The
State Controller of North Carolina has an excellent summary of honoraria. To
summarize it:
- honorariums
paid to, for example, give a speech where no continuing relationship is
made are miscellaneous income not subject to self-employment taxes.
- Honorariums
paid in a continuing situation such as a guest lecturer to teach a course
such as done by an Adjunct Professor are wages and should be treated as
such by the payer.
- Honorariums
in extremely rare instances may be a gift where a speech is made with no
expectation whatsoever for payment, but payment is made.
The most common
type (miscellaneous income) is reported in
as follows:
- Under the
wages and income tab select "Explore On My Own", and
- at the
bottom under "Less Common Income" select Miscellaneous Income, then
- select
Reportable Income, then
- Select
"Yes" and, in the next screen, describe the income.
