SISS is not able to provide individual tax advice or assistance. However, the questions below may help to answer many of your tax questions. In addition, consult the resources provided by UC Davis’s Tax Reporting and Compliance Office, which also contains answers to many tax questions.

Tax Withholding Questions

• What is tax withholding?
• In the U.S., certain types of income (such as pay from your job) are subject to tax withholding. This means that part of your pay is taken out, or withheld, to pay your estimated taxes for the tax year. Read this guide from the IRS about withholding. If too much tax is taken out, you may qualify for a tax refund. If too little was taken out, you may have a tax bill. To get your refund (or pay your taxes), you will need to file a tax return.
• I’m working at UC Davis. How much of my income will the University withhold as taxes?
• It’s not possible to answer this in general, since it depends on individual factors such as your tax residency, visa type, country of citizenship, and other factors. However, UC Davis students and scholars will create a Glacier individual record after they arrive, which will be used to determine their exact withholding. Consult the information on the Tax Reporting and Compliance website for more information, or contact their office with questions.

Income Residency Questions

• What is the difference between “resident” and “nonresident” taxation?

• The U.S. distinguishes between residents and nonresidents for tax purposes. Residents are taxed in the same way as U.S. citizens and permanent residents, and use the same tax forms and can also use the same tax preparation software and services. Nonresidents, however, are subject to different tax requirements and use different tax forms. Read IRS Publication 519 for more information about the difference.

  Keep in mind that the U.S. federal government and individual states use the terms “resident” and “nonresident” very differently. You could be a resident for U.S. tax purposes, but a nonresident for state tax purposes, for example. Read here for more information about California tax residency definitions.

• I’m on a student or scholar visa, so I’m a tax nonresident, right?
• Not necessarily. Immigration status and tax residency are not always the same. For example, F-1 students are generally “nonresidents” for the first five tax years in which they were physically present in the U.S. In year six, they may become tax residents (or stay as tax nonresidents), depending on individual factors such as length of time in the U.S., based on the IRS substantial presence test. Read IRS Publication 519 for more information.

Tax Return Filing and Software Questions

• If I earned U.S. income during the year, when do I need to file my tax return?
• The income tax filing deadline is April 15 in the following year. For example, the tax filing deadline for the 2025 tax year (January 1 – December 31) is April 15, 2026.
• Do I need a Social Security Number (SSN) to file my taxes?
• In general, you do need a SSN if you earned income through employment (i.e., work). An ITIN may be used if you earned income that did not require employment (e.g., a scholarship or fellowship that did not require work). Read our Social Security Number and ITIN page for more information.
• I didn’t earn any income during the tax year. Do I need to file a tax return?
• If you didn’t earn any income during the tax year, you generally do not have any tax filing obligations. HOWEVER, if you are a tax nonresident, you are generally still required to file Form 8843, even if you did not have any U.S. income. Form 8843 is not a tax return but a form that you use to report your visa and immigration history to the Internal Revenue Service. You can prepare and mail Form 8843 to the IRS on your own (deadline for those with no income is June 15), or use a software system like Glacier Tax Prep to help you.
• Do I need to file state taxes?
• To find out if you need to file a California state tax form, please visit the State of California Franchise Tax Board's "Part-Year Resident and Nonresident" webpage for more information. You can also chat live with a representative from the State of California Franchise Tax Board to get answers to general questions regarding personal income tax or get help with their website.
• You can also consider using Sprintax, a tax preparation program to help file state taxes.
• If you lived and worked in another state besides California, income tax filing requirements may vary. Not all states have an income tax.
• What forms do I need to get to prepare my tax return?

• You may get several different types of forms depending on your income and activity during the tax year. These forms would be issued by UC Davis or any other company or institution that has provided you with income.

  For example, you may get a Form W-2 from each organization or company where you worked (e.g., UC Davis). You may also get a Form 1042-S, which reports any income that you earned that was not subject to taxes because of a tax treaty, and/or scholarship or fellowship income that is subject to taxes.

  Other forms may include Form 1099-INT (to reflect interest income), Form 1099-MISC (for other types of miscellaneous income).

  For more information about Form W-2 and Form 1042-S for any income from UC Davis, go to the Tax Reporting and Compliance website. Please note that SISS does not manage these forms for UC Davis students or employees.

• What’s the difference between the Glacier individual record and Glacier Tax Prep (GTP)?

• UC Davis will ask nonresidents to create a Glacier individual record to help calculate their tax residency and how much tax needs to be withheld from their pay or fellowship income. This is different from Glacier Tax Prep (GTP), which is a software system made available to nonresident students and scholars to help them with their annual federal tax return filing. While the two systems are linked, they are used for different purposes. Glacier is used by UC Davis to calculate whether or how much taxes to withhold from your income; Glacier Tax Prep is used by you to calculate your tax return, including your tax bill or tax refund.

  SISS will send an information email to students and scholars eligible to use GTP for their tax return, usually in February or March, before the April 15 deadline.

  Unfortunately, Glacier Tax Prep only assists with the U.S. federal income tax return filing. You would need to use another system to help with state income taxes, if that applies to you, such as Sprintax.

• How do I get the access code to Glacier Tax Prep?
• SISS will mail out the access code to eligible students and scholars in late February or early March, from our sisstax@ucdavis.edu email account.
• Do I have to use Glacier Tax Prep? Are there other options?

• No, Glacier Tax Prep is not required. It’s one of several options; however, those eligible to use it will get an access code so that they can use it for free.

  Another option is Sprintax, which is an online tax preparation software system that can help with income tax returns for nonresidents for both U.S. federal and state income taxes. You will receive a message from SISS in early spring about using Sprintax.

  International students and scholars who have become residents under U.S. federal tax laws can use commercial software like TurboTax or H&R Block, among many others. However, nonresidents should not use these systems, since they are not designed for nonresident taxation.

• Will there be tax workshops for students or scholars?
• UC Davis does not directly organize tax information or preparation workshops. However, both Glacier Tax Prep and Sprintax provide tax workshops for their users through the tax season (usually from late January through early April). You will receive information about their workshops once the schedules for the tax filing season are available.