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Taxes: Tax Treaty Information for Internationals

Learn how to benefit from a tax treaty.

Certain countries have tax treaties that offer exemption from U.S. federal tax. As a foreign visitor receiving payment from UC San Diego, you may be able to claim a tax treaty.

1. Use Glacier to learn if your country has a tax treaty with the U.S. and if you are eligible

Complete your Glacier record.

Glacier generates a screen that tells you if you are eligible to claim a tax treaty. 

2. Claim your tax treaty

There are two ways to claim a tax treaty:

  • Through UCSD:  If you are eligible to claim a tax treaty, Glacier will offer it to you on the "Tax Treaty Exemption Verification" screen, and will generate the forms necessary to claim the treaty. UC San Diego will facilitate the treaty within 10 days of receipt of your signed Glacier forms and "required document copies."  Payments dated in the calendar year that are calculated after treaty will  be exempt from federal tax withholdng according to the terms of the treaty.  If UC San Diego is unable to facilitate your treaty you will be notified via email.
  • Through federal tax return:  The instructions to Form 1040NREZ and Form 1040NR explain how to claim a treaty on your federal tax return. Glacier Tax Prep (GTP) will offer you the treaty if you're eligible.  Search irs.gov for "1040NREZ instructions" or "1040NR instructions." See the FAQ for general information about tax returns.

3. Renew your tax treaty

In most cases, you'll need to renew the treaty for each calendar year.

If you are a:

  • Resident for tax purposes claiming a tax treaty exemption on income classified as wages or salary, Glacier will generate Form W-9. This form does not expire.
  • Nonresident for tax purposes 
    • claiming a tax treaty exemption on income classified as fellowship, Glacier will generate Form W-8BEN. This form is valid for three years.
    • claiming a tax treaty exemption on income classified as wages or salary, Glacier will generate Form 8233. This form expires at the end of the calendar year (December 31), and needs to be renewed every year.

Make sure your Glacier record is complete and up to date, as UC San Diego uses Glacier to check eligibility for tax treaty exemptions and generate new forms when necessary.   

Timeline:

  • By early November: Receive an email from Glacier (support@online-tax.net) with instructions for claiming the treaty
    • By Mid-November: If you did not get an e-mail: access Glacier and go through each screen to find out if you qualify for a treaty the following year, and if you need to mail new forms to UC San Diego.
  • By the beginning of December: Submit your tax treaty forms to the UC San Diego Payroll Division so they can be processed in time to affect January payments. See the FAQ for our location.
Email the UCSD Glacier & TaxationTeam for more information.