Tax Filing Resources for MIT International Students
(emailed to all MIT international students on March 1, 2021)
Dear MIT International Students,
Our Federal tax filing resources are now available at no cost to all MIT international students through a generous donation by the Kailath International Student Fund. For MIT tax resources for international students, please visit the Vice President for Finance Office “Tax Guidance for Nonresident Aliens” page (https://vpf.mit.edu/tax-guidance-for-nonresident-aliens), or via links on the MIT ISO tax page (http://iso.mit.edu/students/taxes.shtml).
Remember that ALL F-1, F-2, J-1 and J-2 holders (including dependents) MUST file U.S. income tax return forms whether or not they received U.S.-based income in 2020. All
income tax return forms are due by April 15th every tax season.
If you are unfamiliar with the U.S. Tax system, and have questions, please utilize the Help and FAQ portion of the Glacier Tax Prep portal site.
Please check that you have received all of your tax forms (some possible forms include Form W-2, Form 1042-S, Form 1099) before filing a federal income tax return. MIT fellowship, scholarship, and grant recipients, and those who already claimed a tax treaty benefit, should receive the Form 1042-S this week from MIT. If you need replacement forms, or are unsure if you should receive a form from MIT, please contact MIT Payroll (payroll@mit.edu) for more information. Please note that students who received no US-source income from MIT in 2020 may not receive any forms from MIT.
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GLACIER Tax Prep (“GTP”) software is an Internet-based tax return preparation system that will help F or J visa holders prepare their 2020 U.S. Federal income tax return forms if they are filing as a Nonresident for tax purposes. After going through GLACIER Tax Prep, the program will prepare the appropriate tax forms for you to print out and will include 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.
Tip: For GTP, please note that the Designated School Official for MIT is the ISO Advisor who signs your Form I-20 or Form DS-2019.
State Income Tax Return filing – Please note that GLACIER Tax Prep does not assist you with any State income tax form filing. However, students will have a link in GTP to an option to pay a separate fee directly to Sprintax**, another tax preparation website, for Sprintax’s self-prep option to prepare your STATE income tax returns. [EC1] Please note: students can also go directly to a State’s tax/department of revenue website and use the information on your Federal forms to fill out State income tax return forms manually at no cost.
** As of today, March 1, 2021 Sprintax has not made available the Massachusetts income tax return capabilities. We recommend that you file your Federal income tax return now using GTP, and then we will let you know when the Sprintax (using this software will incur a fee) software is ready for the Massachusetts State Income Tax Return.
GLACIER Tax Prep can be found at the following URL: https://iso.mit.edu/maintaining-status/taxes/mit-glacier-tax-prep/?hilite=%27Glacier%27%2C%27tax%27%2C%27prep%27
Students must log in with their Kerberos ID and Password using Touchstone to access GLACIER Tax Prep.If you need help using Touchstone, please call the MIT Computing Help Desk at 3-1101 or consult the IS&T website (https://ist.mit.edu/touchstone).
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Tax Workshops for International and US StudentsT
The Office of the Vice President for Finance (VPF) is sponsoring new Tax Workshops for MIT students and scholars for tax year 2020 on Tuesday, March 2, 2021:
7:00pm-8:00pm: Nonresident (for tax purposes) International Students (generally, international students in the U.S. 5 years or less)
8:00pm-9:00pm: All Other Students including, but not limited to, U.S. Citizens, U.S. Permanent Residents, and Residents (for tax purposes) students and scholars.
Zoom details for the Tax Workshops is available here.
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Helpful Tax Resource Links
To access resource information, including links to the U.S. Internal Revenue Service and the Massachusetts Department of Revenue, as well as a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page, please visit the MIT VPF “Tax Guidance for Nonresident Aliens” page: https://vpf.mit.edu/tax-guidance-for-nonresident-aliens
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Unfortunately, the ISO advisors are not trained to give tax advice. We hope that all your questions will be answered by use of these resources. Remember, the majority of international students will need to file income tax return forms by April 15, 2021. ALL F-1, F-2, J-1, and J-2 visa holders are required to file Federal income tax return forms regardless of income.
**Special Note: If you were not physically present in the United States at any time during the 2020 calendar year, you are not required to file tax forms for this tax season (by April 15, 2021).
Best,
The International Students Office
**
International Students Office
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
77 Massachusetts Ave, Bldg E18-219
Cambridge, MA 02139
tel: 617-253-3795 | fax: 617-258-5483
iso-help@mit.edu | web.mit.edu/iso
New ISO Hours M-F: 9 AM to 4 PM, closed Wed: 10 to 11:30 AMWe’ve moved! The ISO has moved to E18-219, located at 50 Ames Street. Come visit us in our new location.
