Income Tax
All students here on a visa must file form 8843 with the IRS.Students who do not have U.S. income must file by June 15th.Students who have U.S. income must file this form with their Income Tax
Return by April 15th. Students who either earn income or have income from
scholarships may have an obligation to pay tax in the US.
If you are working on campus, or doing practical training or optional
practical training, your employer may have to withhold tax from your pay
as you receive it. Some countries have tax treaties with the US which
exempt either a limited amount of income or income for a certain period
of time which may mean that no tax needs to be withheld.
You should determine whether you have exempt income before you start receiving pay. You must have either a Social Security Number (SSN) or a Federal Taxpayer Identification number (TIN) if you either work or receive a scholarship. Each of your family members will need this, too, if you are from Canada, India, Japan, Korea, or Mexico and you plan to claim them on your United States tax return. (You may file for TIN's with your tax return.) Even if you have exempt income, you must still file a tax return (Form 1040NR) because a copy of your total earnings for a given year is always filed by your employer with the Internal Revenue Service. There are several taxing entities and types of tax. Tax may be due for income to the federal, state, and local governments.
In general, international students who have been in the U.S. 5 years or less are exempt from Social Security (FICA) tax. Students who receive income from scholarship grants during a school year are also subject to taxation for the amount of the scholarship which exceeds what the student paid for tuition and textbooks in that tax year. The financial services office is required by law to withhold tax from the scholarship funds disbursed and your account will be reduced by an amount estimated to be the tax liability for the taxable amount of the scholarship. Students receiving scholarships for more than the amount of tuition and books might recover some or all of the amount, which the financial services office has withheld for tax. Be certain to keep a record of your charitable contributions - especially those made to our Idema Food Pantry.
It is of course necessary to file an income tax return to receive a refund of tax withheld. The financial services office will have an accurate record of your tuition payments and will issue a form (Form 1042S) to you in the spring showing the amount of scholarship over tuition for the previous calendar year. It is very important that you keep sales receipts for the textbooks and supplies (including computers and software) which you purchased for the school year as the seminary will not have a record of your purchases and they are tax deductible and wil1 reduce your potential tax obligation. Because the seminary will forward a copy of Form 1042S to the Internal Revenue Service, it is essential that people who receive scholarships file an income tax return in the US. All income tax forms, copies of the rules and policies pertaining to international students as well as copies of relevant income tax treaties with other countries are available in the Government Documents section of the library. Income tax filing must be done by April 15 of the following year.
If you have questions in this complicated area, you should seek the assistance of the seminary financial services office.