Paying your homeschool graduation speaker

How to pay your homeschool graduation speaker.
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We provide our homeschool groups members with a graduation ceremony.  The group assists in planning the event and contributes $500 toward their expenses.  Some of the expenses were “love offerings” given to volunteers who sang, played piano, and created slide shows.  This was a challenge when it came to gathering receipts since it was not contract labor or services provided.
How should we handle future “love offerings” or “gifts” and meet requirements of the government for keeping receipts of expenses?  Because our record keeping has been nonexistent in the past, I want to make sure I am setting things up correctly and doing things within the confines of the law.
Thank you,
Trisha in Texas
Tricia,
I was treasurer for my homeschool group’s graduation ceremony for a few years and we did the same thing: gave “gifts” or speaker honorariums. We also did not have a receipt to prove the expense. The check I wrote to the speaker or singer was our only record of the expense.If you pay someone more than $600 in a year for their services such as the speaker, the singer, etc. then you should give them a 1099MISC at the end of the year (and a copy goes to the IRS).

If you are reimbursing a parent for decorations, etc. then you should have receipts from him/her. It’s not a personal service, but a volunteer reimbursement and no 1099MISC is sent to the volunteer.

Carol Topp, CPA

 

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