Tax Information for Conferences

If your conference made payments to US citizens, and/or takes place in the US, then payments considered taxable must be reported to IEEE through the submission of the schedule of payment form.

What is considered to be a “taxable” payment?

• See a list of tax information items here at the IEEE website

Submit schedule of taxable payments

It’s important to allow enough time for IEEE to properly report taxable payments for a given year. To ensure this, forms should be completed shortly after the conference ends, and no later than the end of the year in which the payment was made.

Payments (such as awards, grants, honorariums, prizes, commission payments, hourly compensation payments or lump sum payments) issued to US Citizens must be reported.

• Use the 1099 schedule to report all payments made to US citizens, or resident aliens, that would be classified as income. Do not include expense reimbursements* This form applies for all conferences.
• Use the 1042 schedule to report any payments, made to non-US persons, if your conference takes place in the US. Do not include expense reimbursements* Do not complete the 1042 form if your conference takes place outside the US.

If your conference is taking place in a country other than the US, please review the following information regarding VAT/GST/JCT to see if indirect tax filing is relevant to your event and to find out what your options are for handling them.  

The Value Added Tax (VAT) is an indirect tax on the consumption of goods and services. Conferences need to pay VAT on both sales and purchases (VAT paid on purchases may be recoverable depending on the location of the conference and the type of purchase). If you are unsure if value added taxes apply to your event, contact the VAT team at vat-compliance@ieee.org for assistance. 

Common Options for Handling VAT/GST/JCT

Paid Third Party Agency (not financially involved, not a technical sponsor)

Description

• Agency would assume the responsibility for the compliance and would most likely have control over the finances.

Requirement

• Management Agreement: Required if the third party has control of finances and acts as a PCO (Professional Conference Organizing Company). The fully executed document must include the name and VAT number of the registered filing entity.
  • Completed through IEEE Contracts team.

Benefit

• Focus on conference content and not deal with complex legal and financial issues.

Local University or Non-Profit Organization

Description

• Entity would decide if they are comfortable with handling compliance for the event and what kind of arrangements they have with local tax authorities.

Requirement

• Fiscal Agent MOU: Required if the third party is not being paid for services provided to the conference. VAT number or VAT Exemption Number/Certificate must be provided by the University along with MOU. An IEEE OU Leader will sign on behalf of the Conference.
  • Completed through Business Operations Team.

Benefit

• In most cases, Universities are VAT exempt. Conference would not have to raise registration fee and collect VAT.

Other non IEEE Co-Sponsor (if applicable)

Description

• Another financial sponsor of the event would take on the VAT filing responsibility for the conference and likely hold conference funds in their bank account.

Requirement

• Fiscal Agent MOU: The Co-Sponsor must complete a Fiscal Agent MOU (not to be confused with the already signed sponsorship MOU), stating that they will be responsible for VAT filing. VAT number or VAT Exemption Number/Certificate must be provided by the Co-Sponsor along with MOU. An IEEE OU Leader will sign on behalf of IEEE.
  • Completed through Business Operations Team.

Benefit 

• Co-sponsor usually has an established internal process for VAT compliance.

IEEE International LLC

Description

• IEEE International LLC along with our tax advisors would handle the VAT for the conference. The conference committee would assign one person (usually the treasurer) as a “DOL (Deloitte) contact”. This contact would be responsible for all correspondence with our team.

Requirement

• Regular completion and updating of the invoices and ledgers: The DOL Contact is responsible for uploading all invoices, as well as purchase and sales ledgers to our tax advisors website on a regular basis. All invoices for purchases must be made out to IEEE International LLC.
  • Please contact vat-compliance@ieee.org along with your assigned analyst to find out if this is a viable option for your event.

Benefit

• Full visibility and access to finances

Additional Considerations

VAT has to be charged by the conference on all sales and paid to the local tax authorities unless the entity managing VAT is exempt. If the entity filing VAT on behalf of the conference is VAT exempt, please obtain a copy of their Certificate of Exemption. VAT exemptions are granted by the tax authorities. Each country sets its own regulations.

Your conference will not need to file VAT in Ireland as IEEE is VAT exempt in this location and can provide certificates of exemption if needed.