This is the time of year when people in the United States are required to file an income tax return for income earned during 2019. Some international students and scholars are also required to file a tax Form 8843, even when they did not earn income. Please see more information below.

 

This week,  the University will hold two tax information sessions at the Storrs campus for international students and scholars.  During these sessions, a School of Business faculty member, who also coordinates UConn’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program, will present an overview of the  income tax rules that apply to international students and visitors, and resources to help you file your taxes.

 

The first session will be offered Thursday, February 6, from 6 to 7:30 pm and the second session will be held on Friday February 7, from 10 to 11:30 a.m. Location: School of Business, Room 106. Prior sign up is encouraged, but not required. To sign up, please visit icworkshops.uconn.edu > View Available Events > Tax Information Workshop.

 

The following topics and frequently asked questions will be discussed at the information sessions:

 

• Nonresident vs. Resident Alien tax status
• What is considered taxable income?
• What is an income tax treaty and how can I benefit from it?
• Who needs to file a 2019 federal and/or state income tax return?
• What documents do I need to prepare and file my income tax returns?
• Who needs to file Form 8843?
• UConn’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (“VITA”) program – freetax return preparation assistance provided to UConn’s international community

 

If you received taxable income (e.g. wages, taxable scholarships or fellowships) in the United States during the 2019 calendar year, you must file a 2019 federal income tax return (and possibly a state income tax return) and pay any unpaid taxes by April 15, 2020. Even if you had no taxable income in 2019, you may need to file Form 8843 with the Internal Revenue Service.  Form 8843 allows you to maintain your Nonresident Alien tax status while you’re in the U.S. for a certain number of years, depending on your visa type.

 

We understand that income taxes can be very confusing.  Therefore, UConn’s VITA program provides free personalized tax counseling and tax return preparation services for our international community at UConn.  Visit vita.business.uconn.edu for more information, and to schedule your appointment for free tax return preparation.  You will need to complete a brief questionnaire first, to ensure that you are eligible for the tax preparation service. 

 

UConn provides students and scholars who are unable to attend an in-person VITA program session free access to Sprintax tax preparation software, which prepares nonresident alien tax returns and the Form 8843. Contact ISSS at international@uconn.edu to request your access code to use Sprintax for free. Sprintax also prepares State Tax returns, for an extra fee.

 

Please note that if you arrived here as a new student or scholar in 2020, you do not need to file a tax return or Form 8843 at this time.

 

Students and scholars who are unable to attend one of the Tax Information Sessions should consult the following University resources:

ISSS Tax Resources for International Students

UConn VITA Program Tax FAQ: Tax Assistance for Foreign Students and Scholars

UConn Tax & Compliance Office Nonresident Tax FAQs

 

Dear International Students and Scholars,

 

ISSS understands that you may be worried about the emerging coronavirus situation, and that you may have been personally impacted through travel delays. If you are in China, or have family in China, we wish you and your family good health, and we hope that life will soon return to normal. Please let us know how we can support you.

 

We would like to share with you important updates and information:

 

Travel from China to U.S.

As you may know, President Trump issued a Presidential Proclamation on January 31^st that bars entry to the U.S. of foreign nationals who have recently (within the past 14 days) been present in, or traveled from, the People’s Republic of China (excluding Hong Kong and Macau). The restriction started Sunday, February 2^nd at 5 pm, and its end date is unknown.  Some categories of foreign nationals, including lawful permanent residents of the U.S., spouses of a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident, and parents of U.S. citizen children, are exempt from this restriction.  However, exempt individuals may still be subject to testing and quarantine upon arrival to the U.S.

 

If you are a student, a visiting scholar, or an OPT participant who is in China, and unable to return due to the travel restriction, please notify ISSS if you have not already done so.

 

Spring Break Travel to China

At this time, ISSS suggests that students who are in the U.S. not plan unnecessary travel to China during the Spring break, until we know when the reentry restriction will be lifted. If students are required to travel due to an emergency or otherwise cannot stay here, please discuss your plans with your ISSS advisor so we can help you understand your options for return.

 

Maintaining  Your Visa Status

With the entry restriction in place, It is especially important that enrolled students make every effort to maintain your visa status by attending all classes, on a full time basis (unless you are already approved for a Reduced Course Load).

 

Also, do not work in the U.S. unless you have ISSS or USCIS authorization. The F-1 visa allows enrolled students to work up to 20 hours per week on campus, without special authorization. All other employment requires explicit ISSS or USCIS authorization. J-1 visa students require written ISSS authorization for all types of employment.

 

Visiting scholars are not required to study to maintain status, and  may only work in a position at UConn that forms the basis of your exchange program.  Please contact ISSS with further questions.

