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General Tax Information

Overview

All international students and scholars are subject to U.S. income tax requirements. The following information discusses major tax concepts, requirements, and deadlines that are generally applicable to many situations. Please note that the information below does not constitute legal tax advice, and UC Davis employees (including SISS staff) are unable to provide individualized tax assistance. If you have specific questions, you can review information on our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) page or consult a qualified tax professional.

Basic Income Tax Concepts

  • Personal Responsibility for Income Taxes 

  • Under U.S. income tax laws, each individual – regardless of their immigration status – is responsible for understanding and complying with U.S. income tax laws. UC Davis employees, including SISS staff, are not allowed or able to provide tax advice or to prepare tax forms for any UC Davis student or staff member.

    However, while you are a student or scholar at UC Davis, you will be given access to tax information and tax software to help you with your tax requirements. You may also need to use a qualified tax professional for help on your specific tax situation.

  • Main Features of U.S. and State Income Taxes 

  • These are some of the basic features of U.S. federal (national) and individual state taxes. Please review this and other sections for more details.

    The U.S. has a dual-level tax system, with both U.S. federal (national) taxes as well as individual state taxes. The U.S. federal government and states like California use different income tax forms and have different tax laws and requirements, although they follow the same income tax year.

    The U.S. federal government and the individual states both use the calendar year (January 1 – December 31) as the income tax year. For example, the 2025 income tax year is January 1, 2025, through December 31, 2025. The tax year is important because taxes are calculated based on how much income you earned during the tax year.

    Anyone who receives U.S. income must have a tax identification number. For anyone who earns income based on work (employment), the tax identification number will be a U.S. Social Security Number (SSN). Others who earn income not based on work can apply for an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN). Read SISS’s webpage on Social Security and ITINs for more information and how to apply for a SSN or ITIN.

    Income taxes follow a ‘pay as you go’ system. This means that when you earn some types of U.S. income (such as pay you earn from a job), a portion of it may be taken out by your employer in order to pay your federal and state income taxes, through a process called tax withholding. For example, if you earn $2,000 in a month, your “take-home” pay may be $1,500 because $500 was withheld as federal and state taxes. How much income is withheld will vary depending on your personal situation. Even two people engaged in the same work at the same pay may have different withholding and take home different amounts of pay, depending on different factors.

    After the end of the tax year, you may need to prepare and submit a federal and possibly state income tax return. The tax return is a form that reports how much income you earned during the tax year, and how much tax was already paid through withholding. If you paid more tax than you need to, you will be eligible for a refund. If you paid too little tax, you will need to make an additional tax payment. The deadline for filing your tax return is usually April 15 in the following year. For example, the tax return deadline for the 2025 tax year (January 1 – December 31, 2025) is April 15, 2026. You will receive information about tax filing once the tax year is over.

    More detailed information about tax residency, tax withholding, and tax return filing is in the next section.

Tax Residency, Withholding and Filing

  • Tax Residents versus Non-Residents 

  • An extremely important concept in U.S. income taxes is the distinction between tax residents and tax non-residents. Your tax residency status will determine which tax rates, benefits, and forms you will use. Tax residency is not based on immigration status. While most international students and scholars on non-immigrant visas may start as tax non-residents, they can become tax residents at a later time. U.S. tax and immigration rules are not the same.

    Note: the U.S. federal government and individual states like California use terms like “residents” and “non-residents” very differently. Read below for more information.

    U.S. Federal Taxes: The U.S. federal government separates “resident aliens” from “non-resident aliens” for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Generally speaking, resident aliens are taxed in the same way as U.S. citizens and permanent residents, and use the same forms when filing their tax returns. Non-resident aliens follow different tax rules and must file different types of tax forms. They can also take advantage of certain types of tax treaty benefits.

    Most international students in F-1 and J-1 status will be tax non-residents for the first five years of physical presence in the U.S. (including any other times previously spent in student status). Scholars in J-1 status may be non-residents for the two years out of any six-year period of physical presence. However, individual situations may vary. Read through IRS Publication 519 for more information.

    If you are an international student or scholar and will be working at UC Davis, you will need to be able to create a GLACIER individual record, which is an online system that will help you to determine your tax residency and any tax benefits that are allowed, such as tax treaty exemptions. Glacier will tell you if you are a tax resident or non-resident based on the information you provide. Note: do NOT create a Glacier record until AFTER you have arrived in the U.S. on your student or scholar visa, and only if you expect to receive income from UC Davis.

