Taxes

Sprintax Returns software for the 2022 Tax Season (for calendar year 2022) is now available! To access Sprintax Returns 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 previous calendar year (January 1-December 31)  must file at least one U.S. federal income tax return document to the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) (www.irs.gov) for the tax year. Please note that when filing an income tax return you are filing in April for the previous calendar year; for example, income tax returns for the 2022 calendar year must be filed generally by April 15, 2023 (though the IRS will verify each year as to the specific filing deadlines based on day of the week and any federal or state holidays). Please see this article from IRS about international students.

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.

ISO Tax Information/Resource Email — March 1, 2023

Tax Guidance for Non-Resident Aliens

The MIT Office of the Vice President for Finance (VPF), 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.

The VPF also requires all foreign nationals who receive payments from VPF Payroll to complete certain payroll and tax information on another Sprintax platform called Sprintax Calculus. Sprintax Calculus assists foreign nationals to determine their U.S. tax status and eligibility for U.S. Tax Treaty. Students will update Sprintax Calculus when they first start working on-campus at MIT and then will be reminded to update their profile each year.

For clarification and guidance with the most common Sprintax Calculus issues, the VPF has created a Sprintax Calculus FAQ available here: https://vpf.mit.edu/sprintax-faq

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 Returns to use at no cost to all MIT international students through a generous donation by the Kailath International Student Fund.

Sprintax Returns is an Internet-based tax return preparation system that will help F or J visa holders prepare their U.S. Federal income tax return forms, as well as access for a fee to many U.S. State income tax return forms. After going through and answering all questions in Sprintax Returns, the program will prepare the appropriate federal income 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 during the specific calendar year. Sprintax Returns does not fill out your Massachusetts State income tax return forms, but, for an additional fee, not covered by the ISO, you can have Sprintax Returns assist you in completing your State income tax return forms (for Massachusetts and other states where you lived during the calendar year).

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 Returns 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 scholars, including specific sessions for international students and scholars, annually.

The purpose of these workshops is to provide general guidance to students and international scholars on the process of filing U.S. Federal and Massachusetts State income 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

For clarification and guidance with the most common Sprintax Calculus issues, the VPF has created a Sprintax Calculus FAQ available here: https://vpf.mit.edu/sprintax-faq

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.