Use these guidelines to better understand payments to foreign individuals.

Harvard is required to follow:

• Internal Revenue Service (IRS) regulations that govern the taxation of payments to nonresident aliens, which differ from those that govern payments to U.S. citizens and resident aliens; and
• Regulations set by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) when making payments to certain foreign scholars and students

These regulations, which can be complicated, determine the tax status and proper...

Nonresident aliens for tax purposes and foreign entities, unlike U.S. persons and U.S entities, are only subject to tax withholding on income that is considered U.S.-sourced and not foreign-sourced. In order for Harvard to consider income as foreign sourced, the foreign payee must have attested to their foreign status by submitting a completed W-8. Instructions for form W-8BEN for foreign individuals is accessible directly from the IRS website.

Harvard is required to indicate the “location of...

Employment compensation, or a salary, is taxed at marginal graduated rates, meaning income earned over certain levels set by the U.S. tax authorities is taxed at progressively higher rates. Please see the section on income tax withholding tables in IRS Publication 15 to get an idea of how your salary will be taxed by Harvard.

• If eligible for tax treaty benefits, both nonresident aliens and resident aliens can claim exemption from tax withholding by submitting completed tax...