Nonresident Alien Taxation
Alien Taxation
and Forms
and Other Resources
Employing Nonresident Aliens (NRA)
Faculty, Graduate Teaching Associate, Graduate Assistant and Special Consultant
Faculty, Graduate Teaching Associate, Graduate Assistant and Special Consultant
Purpose
In order to comply with Federal (Internal Revenue Service and Treasury Department) and State (Franchise Tax Board) rules and regulations, each SFSU department must comply with these procedures when employing nonresident aliens. The Chancellor’s Office requires CSU campuses to comply with the Internal Revenue Code, California Revenue and Taxation Code, and California State University polices and procedures regarding nonresident alien taxation issues. These procedures are intended to outline each campus department’s responsibility when employing/appointing nonresident alien faculty, graduate teaching associates, graduate assistants and special consultants. These procedures for nonresident aliens are in addition to all current hiring/payment procedures required by Human Resources Safety & Risk Management (HRS & RM).
Procedure and Responsibility
Step 1
Campus Department
The department will determine if the newly appointed faculty, graduate teaching associate, graduate assistant, or special consultant (employee) is a US Citizen or Permanent Resident Alien or Nonresident Alien by administering the Federal Form I-9 -- “Employment Eligibility Verification”. All newly hired employees must already have in their possession a Social Security Number or an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN). The department is responsible for obtaining and verifying appropriate documents and certifying the I-9. Questions regarding the administration of the I-9 should be directed to the Employment Unit of HRS & RM .
The employee is responsible for completing Section 1 of the I-9. The employee must determine his/her residency status in the United States by selecting one of the boxes under the statement, “I attest, under penalty of perjury, that I am (check one of the following):”
Citizen or national of the United States
A Lawful Permanent Resident (Alien # A ___)
An alien authorized to work until __/__/__
(Alien # or Admission #) _______________
A. If the employee is a “US Citizen or National, or Permanent Resident Alien (“green card holder”)”; the department will follow usual
departmental and HRS & RM employment practices/procedures.
B. If the employee is “An Alien” (nonresident alien) the department will provide and request the alien to complete a “SFSU Foreign National
Information Form”-- All nonresident alien employees must complete this form (designed to collect information necessary to determine the US
tax residency status of non-US citizens) before receiving any type of payment(s) and/or disbursement(s), including a paycheck, from San
Francisco State University.
C. Have the nonresident alien employee complete the rest of the new employee hire packet with the exception of the Employee Action Request
(EAR) form.
D. Schedule an appointment for the nonresident alien employee to meet with the Tax Specialist in Internal Audit to discuss his/her tax residency
status, tax withholding requirements and Federal tax treaty benefits. To avoid delays in completing the hiring process, a meeting should be
schedule with the Tax Specialist as soon as possible.
E. Request the nonresident alien employee to BRING the following documents to his/her appointment with the Tax Specialist:
1. SFSU Foreign National Information Form along with all the required supporting documents stated on the form:
• Passport page showing picture, name, and number;
• U.S. Visa;
• I-94 Form “Arrival and Departure Record” (a small white card inside the passport);
• FORM I-20 or DS2019;
• Social Security or ITIN Card.
2. Employee Action Request (EAR) form (the form should be blank). The Tax Specialist will assist in completing this form.
In order to ensure that Internal Audit has all the information required to make the proper tax determination and to minimize any delays in analyzing, the department should inform the NRA employee to be sure to bring all the documents and forms required.
Step 2
Internal Audit:
At the meeting with the NRA employee, the Tax Specialist will:
A. Review and discuss the SFSU Foreign National Information Form along with all the supporting documents. The Tax Specialist will determine
the nonresident alien employee’s tax residency status, the applicable income tax withholding rate, and whether some or all of the wages of the
employee are exempt from income and FICA tax withholding under a federal income tax treaty.
B. Request the employee to complete the Employee Action Request (EAR) form based on whether any tax treaty benefit is available to the
employee. The EAR is San Francisco State University’s version of the IRS Form W-4 (Employee’s Withholding Allowance Certificate).
California tax regulations do not mirror federal tax regulations; therefore the appropriate withholding of California taxes will be
recommended. California does not recognize any federal tax treaty exemptions.
C. Stamp the EAR form with the appropriate Federal and State tax withholding information. The stamp also indicates that Internal Audit has
discussed Federal and State tax withholding rates with the nonresident alien employee.
If the NRA employee requests a different State tax withholding rate than the Federal rate, the employee will need to indicate this change on
the Employee Action Request form, Box E. II. (Special Treatment of State Allowances). If the NRA employee does not request Special
Treatment of State Allowances, the Federal rate will be used as indicated in Box E. I. of the Employee Action Request form.
D. Request the employee to return the completed EAR form to the department and complete the rest of the hiring process.
Step 3
Campus Department
The department will complete the hiring process and forward the entire hiring packet as usual to:
A. For Faculty and Graduate Teaching Associates: follow the usual process of forwarding all the new hire forms to the Faculty Personnel Unit of
HRS & RM.
B. For Graduate Assistants: follow normal process of forwarding all the new hire forms to the Graduate Division.
C. For Special Consultants: follow normal departmental processes of forwarding all the new hire (P156D) forms to the Employment Unit of HRS
& RM .
The procedures above are the steps needed to employ and pay nonresident alien faculty, graduate teaching associates, graduate assistants and special consultants. The above procedures do not fully describe the entire process but do outline the necessary steps each department needs to adhere to. Should a campus department need further clarification on the above procedures or need additional information regarding employing nonresident alien faculty, graduate teaching associates, graduate assistants and special consultants, they should contact Internal Audit and speak to Young Kim, Tax Specialist at (415) 338-2325.
Internal Audit developed these procedures in conjunction with the Faculty Personnel and Employment Unit of HRS & RM.