Procedure: 103-Payments to Human Subjects
Date: 03/25/04
Statement of Procedure:
The following are the procedures to follow when making payments to human subjects.
For individual payments under $300 either a Payment to Individual Form (PIR) must be completed or a Cash Advance must be obtained. The Custodian (principal investigator) can make payments directly by cash or check to human subjects and is personally responsible for the amount of the advance.
If using a Cash Advance
- A log must be kept of all disbursements, including name, mailing address, social security number, signature of recipient, amount paid to each individual, and payment date. A sample of the log is included in the Cash Advance instructions. The original log should be attached to the Cash Advance Accounting Form when accounting for the advance. All payments $300 and over to and individual must be submitted on a PIR Form.
- Any portion of the advance not accounted for must be returned to Cash Management in the form of a check payable to "University of Wisconsin-Madison" along with the accounting for the portion of the advance using the Cash Advance Accounting Form.
If using a Payment To Individual Report Form (PIR)
- All payments over $300 to an individual must be submitted to Accounting Services on a Payment to Individual Form (PIR) so a check can be directly issued to the research subject. Multiple subjects may be paid on one PIR form but must have a log attached listing the name, mailing address, social security number, signature of recipient, amount paid to each individual, and payment date.
Note: Payments to Human Subjects should only be paid by the methods above. Employees should not pay these costs from personal funds and seek reimbursement.
Taxation and Identification of Payments to Human Subjects
- Just as medical information must be furnished to insurance companies for claims processing, information on participants in research studies must be obtained for tax reporting.
- Under Internal Revenue Service regulations, we must collect the name, signature, mailing address, amount, and social security number of individuals who receive these payments. The only exception to this policy is a de minimus payment described below.
Dean/Director’s or their designees are responsible for monitoring the dollar amounts and frequency of human subject payments to ensure tax compliance. If an exception exists, these should be noted on the PIR or Non-Travel Cash Advance.
- For de minimus research subject payments, which are considered to be $99.00 and under per transaction and less than $300 in total for an individual subject, you are not required, but encouraged, to obtain a social security number from the subject, however the PIR or Non-Travel Cash Advance Accounting Form does require the name, signature, mailing address, amount, and payment date.
Related Policy:
103-Payments to Human Subjects
Who should know this procedure?
Deans, Directors, and staff handling payments to human subjects.
Related Documents:
Payment to Individual Instructions
UW-Madison Human Research Protection Program
Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act
Contacts: