86 Representative Documents: Fund Policies
HARVARD UNIVERSITY
HOPE Frequently Asked Questions
https://osc.hul.harvard.edu/programs/hope/faq/
Q: What is the tax status of reimbursements?
For Harvard employees, such as faculty members or paid researchers, the payment or
reimbursement of open-access publication fees may reasonably be viewed as a
"working condition fringe" (defined in Internal Revenue Code Section 132 as any
property or service provided by an employer to an employee to the extent that, if the
employee paid for the property or service, the payment would represent a deductible
employee business expense). Since working condition fringe benefits are excludible
from income, amounts reimbursed to employees from the HOPE Fund would not be
includible in income on the employee's Form W-2, and would not be subject to any
reporting or withholding.
For non-employee students, the payment or reimbursement of the fees would not be
deemed a "working condition fringe", but rather, scholarship or fellowship payments,
which are subject to tax under Code Section 117 unless used for qualified tuition and
related expenses. Reimbursements thus may be taxable. For U.S. persons, there is no
requirement for Harvard to withhold on, or report the amount of, such fellowship
payments any required reporting is done by the recipients on their individual returns.
For non-U.S. persons, taxable amounts are subject to reporting on a Form 1042-S, and
are subject to withholding, subject to any income tax treaties with the recipient's
country of residence, in the same manner as any other fellowship payment to such
individuals provided by the University.
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Q: Who decides other aspects of the fund's
implementation?
Implementation of the fund and reimbursement process is handled by the Office for
Scholarly Communication, operating under the advisement of the OSC Faculty Advisory
Committee.
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Q: Is information about the fund's use available?
Yes, information about fund reimbursements will be made publicly available by the OSC
through this web site. A list of HOPE-funded articles is maintained at
https://osc.hul.harvard.edu/programs/hope/awards/.
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