Overview of US Taxes and Tax Filing Lewis Starkey International Tax Specialist University of Oklahoma Payroll & Employee Services 905 Asp Ave, Room

What are all these deductions from my paycheck? The total amount of money earned before any deductions are made. The amount left after all deductions are taken out of the gross pay. PAYDAY Gross Pay Net Pay

DeductionWhat do you get?Who pays? Federal income taxFunds services provided by the federal government, such as defense, human services, and the monitoring and regulation of trade. Employee State income taxFunds services provided by state government, such as roads, safety, and health. Not all states have an income tax. Employee FICA: Social Security taxProvides for old-age, survivor, and disability insurance benefits. Employee and employer FICA: Medicare taxProvides health insurance for retirees and certain disabled persons. Employee and employer

FICA Tax Exemption “Nonresidents” for tax purposes qualify for a FICA tax exemption. F-1 students: first 5 years of US presence. J-1 students: first 5 years of US presence. Residents for tax purposes may qualify for a student FICA exemption based on enrollment. Undergraduate = minimum enrollment: 6 hours fall/spring semester, 3 hours in summer semester Graduate = 5 hours in fall/spring semester,2 hours in summer semester

Tax Treaties If you are a “nonresident for tax purposes,” you may qualify for a tax treaty based on your country of citizenship. You will not qualify for a tax treaty until you have a SSN (Social Security Number) or ITIN (Individual Taxpayer Identification Number). You must sign the tax treaty each year. Treaty is not valid until you sign it. Amounts of the tax treaty benefit vary from country to country. No tax treaty with India

Who Needs to File If you worked and were paid during 2011, then you must file a US federal tax return and Oklahoma state tax return. Even if you did not pay any taxes due to a treaty exemption.

Filing a US tax return Deadline for 2011 is April 18, Must report earnings from 2011 and federal and state taxes paid. May be able to receive a refund for some taxes paid. Could come up during future interviews for re-entry to US or during the permanent resident application process.

Year-End Tax Filing Glacier Tax Prep – Prepares your federal 1040-NR form only. $25 fee. Oklahoma State form 511-NR must be completed manually. No online option. You can manually complete Federal NR form instead of Glacier Tax Prep. Federal Form 8843 (Nonresident alien status report form; completed by Glacier Tax Prep or by you).

What forms do I need? Form W-2 – shows yearly earnings and taxes paid for tax year. Form 1042-S – only if you were exempt from paying taxes due to a treaty exemption or received scholarship funds that were taxed or claimed by treaty exemption. Will be mailed the first week of March. Form 1098-T – not needed for international tax filing

!DO NOT USE THE INTERNET! Currently, there are NO websites (excepting Glacier Tax Prep) that prepare a Federal or State tax return for a nonresident alien. Turbo Tax, Tax Cut, Tax Act, FreeFile are examples of websites that are only available if you are a US Citizen or a “resident for tax purposes only.” In-person tax prep costs $ , and preparers are frequently unfamiliar with nonresident alien tax issues. If you are a resident alien (5+ years in the US), you might be able to use one of the above websites. Check with Lewis Starkey.

Questions? me at to set an appointment. Call me to set an appointment at For questions regarding access to Glacier, please contact Merla Davis at For tax related questions, contact Glacier Tax Prep’s customer service through the website.