Giving Honoraria
Honoraria are monetary payments made to express gratitude for services for which no fees were expected or required. They do not take the place of other arrangements, such as service contracts, bonuses for employees, or prizes. Projects should consult with their Project Specialist to determine if an honorarium is appropriate.
The CRA considers honoraria to be taxable income, and as such, an honorarium may impact a volunteer’s taxes or other agreements dependent on their income, e.g., rent geared to income. Honorarium cheques will be delivered to the recipient with a statement that the funds are taxable income and that the recipient bears the responsibility for reporting the funds in their personal taxes. By cashing the cheque, the recipient is agreeing to these conditions.
Non-cash gifts, valued at up to $499/year, are not considered taxable. Gift cards are considered taxable income because they have cash-like characteristics.
Is this your first time requesting an honorarium?
Consult your Project Specialist before proceeding.
It is important that you connect with your Project Specialist to determine if the activities are suitable for an honorarium.
All honoraria are subject to prior approval of the Project Director and the Project Specialist.
If you regularly give honoraria for the same purpose, your Project Specialist may waive the requirement to consult each time. This is at the Project Specialist's discretion.
In the past 12 months, has the recipient received an honorarium from your project or from another project on the shared platform?
Consult your Project Specialist before proceeding.
Projects should avoid repeatedly giving honoraria to the same individuals because the CRA may ask if the recipient should actually be receiving a wage rather than honoraria.
Is the honorarium to be paid by a cash advance?
Submit Cash Advance Request Form through Concur
Step 1 Complete Cash Advance Request Form
The employee requesting the cash advance must complete and sign the Cash Advance Request Form.
Note that staff requesting the Cash Advance MUST sign the Cash Advance Request Form. Steering Committee approval can be done via Concur.
Step 2 Submit Cash Advance Request Form via Concur (Invoice Module)
Submit the Cash Advance Request Form using the Concur invoice module
- Vendor = person the cash advance is payable to
(Tip: Search “Vendor Name” and enter the requester name. Note- if the requester is not set up as a vendor in Concur you can add via the “Request New Supplier” button).
b. Enter Invoice header details
Please ensure you enter a detailed description of the Cash Advance including details of the event or activity that it relates to and the expected spend date in the “Request Name” and “Request Description” fields. For example;
Request Name: Project Event Summer Solstice Celebration
Request Descriptions: Honoraria to drummers and elders for opening ceremony and evening celebration.
c. Expense Type = “14300 - Cash Advances”
For line item detail, select the expense type “14300 Cash Advances”
d. Submit for Approval
Note that Cash Advances cannot be self-approved. If you are a Project Director, cash advances must be approved by a Steering Committee member. On the approval step select “Approve and Forward” for second level approval from a Steering Committee member. Note that it is easiest to search for a second level approver by their last name in Concur.
Please note: If you not able to forward on to a Steering Committee member please contact your Financial Specialist to ensure that a Steering Committee member is setup to approve such a transaction.
Complete Cash Honoraria Acceptance Form
If the honorarium is being paid via cash advance, have recipient(s) complete and submit a signed Cash Honoraria Acceptance Form.
This form will need to be attached to the invoice submission, showing the names of the recipients, the amount received, and their signature acknowledging receipt of the honorarium.
Claim the Honorarium in Concur
Use the Concur Invoice Module to claim the expense against the cash advance.
Step 1 Complete the header area and line item detail.
Select Vendor = “Cash Advance Reconciliation DO NOT PAY”
Select Expense Type = “Honorariums”.
Step 2 Add Honoraria Recipients by Using the Attendee Function
Double click on the line item “Honorariums” to navigate to the “EDIT LINE ITEM” page.
On the “EDIT LINE ITEM” page, click on the “Attendee tab”
To find your recipient, click "Advanced Search", enter the name and click "Search". Select the appropriate person from the results and click "Add to Expense"
If the recipient does not appear in your search results, click "New Attendee" instead, and enter the First and Last Name, Company, and Title, if necessary. Click "Save" and they will be added to your attendee list.
Enter appropriate information for each recipient. You should now have a list of all of the applicable honorarium recipients.
Step 3 Adjust Honorarium Amounts for Each Attendee (if required)
BY DEFAULT, THE AMOUNT OF THE HONORARIA WILL AUTOMATICALLY BE ALLOCATED EVENLY ACROSS ALL RECIPIENTS.
Example: Concur automatically splits the $125 evenly between the 3 honoraria recipients. To correct this click on the amount field for each recipient and edit amount.
Example Before Amount Edits: $125 evenly split ($41.67 / $41.67 / $41.67)
Click “Save”.
Ensure the completed Cash Honorarium Request Form is completed and attached to the invoice submission, showing the names of the recipients, the amount received, and their signature acknowledging receipt of the honorarium.
Submit Honorarium Request Form through Concur
Please submit the completed Honorarium Request Form through Concur.
Is the amount of the honorarium $500 or more, or will there be multiple payments from any shared platform project to the same recipient that total $500 or more in the calendar year?
Recipient to Provide SIN and Mailing Address to People & Culture
One-time payments of $500 or more, or multiple payments to the same recipient that total $500 or more in a calendar year, must be reported by the recipient on a T4A tax form. The recipient is required to provide their SIN or BIN as required by Canada Revenue Agency.
Please have the recipient contact the People & Culture team at MWP&[email protected] to provide their SIN and mailing address.
Recipients are NOT required to provide their SIN if they are registered or entitled to be registered under the Indian Act.