    California State Taxes: The state of California also distinguishes between state tax residents versus non-residents / part-time residents. However, the definitions used by California are very different from those used by the U.S. federal government and are based on your long-term intentions and plans for residing in California. Go here for more information about California tax residency rules. If you are living in a state other than California, you will need to consult with the tax agency for that state about its tax residency rules.

  • Tax Withholding (“Pay as You Go”) 

  • The U.S. (and most states) follow a “pay as you go” income tax system. This means that as you earn certain types of income (such as salary from your job or a taxable stipend), part of your income will be withheld, or taken out, to pay your income taxes. For example, you may earn $2,000 for a particular month, but only receive $1,700 because $300 was withheld as income taxes. Tax withholding rates can vary depending on your tax residency (i.e., resident versus non-resident alien), as previously discussed. It can also be affected by your country of citizenship, current and prior immigration status, and overall expected U.S. income during the tax year. Depending on your citizenship and tax residency, you may qualify for a tax treaty benefit that may reduce or even eliminate your withholding.

    If you are an international student or scholar and will be receiving income from UC Davis, you will need to create a Glacier individual record and submit your information into that account. UC Davis will use your Glacier individual record to help determine your tax residency and how much tax withholding will apply to you, for any income you receive from UC Davis. Note: do NOT create a Glacier record until AFTER you have arrived in the U.S. on your student or scholar visa, and only if you expect to receive income from UC Davis.

    Tax withholding is important because it may affect your month-to-month budget and planning. In many cases, students and scholars may qualify for a refund of some of the taxes taken out during the tax year. This is done through the tax return filing process (described in the next section).

  • Annual Tax Return Filing and Form 8843 Requirement for ALL Non-Resident Aliens 

  • Each year, you may have an annual tax return filing requirement for the U.S. federal government, and possibly California or any other state where you were earning U.S. income during the previous tax year.

            - The tax return is a form that compares how much income you earned during the year (January 1 – December 31) and how much tax you may have already paid. If you paid too much tax, you will qualify for a refund. If you paid too little tax, you will need to make a tax payment.

            - You are not required to file a tax return if you do not owe any taxes. However, if you qualify for a tax refund and want it to be sent to you, you must file a tax return.

            - The tax filing deadline is usually on April 15 after the end of the tax year. For example, for the 2025 tax year (January 1 – December 31, 2025), the tax return filing deadline will be April 15, 2026.

            - After the tax year is over, you will receive tax forms and information from UC Davis and any other employer(s) that provided you with income. These forms will help you to submit your federal and state tax returns using different software options. Please wait for that information and read more below.

            - You may need to do a federal tax return and a state tax return, depending on your income and where you earned it. However, both the federal and state governments have different requirements regarding who needs to file a return, and who doesn’t. Some people may need to file both federal and state returns, while others may only need to file a federal return.

    Form 8843: Generally, income tax return filing is required only if you owe taxes or qualify for a tax refund. This means that you do not have any tax filing requirement if you did not earn any income during the tax year. However, even if you had no U.S. income, you still need to file IRS Form 8843 if you are considered a non-resident alien under U.S. income tax law, even if you did not earn any income during the tax year. Students should complete Parts I and III and sign the form; scholars should complete Parts I and II and sign the form. The form can be completed on paper and mailed to the address printed on Page 3 of the form under “Where to File.” You can also use tax software (see next section) to complete the form. If you had no U.S. income during the tax year, and are only completing Form 8843, the filing deadline is usually June 15 of the following year.

Tax Forms, Tax Software, and Tax Agencies

You may encounter many different types of tax forms for both U.S. federal and state taxes. In addition, there are different software systems used to calculate your tax withholding and to help you with your annual tax return filing.

  • Tax Forms 

  • There are different tax forms that are involved at different stages of the tax process.

    Tax withholding forms. These forms include Form W-4 Tax Withholding Certificate, and are used when you start work, in order to determine how much taxes need to be withheld from any income you earn. If you are starting work or expecting to receive income from UC Davis, you will create a Glacier individual record to help you produce these forms and report them electronically to the appropriate tax offices.

