Nonresident Employees

If you are considered a foreign national (not a U.S. citizen), you can be either a resident alien or a nonresident alien for income tax purposes.

What is a Resident Alien?

A resident alien, for income tax purposes, will be subject to the same tax withholding rules that apply to U.S citizens, including Social Security and Medicare taxes (also known as FICA taxes), and is required to file an annual tax return Form 1040.

In order to become a resident alien, you must pass one of the two tests, below.

What is a Nonresident Alien?

A nonresident alien, for income tax purposes, has different rules and regulations that apply to their tax status.
Usually, F1 and J1 student visa holders are considered nonresident aliens for any part of the first five calendar years they are present in the United States.
J1 nonstudent visa holders (professors, researchers, etc.) are usually considered nonresident aliens for any part of the first two calendar years they are in the U.S. in that visa status.
Nonresident aliens must elect “single” status with a maximum of one allowance on their Form W-4.
Nonresident aliens will need to complete an annual tax return, Form 1040NR. They may receive a W-2 or a 1042-S form reporting their taxable income and taxes withheld.

How to Determine if You Are a Resident or Nonresident Alien

As a foreign national, you are a resident alien if you pass one of two tests: either the Green Card Test or the Substantial Presence Test. Otherwise, you are a nonresident alien. See IRS Publication 519 (PDF) for additional details.

You can be both a nonresident alien and a resident alien in one tax year, in which case you will be a considered a “dual-status alien” for tax purposes. This usually occurs in the year you arrive or depart from the United States or when you change immigration status.

Resident Aliens

Green Card Test

You pass the Green Card Test if you have been issued a “green card” (aka Form I-551 Alien Registration Card) by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Learn more about the citizenship process.

Failing

You fail the Green Card Test if any of the below applies:

You have not been issued a “green card.”
You renounce and abandon your resident alien status in writing to USCIS.
Your immigration status is administratively terminated by USCIS.
Your immigration status is judicially terminated by the U.S. federal court system.

Substantial Presence Test

You pass the Substantial Presence Test if you are physically present in the United States for at least:

31 days during the calendar year
and 183 days during the three-year period that includes the current year and two years immediately before that counting:
- all the days you were present in the current year
- and 1/3 of the days you were present in the first year before the current year
- and 1/6 of the days you were present in the second year before the current year

Nonresident Aliens

If you are a foreign national employee, please contact the Office of Payroll Operations.

Once Payroll Operations has been notified you will receive an email from noreply@sprintax.com to use your Ball State single sign on (SSO) to log into Sprintax Calculus to complete an application to determine your current tax year filing status.

Ball State has arranged foreign national employees access to Sprintax Calculus, an innovative, paper-free way to manage your tax-related documents. Sprintax is used by over 200,000 international students, employees, scholars, and nonresidents each year. Sprintax will guide you through the tax preparation process, arrange the necessary documents, and check to determine if you are due a tax refund.

To prepare your tax documents with Sprintax, simply:

Follow the link provided by email from Sprintax.
Use your single sign on (SSO) to complete the online questionnaire and upload copies of your documentation.
Sprintax will determine your eligibility for tax treaty benefits and exemption from FICA taxes.

Tax Treaty Benefits

Once you complete the online questionnaire and application in the Sprintax software, please contact your Payroll Operations Specialist and we will submit the necessary forms to the IRS on your behalf and set up your taxes appropriately. Certain countries have treaties that may lessen the amount of withholding due.

Payroll Operations and Employee Benefits

Administration Building (AD), room G29
2000 W. University Ave.
Muncie, IN 47306

Monday - Friday
Academic Year 8 a.m.-5 p.m.
Summer 7:30 a.m. - 4 p.m.

765-285-1834

765-285-6612