International Student & Scholar Services

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Tax Information for International Students & Scholars at the University of Pennsylvania

Note: ISSS tax information is intended only for international students and scholars at the University of Pennsylvania with income sources and levels typical of students and scholars (in F or J status) at the University. The University of Pennsylvania hereby disclaims all warranties as to the accuracy of such information and shall have no liability of any kind for any use made of such information by any person or organization. You should seek professional tax advice from a qualified accountant or attorney if you have questions or need clarification.

US Federal Income Tax

This year ISSS is again making a very good web-based tax preparation software program called CINTAX available for your use. CINTAX allows you to easily prepare your federal income tax return from any computer connected to the internet.

After you collect all of your tax and immigration information, it should take you only twenty to forty minutes to complete your federal income tax return using CINTAX. Once you answer CINTAX's questions about your immigration status, income and related matters, CINTAX will produce (in PDF format) your completed federal income tax forms ready for printing, signature and mailing to the Internal Revenue Service.

To use CINTAX, you'll need the password that you should have received in an email message from ISSS. If you are currently an international student or scholar at Penn or if you were an international student or scholar at Penn at anytime during the past tax year and you did not receive a password from ISSS, please request your password by email (from your Penn email account) to oipadm@oip.upenn.edu.

To learn how to access CINTAX with your password, view these instructions (PDF).

Please note that ISSS cannot provide email or telephone support for CINTAX, but we are confident that you'll find CINTAX, with its clear format and many help menus, easy to use to prepare your federal income tax return.

Pennsylvania State Income Tax

Meeting your tax obligations to the State of Pennsylvania is easier in two respects: the state tax rate is lower than the federal tax rate; and the State of Pennsylvania treats you exactly like it treats US citizens; there are no special rules or forms for international students. There are some important points to keep in mind, however, as you plan to meet your Pennsylvania State tax obligations.

First of all, to avoid confusion, please note that your nonresident or resident status for federal income tax purposes (see "US Income Tax," above) has nothing whatsoever to do with your nonresident or resident status for Pennsylvania state tax purposes. Please note also that any federal tax treaty benefit that you may have does not apply to Pennsylvania taxes.

You are usually considered a nonresident for Pennsylvania state tax purposes if you were in Pennsylvania in 2007 solely to study as a full-time student.

You are usually considered a resident for Pennsylvania state tax purposes only if you were in Pennsylvania more than 183 days in the calendar year for a purpose other than study and you lived in housing that you leased for a period of 12 months.

If you are a nonresident for Pennsylvania state tax purposes, you must file a 2007 Pennsylvania state tax return on Form PA-40 if you had more than $33 in Pennsylvania taxable income for the year (checking the "Nonresident" box on the Form) even if no tax is due. You may be able to file your state tax return by telephone or internet if you have received a mailing from the PA Department of Revenue indicating that you can do so. If you were a nonresident your Pennsylvania taxable income includes only wages that you earned in Pennsylvania. It does not include any interest or dividends that you received in 2007.

If you are a resident your Pennsylvania taxable income includes wages that you earned and interest and dividend payments that you received while living in Pennsylvania in 2007.

Whether you are a nonresident or resident for Pennsylvania state tax purposes, please note that any non-service scholarship income that you received, including portions paid to you to cover living expenses, is not Pennsylvania taxable income. (note: any amount reported to you by the University in state income box 16 on Form W-2 is Pennsylvania taxable income; such income is considered a wage, not a scholarship or fellowship. On the other hand, if the amount reported to you by the University in box 16 of your W-2 is "0" your University income is not state taxable.)

Philadelphia City Wage Tax

In one respect, meeting your Philadelphia city tax obligation is easiest of all: you don't have to do a thing about your city taxes. Philadelphia city tax is a wage tax, not an income tax; that is, it is only applied to your earned income, not to your interest, dividend or capital gains earnings. If you worked in Philadelphia in 2007, your employer automatically deducted your city taxes from your pay checks and sent the money to City Hall. Unlike the Pennsylvania and Federal governments, City Hall does not want to hear from you. Also, you usually have no reason to contact them because there is no way they are going to give any money back to you. (Well, almost no way. Occasionally people who work in the city but live in the suburbs are mistakenly charged the slightly higher city residents wage tax. If this happens, City Hall will refund the difference, but the difference is small. No matter where you live, if you work in Philadelphia you pay a city wage tax.)

Other Resources

Other US Tax Forms: Download forms from the Internal Revenue Service.

Pennsylvania Tax Forms: Download forms from the PA Department of Revenue.

Income Tax Treaties: Full texts of tax treaties between the US and foreign countries and the related US Treasury Department Technical Explanation on the IRS website.

