Tax Obligations for Penn's International Community

It’s important that you understand the tax requirements of your visa. You’re legally required to file a tax return, if you worked in the U.S. or received a stipend, grant or allowance.

If you had U.S. source income you will receive one or more forms indicating the type and the amount of income received. The filing deadline to submit the 2018 tax returns is Monday, April 15, 2019.

Even if you didn’t work or receive income in the U.S., you’re still legally obliged to file Form 8843 with the IRS.  The filing deadline for this is June 17, 2019.

The University of Pennsylvania is in the process of sending required tax forms. Below is an anticipated timeline of when to expect tax forms from the university. Please note that this list is not all inclusive and that some forms may not be applicable to you: 

• Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement: On or about January 31, 2019

• Form 1098-T, Tuition Statement: On or about January 31, 2019

• Form 1042-S, Foreign Person’s U.S. Source Income Subject to Withholding: On or about March 15, 2019

If you have not received your forms by March 15th, please see https://www.finance.upenn.edu/individual-tax for instructions on how to obtain these forms.

If you received income through authorized off-campus employment in 2018, you may receive a tax document from your employer (typically a 1099 or W-2). All inquiries regarding such tax documents should be directed to your employer.

ISSS has arranged access to Sprintax (https://www.sprintax.com/uni-lp.html?utm_ref=university-of-pennsylvania--lp&utm_content=prmc) to guide you through the process, prepare the necessary tax documents and even check if you’re due a refund. Sprintax will help you complete your federal tax forms free of charge. If you want to use Sprintax to file a state return, you can do so at your own expense at a discounted rate.

Filing with Sprintax Process:

1. Create a Sprintax account

2. Complete Sprintax’s online questionnaire

3. Enter your unique access code in the box on the ‘Review your order’ page.  In order to obtain this unique access code you will need to:

     a. Log into iPenn with your Pennkey and password

     b. Once logged into iPenn, click “Taxes” on the left menu

     c. Finally, select the subheader “Sprintax System” to obtain your unique access code for Sprintax

4. Utilize Sprintax to finish preparing your tax return.

As a reminder, you must print, sign and mail your documents once you complete the preparation process in the Sprintax software.

ISSS does not have expertise to assist you in preparing your tax return. If you have any questions, please use the live chat function in Sprintax and the team will be happy to help.

Visit the ISSS Tax Webpage