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  3. International Tax Overview

International Tax Overview

All persons receiving payments from a U.S. source, whether they are U.S. residents or internationals,  are subject to U.S. taxation.  There are specific regulations and processes required for determining the tax withholding for international persons and  various factors come into play in determining the percentage of the tax withholding.  In certain situations, tax treaties may exist that exempt a person from U.S. taxation. 

The International Tax Office (ITO) is responsible for ensuring Vanderbilt University's compliance with U.S. tax regulations as they pertain to international persons, whether they be visitors, students, scholars or employees. 

There are four definitions that are important to the international tax process:

  1. Nonresident Alien:  this is defined by U.S. immigration laws and generally means any person who is not a U.S. citizen, U.S. national, U.S. resident, asylee, refugee or permanent resident.  Nonresident aliens are also called "international persons."  
  2. U.S. Resident:  this is defined by U.S. immigration law and generally means any person who is a U.S. citizen, U.S. national, asylee, refugee or permanent resident
  3. Nonresident Alien for Tax Purposes:  this is defined by U.S. tax regulations and simply means any international person who has not been physcially present in the USA for the amount of time required to warrant treatment as a Resident Alien for Tax Purposes.  The substantial presence test and/or the visa status of an international person is used to determine when this categorization ends.
  4. Resident Alien for Tax Purposes:  this is defined by U.S. tax regulations and simply means any international person who has been physcially present in the USA for the amount of time required to warrant treatment as a Resident Alien for Tax Purposes.  Resident aliens for tax purposes are taxed in the same manner as U.S. residents. They can use the same filing statuses and claim tax allowances just as a U.S. resident could.  In addition, worldwide income must be reported

The ITO uses a secure online tax compliance software ("GLACIER") to capture the information required to determine the actual tax status of an international person.  All international persons who are not U.S. Residents (see definitions above) and who are receiving payments from Vanderbilt University are required to have a GLACIER record.  Therefore, a GLACIER record is required even if an international employee, student, scholar or visitor meets the definition of a "Resident Aliens for Tax Purposes."  

Obtaining access to GLACIER is quick and easy. 

  1. International Visitors Receiving Payment from Vanderbilt:  International visitors do not access the GLACIER database directly.  Instead, the Vanderbilt department hosting the visit simply needs to direct the visitor to complete the online Business Visitor Questionnaire (BVQ). Once the questionnaire is received, the ITO will contact the visitor and provide additional guidance as necessary, and will give the visitor access to GLACIER if need be.
  2. International Employee, Student, or Scholar Receiving Payment From Vanderbilt: Complete the "GLACIER & Placeholder Number" online request form and hit "submit."  ITO will send an e-mail with the GLACIER access information.  The e-mail subject line will be Payments from Vanderbilt University. 

    https://forms.vanderbilt.edu/view.php?id=52474

Use the e-mail login information to open a GLACIER record. Complete the online questionnaire and then print the forms that generate at the end of the questionnaire process.  After printing the forms, sign and date them, collect photocopies of the required immigration documents and send them to the ITO. 

It is important to remember to update GLACIER every time there is a change of address, or change in immigration documents (visa stamp, I-94, I-20, DS-2019, etc).  Updating must continue until the international person leaves Vanderbilt or becomes a U.S. resident.