Subject Specialists

Who are Subject Specialists

Subject Specialists may be defined as individuals who are invited to speak to a group of University staff/students on a complex/specialist topic that would be viewed as new or ground-breaking and may be, tangentially or otherwise, related to a subject that is taught on an existing academic or research programme. They are generally (though not exclusively) non-Irish-resident/domiciled and are not regarded as employees.

Please contact the HR Teaching Assistants team to confirm the allowable fee for Guest Lecturers/Subject Specialists. Attach a copy of the confirmation email when submitting your claim.    

Fee payments for subject specialists’ engagement are taxed under the PAYE Modernisation system to the extent of the work performed in Ireland. For example, if 40% of an engagement entailed the individual preparing material for their visit to Ireland in their home country, 60% of the fee would be subject to Irish taxation.

Individuals may be able to offset the taxation deducted from these fee payments against their overall tax liability in their country of tax residence.

Revenue accepts that related Travel & Subsistence payments to subject specialists are exempt from tax under the provision of Section 195A TCA 1997 provided such expenses are in accordance with Civil Service rates and all required documentation is maintained by the University.

Subject Specialists for reimbursement of travel and subsistence expenses incurred while traveling to the University of Galway, please refer to the Traveling Expenses Policy Overview guidelines here. The Subject Specialist must have no other duties in the University other than that of a Subject Specialist to allow section 195A to apply and the payment of Travel and Subsistence to be exempt from tax.

How can Subject Specialists be differentiated from Guest Lecturers/Speakers?

In practice, this can occasionally be quite difficult to do as there can often be significant common features to both types of engagement. More complex engagements may need to be reviewed by Revenue in advance of an engagement.  

As a general rule, Guest Lecturers/Speakers are individuals who are invited to/engaged by the University to deliver a lecture/workshop/tutorial on an exceptional basis on a University academic or research programme.  As such, they are generally (though not exclusively) Irish resident/domiciled. Revenue’s requirement is that any and all payments related to their lecturing/teaching/workshop engagement are taxed under the PAYE Modernisation system.

Payment form for Subject Specialists

Guest Lecturer / Speaker / Subject Specialist Form V9 (7/08/2025)

Please contact the HR Teaching Assistants team to confirm the allowable fee for Guest Lecturers/Subject Specialists. Attach a copy of the confirmation email when submitting your claim.    

DO NOT USE THIS FORM FOR EXPENSES ONLY.  For expense-only claims, please use the non-staff expense claim form & follow accounts payable procedures.

This form is exclusively for payments to guest lecturers and subject specialists for their work. Subject specialists can claim expenses with original vouched receipts according to policy QA304.

Please review the information here on what is required for payroll to process payments for tax resident and non-tax resident campus visitors.

Subject Specialists for reimbursement of travel and subsistence expenses incurred while traveling to the University of Galway, please refer to the Traveling Expenses Policy Overview guidelines here. The Subject Specialist must have no other duties in the University other than that of a Subject Specialist to allow section 195A to apply and the payment of Travel and Subsistence to be exempt from tax.

If you require further assistance with this process, please do not hesitate to contact the Payroll Office Manager and/or Timesheets Bureau at timesheets.bureau@universityofgalway.ie

Travel Expenses Policy Overview

In accordance with QA304 and QA302 Policies

Scope of Reimbursement: Only expenses essential to fulfilling the subject specialist duties at the University of Galway will be reimbursed.

Expense Documentation:

• All expenses must be initially paid by the External Academic engaged as Subject Specialist and supported by original vouched receipts.
• External Academics are required to submit all receipts to the appropriate School/Unit contact for verification and approval of the associated costs.
• University approvers and budget holders must retain all receipts for audit purposes (a minimum of 6 years, or longer where required for research‑related funding) and email the receipts, along with the timesheet, to timesheets.bureau@universityofgalway.ie for payment processing.

Reimbursement Process:

• All expenses must be paid by the External Academic engaged as Subject Specialist and will be reimbursed based on the original vouched receipts. Credit card slips alone are not accepted as valid proof of payment.

Currency Conversion: Convert all expenses to Euro using the Xe Currency Converter, applying the exchange rate from the receipt date.

Transportation: Use the most economical transport available - standard or economy class for flights, and public transport for ground travel.

Motor Travel: Reimbursement is €0.418 per kilometer traveled within Ireland. Mileage outside Ireland requires justification and will be considered case-by-case.

Prohibited Expenses: Alcoholic beverages are not eligible for reimbursement.