Contract Guidelines

Contracts entered into on behalf of Swarthmore College must be reviewed and approved by designated College personnel to ensure compliance with established College Contract Guidelines [pdf] regarding contract language and requirements. Contracts may only be executed by College designated signatories. Original contracts/agreements should be maintained by the contracting department for a minimum of two years after the end of the contract period. Note that construction agreements should be retained for at least 12-14 years after construction has been completed. Retention periods for federal grants/contracts may vary and should comply with the retention period outlined by the granting agency.

Pennsylvania Tax Act 43

As described in the Business Office website, Tax Act 43 of 2017 changed the filing requirement of Federal Form 1099-MISC with the PA Department of Revenue, creating a withholding obligation for certain payors of PA-sourced income to non-residents. For all contracts involving out-of-state individuals or closely-held non-corporate entities include the following tax withholding provision within the contract: 

As specified in 72 P.S. § 7302 for the State of Pennsylvania, the College is required to remit to the state taxes for Pennsylvania-source non-employee compensation or business income for non-resident individuals or disregarded entities subject to Federal Form 1099-MISC with the Department and required to withhold from such payments an amount equal to the tax rate (currently, 3.07%).