TheTaxGuy.com: A commercial site offering information and for-fee tax return preparation for international students and scholars.

	International Programs Penn Abroad \| ISSS \| IA@Penn
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You should seek professional tax advice from a qualified accountant or attorney if you have questions or need clarification. US Federal Income Tax This year ISSS is again making a very good web-based tax preparation software program called CINTAX available for your use. CINTAX allows you to easily prepare your federal income tax return from any computer connected to the internet. After you collect all of your tax and immigration information, it should take you only twenty to forty minutes to complete your federal income tax return using CINTAX. Once you answer CINTAX's questions about your immigration status, income and related matters, CINTAX will produce (in PDF format) your completed federal income tax forms ready for printing, signature and mailing to the Internal Revenue Service. To use CINTAX, you'll need the password that you should have received in an email message from ISSS. If you are currently an international student or scholar at Penn or if you were an international student or scholar at Penn at anytime during the past tax year and you did not receive a password from ISSS, please request your password by email (from your Penn email account) to oipadm@oip.upenn.edu. To learn how to access CINTAX with your password, view these instructions (PDF). Please note that ISSS cannot provide email or telephone support for CINTAX, but we are confident that you'll find CINTAX, with its clear format and many help menus, easy to use to prepare your federal income tax return. Pennsylvania State Income Tax Meeting your tax obligations to the State of Pennsylvania is easier in two respects: the state tax rate is lower than the federal tax rate; and the State of Pennsylvania treats you exactly like it treats US citizens; there are no special rules or forms for international students. There are some important points to keep in mind, however, as you plan to meet your Pennsylvania State tax obligations. First of all, to avoid confusion, please note that your nonresident or resident status for federal income tax purposes (see "US Income Tax," above) has nothing whatsoever to do with your nonresident or resident status for Pennsylvania state tax purposes. Please note also that any federal tax treaty benefit that you may have does not apply to Pennsylvania taxes. You are usually considered a nonresident for Pennsylvania state tax purposes if you were in Pennsylvania in 2007 solely to study as a full-time student. You are usually considered a resident for Pennsylvania state tax purposes only if you were in Pennsylvania more than 183 days in the calendar year for a purpose other than study and you lived in housing that you leased for a period of 12 months. If you are a nonresident for Pennsylvania state tax purposes, you must file a 2007 Pennsylvania state tax return on Form PA-40 if you had more than $33 in Pennsylvania taxable income for the year (checking the "Nonresident" box on the Form) even if no tax is due. You may be able to file your state tax return by telephone or internet if you have received a mailing from the PA Department of Revenue indicating that you can do so. If you were a nonresident your Pennsylvania taxable income includes only wages that you earned in Pennsylvania. It does not include any interest or dividends that you received in 2007. If you are a resident your Pennsylvania taxable income includes wages that you earned and interest and dividend payments that you received while living in Pennsylvania in 2007. Whether you are a nonresident or resident for Pennsylvania state tax purposes, please note that any non-service scholarship income that you received, including portions paid to you to cover living expenses, is not Pennsylvania taxable income. (note: any amount reported to you by the University in state income box 16 on Form W-2 is Pennsylvania taxable income; such income is considered a wage, not a scholarship or fellowship. On the other hand, if the amount reported to you by the University in box 16 of your W-2 is "0" your University income is not state taxable.) Philadelphia City Wage Tax In one respect, meeting your Philadelphia city tax obligation is easiest of all: you don't have to do a thing about your city taxes. Philadelphia city tax is a wage tax, not an income tax; that is, it is only applied to your earned income, not to your interest, dividend or capital gains earnings. If you worked in Philadelphia in 2007, your employer automatically deducted your city taxes from your pay checks and sent the money to City Hall. Unlike the Pennsylvania and Federal governments, City Hall does not want to hear from you. Also, you usually have no reason to contact them because there is no way they are going to give any money back to you. (Well, almost no way. Occasionally people who work in the city but live in the suburbs are mistakenly charged the slightly higher city residents wage tax. If this happens, City Hall will refund the difference, but the difference is small. No matter where you live, if you work in Philadelphia you pay a city wage tax.) Other Resources Other US Tax Forms: Download forms from the Internal Revenue Service. Pennsylvania Tax Forms: Download forms from the PA Department of Revenue. Income Tax Treaties: Full texts of tax treaties between the US and foreign countries and the related US Treasury Department Technical Explanation on the IRS website. TheTaxGuy.com: A commercial site offering information and for-fee tax return preparation for international students and scholars.
	International Programs Penn Abroad \| ISSS \| IA@Penn