?
Payment will be made when Payroll receives: a completed ITIN application, all required GLACIER documents, and a departmental Purchase Order. Tax Treaty exemption if available will be applied to the payment if a complete ITIN application is received.
When will the applicant receive the ITIN number from the IRS?
It takes approximately 6 weeks for the IRS to process and issue an ITIN number, which will be sent to the applicant by mail. Any inquiry regarding the status of the application has to be made by the applicant directly to the IRS through the IRS hotline at 1-800-829-1040.
Additional information about ITINs can be found on the IRS website at www.irs.gov
Further questions regarding fellowship payments or GLACIER can be e-mailed to glacieradmin@berkeley.edu