Carnegie Mellon University

Non-Employee FAQs

To identify whether the payee is a foreign national or a U.S. citizen/taxing resident in order to determine appropriate tax withholding/reporting, if applicable.

Additional forms may be required for non-employee expense reports that are submitted over the 90 day requirement or do not meet all of the requirements of the Business and Travel Expense policy. If this applies, please provide one of the following:

  • If the non-employee is a U.S. citizen, acquire a completed Form W-9 from the payee and submit with the expense report.
  • If the non-employee is a foreign national, acquire both a completed Foreign National Information Form [.pdf] and a completed Form W-8BEN from the payee and submit with the expense report.
  • Non-employee U.S. citizens will not have tax withheld from any reimbursements over the 90 day requirement, but reporting to the IRS is required if the amount of the reimbursement is $600 or more.
  • Non-employee foreign nationals/nonresident aliens will most likely have tax withheld from reimbursements over the 90 day requirement and IRS reporting is required on the Form 1042-S.

The Non-Employee Expense Report form must document the relationship of the individual, clearly describe the business purpose of the expenses, include required supporting documentation, and must be approved by the applicable department. Non-employees may only claim actual costs (e.g., per diem claims are not permissible).