Sprintax for the 2022 Tax Season is now available! To access Sprintax click here.
Aliens temporarily present in the United States as students, trainees, scholars, teachers, researchers, exchange visitors, and cultural exchange visitors are subject to special rules with respect to the taxation of their income.
All students who are on an F or J immigration status and were physically in the U.S. during the 2022 calendar year (January 1, 2022-December 31, 2022) must file at least one U.S. federal tax document to the IRS (www.irs.gov) for the 2022 tax year. Please see this article from IRS about international students.
Tax form filings are generally due on or about April 18, 2023.
Federal and Massachusetts State income tax return filing deadline for the 2022 calendar year will be on April 18, 2023.
Students who have resided in another State during the 2022 calendar year will need to verify the deadline to file State income tax returns with that State’s department of taxation or department of revenue in case it is different from the Federal filing deadline of April 18, 2023.
MIT’s move from Glacier Tax Prep to Sprintax
MIT Vice President for Finance Office (VPR), Human Resources and Payroll, and the International Students (ISO) and International Scholars (ISchO) Offices have consolidated MIT’s foreign national tax software platform to a single provider: Sprintax (the income tax return filing software is also referred to as “Sprintax Returns”). VPF migrated to Sprintax Tax Determination System (TDS) from Glacier Foreign National Tax Compliance on October 4, 2021. An email was sent by VPF on October 2, 2021 to all individuals with a record in the former Glacier Tax Compliance platform.
The ISO will be making available in 2023 the Sprintax nonresident tax preparation software available to all international students and alumni to assist in completing income tax return filings for the 2022 calendar year.
The goal of the consolidation of tax resources is to reduce the amount of manual entry of data required by international students to utilize the payroll system and in completing annual income tax returns. During the months of October, November, and early December, VPF HR/Payroll contacted students with existing records in Glacier to ensure that their account information was completely updated in Sprintax.
The ISO will provide details about filing income tax returns and accessing the Sprintax tax filing software beginning in January/February 2023. The income tax filing deadline for the 2022 tax year is on/about April 15, 2023 (a confirmation of the exact date will be available from the IRS and Massachusetts Department of Revenue soon).
For additional information, VPF support resources are available here. The ISO tax information page can be accessed here.
Tax Guidance for Non-Resident Aliens
The MIT Office of the Vice President for Finance, in cooperation with the International Scholars Office (ISchO) and the International Students Office (ISO), created a website for foreign nationals to provide resources and links related to receiving payments from MIT and guidance on income taxes.
International students and scholars are advised to review the “Tax Guidance for Nonresident Aliens” website for details on payments, taxes, and filing annual income tax returns, which is available here.
Students can also find the recordings and slidedecks from the MIT Tax Workshops for the 2022 calendar year tax filings at the site: click here.
Tax Software for Non-Resident Aliens
The ISO has purchased a tax software program called Sprintax to use at no cost to all MIT international students through a generous donation by the Kailath International Student Fund.
Sprintax is an Internet-based tax return preparation system that will help F or J visa holders prepare their 2022 U.S. Federal tax forms, as well as access for a fee to many U.S. State income tax return forms. After going through Sprintax, the program will prepare the appropriate federal tax forms for you to print out and an instruction sheet that will tell you where to send the forms. This software can be used by your F-2 or J-2 dependents as well. Remember that ALL F and J holders MUST file U.S. tax forms whether or not they received income in 2022. Sprintax does not fill out your Massachusetts state tax forms, but, for an additional fee, not covered by the ISO, you can have Sprintax assist you in completing your State income tax return forms (for Massachusetts and other states where you lived during 2022).
Information on tax software made available for MIT International Scholars (Post-Docs, Faculty, and Researchers) is available here: https://vpf.mit.edu/by-topic/tax-filing/tax-preparation-software
Current MIT International Students can log in to Sprintax here. ** Please note that you must have an MIT Kerberos ID and password to log in to this site.
Alumni and students who attended MIT in the previous tax year and do not have an active Kerberos username may contact their ISO Advisor for a temporary access code.
Tax Workshops
The Office of the Vice President for Finance (VPF), the Office of the Vice-Chancellor (OVC), the International Students Office (ISO), the International Scholars Office (ISchO), and the International Coordinating Committee (ICC) sponsors Tax Workshops for MIT students and international scholars annually.
The purpose of these workshops is to provide general guidance to students and international scholars on the process of filing 2022 U.S. and Massachusetts state tax returns. The workshops are not intended to provide individual tax advice.
MIT Tax Workshops (for Tax Year 2022 Filings):
*Nonresident students: Tuesday, February 21, 2023, from 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm – presented by Sprintax
This workshop is for International Students who have been in the U.S. for 5 years or less.
*Nonresident scholars: Tuesday, February 28, 2023, from 10:00 am – 11:30 am – presented by Sprintax
This workshop is for International Scholars (postdocs, international faculty/researchers/instructors, visiting scholars). Contact fumiko@mit.edu in the MIT International Scholars Office if you have questions about this workshop.
*Resident students/scholars and US citizens: Tuesday, March 7, 2023, from 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm – presented by MIT
This workshop is for international students who have been in the U.S. for more than 5 years and all other students including U.S. citizens, U.S. permanent residents, resident students, and scholars.
The Tax Workshops will be held as online webinars (on Zoom). The Zoom links are available on the VPF webpage here or by clicking on the specific Tax Workshop link above.
Recordings of the sessions will be posted on the VPF webpage within a few days after the workshops.
Recordings and slidedecks from the MIT Tax Workshops for 2022 tax filings are available here.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Please see the Frequently Asked Questions page on the MIT Vice President for Finance (VPF) Office — https://vpf.mit.edu/tax/faqs
Tax Resource Links
Please view the Tax Resource links here: https://vpf.mit.edu/by-topic/tax-filing/how-to-get-tax-help
Unfortunately, ISO advisors are not trained in the complexities of the U.S. Tax Code and therefore, cannot advise on tax issues. The ISO will do its best to find tax resources for our students and direct your questions appropriately.