 

Health Information and Services

UConn Student Health and Wellness (SHaW) maintains up to date information related to coronavirus and flu on their webpage. They also have  a phone number dedicated to novel coronavirus –  if you have questions or concerns related to the virus, you may call (860) 486-8987 during business hours, or the after hours on-call nurse (860-486-4700) outside of business hours. If you are feeling ill, please seek medical treatment at Student Health and Wellness at the Storrs campus (for enrolled Storrs campus students) or through your local medical provider, if at a regional campus. SHaW would like to remind all students that they should get a flu shot, if they have not already done so. These are provided at SHaW, your local medical provider, and at many pharmacies.

 

Academic Support

We know that many students had to return to campus later than planned, or may have been ill and missed a number of classes. It is very important that you communicate with your professors if you miss class to find out how or if you can make up any missed work. The ISSS webpage on Academic Support lists a number of on-campus resources that can help you if you are struggling to keep up with your coursework. If you have missed significant class time due to an illness, and you have medical documentation, you may be eligible to take a Reduced Course Load for the semester and withdraw from the course, if necessary.

 

Please ask for help if you are  struggling. UConn campuses have resources and staff who are willing to help, but you must seek out that assistance.

 

Travel Advising

If you are unsure how the new entry ban will impact your travel or your family/friend’s travel, please consult with your ISSS advisor. You can make an appointment or visit during drop in hours.

 

Bias Incident Reporting

We would like to remind students how they can report bias incidents that occur on campus. From the Dean of Students webpage on Bias Incident Reporting:

A bias-related incident is an incident that negatively targets, intimidates, or threatens an individual or group due to race, ethnicity, ancestry, national origin, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, physical, mental, and intellectual disabilities, as well as past/present history of mental disorders. This includes, but is not limited to, graffiti or images that harass or intimidate individuals or groups due to the above characteristics. ​  Because novel coronavirus is associated with a specific world region/country, we want students to know that if you feel you are negatively targeted, or witness other students being negatively targeted, due to an association between someone’s race, ethnicity, or national origin and the novel coronavirus, you may report such incidents through this form.

Thank you and best wishes for the rest of the semester.

International students and scholars who were enrolled in the UConn Student Health Insurance Plan (SHIP) at any point during 2019 may have received an email from Wellfleet Student with the subject line Important Student Health Insurance 1095-B Information. Wellfleet is the company that provides your insurance coverage under the UConn SHIP. This email is not spam or a scam. Many international students have reported receiving this email, and they have been confused by the message content.

If you received this message from Wellfleet, it means they don’t have your current Social Security Number information, and they would like to have this number to issue your tax form 1095-B (since the SSN is a tax ID number). The 1095-B is issued by the insurance company to document your health insurance coverage. When you file a U.S. tax return, you may or may not be required to demonstrate that you had health insurance using this form.

You may provide your SSN to the health insurance company by completing the W-9 tax form and mailing it to the address in the email. If you do not have a Social Security Number, or if you choose to not provide this to Wellfleet, the tax form 1095-B will still be mailed to you. If you are filing a U.S. tax return because you had taxable income in 2019, then save the 1095-B form for your tax records. If you are not filing a U.S. tax return because you did not have taxable income in 2019, we still advise you to save this form for your records.

ISSS worked with our campus partners across campus to create a video for the #YouAreWelcomeHere campaign! This is a national campaign to let international students know that despite the message being sent by the government through recent visa restrictions and immigration policy updates, we welcome you to the United States and to our campus!

http://dailycampus.com/stories/2019/27/09/students-explore-the-culture-of-tattoos-in-this-months-isss-coffee-hour

Join us on May 8th for a meal to celebrate the achievements of graduating international students. Prior RSVP required.

Check out our new video featuring ISSS advisor Sarah Manning and student worker Ruixin Zheng! As the number of UConn students from China has increased, ISSS recognized that pronouncing Chinese names may be difficult for non-Chinese speakers. We hope that this video will help you feel more confident pronouncing sounds commonly found in Chinese names.  Credits to ISSS student staff Shi Pu for the basic script/concept and Eve Lenson for filming. We hope you enjoy the video!

 

Check out the Daily Campus article about our recent Coffee Hour: South Asia!

Check out the Daily Campus article about Spring Valley Farm visiting us at the ISSS Department to talk about creating more sustainable food and the importance of a healthy diet.

Article: http://dailycampus.com/stories/2019/4/10/spring-valley-farm-the-importance-of-sustainable-farming

UConn’s Office of University Compliance has partnered with ISSS to remind the University community on international student employment rules.

View the newsletter here! https://compliance.uconn.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/2286/2019/04/Compliance-Chatter-4.9.19-ISSS.pdf