    Income and tax benefit reporting forms. These are forms that you may receive from UC Davis or any other organization that provided you with U.S. income, to help you complete your tax return forms. Depending on your activity during the year, you may receive more than one of each form. For example, a person who had two jobs may receive more than one Form W-2. They include:

            - Form W-2: You may receive a Form W-2 from each employer (such as UC Davis) where you worked and received wages. reporting how much you were paid and how much taxes were taken from your pay. For any income based on a job with UC Davis during a tax year, Form W-2 will be available through UC Path at the end of January.

            - Form 1042-S that may report different types of income information, but for many students and scholars will include information about income that you earned that was exempt from taxes due to a U.S. tax treaty, or taxable income earned from a taxable fellowship or scholarship. For UC income, Form 1042-S may come from different sources.

            - Form 1099: there are different types of Form 1099s to reflect different types of income, such as interest income from a savings account at a bank, income that you earned as an independent contractor while doing an internship, and so on.

    Tax return forms. These forms are prepared and submitted by you (by yourself, or by using tax software or a tax professional) and sent to the U.S. federal tax agency and/or state tax agencies to report your income and taxes during the tax year. They are normally due by April 15. Depending on the information you provide on your tax return, you may then qualify for a tax refund or need to pay additional taxes with your tax return. The following lists tax return forms most commonly used by international students and scholars who are non-resident aliens for tax purposes.

            - Form 1040-NR, U.S. Nonresident Alien Income Tax Return

            - Form 540NR, California Nonresident or Part-Year Resident Form

    Depending on the type of income you earned during the tax year, there may be different or additional forms that you will need to complete. You can use the tax software described in the next section or hire a qualified tax specialist to assist you.

  • Tax Software and Assistance 

  • There are different software systems designed to help students and scholars with their tax withholding and tax filing obligations.

    Tax withholding (when starting appointment at UC Davis). If you are an international student or scholar and expect to receive income from UC Davis, you will need to create a Glacier individual record to help you prepare your tax withholding forms based on your residency. If you are claiming a tax treaty benefit that may reduce your withholding, you will need to update your Glacier individual record each year to renew your treaty benefits. Consult with the UC Davis Tax Compliance and Reporting office if you have questions about your Glacier individual record.

    Tax return filing (due by April 15 for the previous tax year). There are different tax software systems available to help international students and scholars with their annual tax return filing. Please note that UC Davis staff cannot directly prepare tax returns or assist with tax filing questions, as we are not legally authorized to do so. These software systems should be able to assist with most tax filing situations.

    Glacier Tax Prep (Note: This is NOT the same as your Glacier individual record). This system can be used to prepare tax returns for non-residents for purposes of U.S. income tax. Each spring (around February or March), SISS will send an email to international students and scholars with an access code for Glacier Tax Prep. This complimentary service is available to:

            - Students enrolled at UC Davis at any time during the tax year

            - Recent UC Davis graduates currently in active F-1 OPT or J-1 AT status with an I-20 or DS-2019 from SISS

            - Non-resident employees working at UC Davis or UC ANR at any time during the tax year

            - Those in active J-1 status, with a DS-2019 issued by UC Davis at any time during the tax year.

    You are not required to use Glacier Tax Prep, as it is only one option. Note that Glacier Tax Prep only prepares U.S. federal income tax forms and cannot be used for state income tax filings. 

    Sprintax: Sprintax is a tax preparation service that assists international students and scholars with non-resident tax return filings. You can use Sprintax either for your federal tax return, state tax return, or both. Unfortunately, there is no discount code at this time for Sprintax’s services. You will receive an email message about Sprintax in early spring, along with other tax information, when it is time to prepare your tax return.

    Other tax software systems: If you are a resident alien for U.S. federal income tax purposes, you may use commercially available tax preparation software such as TurboTax, H&R Block, and others, which are also used by U.S. citizens and permanent residents. Do not use these software systems if you are a non-resident for U.S. income tax purposes.

    Professional services: Consult also with the information on our Tax Filing Resources page for tax preparation services and assistance.

  • Tax Agencies and Support 

  • Your main source of information about taxes is the U.S. federal tax agency, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Some useful publications provided by the IRS include:

            - Publication 519, U.S. Tax Guide for Aliens

            - Publication 901, U.S. Tax Treaties

    The California Franchise Tax Board manages the California tax system.

    Consult our Tax Filing Resources page for information on tax preparation services and assistance available through the IRS, state tax agencies, and professional tax preparation services.

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