The Office of International Programs will be assisting international students in preparing their tax returns for free from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Feb. 24-25 at the Tomás Rivera Conference Center, Union Building East, third floor.
"We are hosting these workshops in conjunction with the IRS to help our international students be aware of the requirement of filing taxes while they are in the U.S.," said Leah Moore, international student advisor for the OIP. "International students have to file a 1040NR, which is a non-resident form because there are different tax requirements for non-residents in the U.S. versus residents."
The Internal Revenue Service Web site states that foreign students have to file a 1040NR form to report only income that is sourced in the U.S. or that is connected with a U.S. trade or business.
Retired international examiner for the IRS, Sandra Campbell, began working with OIP about eight years ago when she was asked to help international students at UTEP file their tax returns.
"The first year we went to UTEP to tell students how to do their returns, we didn't realize we were going to be helping them fill out their tax returns," Campbell said. "Once we regrouped, we went back a week later and prepared about 350 returns, the following year we were better prepared."
Now a part-time instructor for El Paso Community College for accounting, statistics and individual income tax, Campbell has continued to provide her services as the coordinator for the tax preparation sessions with OIP.
"International students have different forms to fill out for their tax returns, they don't get all benefits that a citizen or resident would get," Campbell said. "They are considered non-resident aliens who are here on a student visa; the U.S. has treaties with certain countries that have different regulations for tax returns, treaties override U.S. tax law."
International students may have some concerns about filling out the 1040NR form correctly like Polish student Justyna Antoszewska, senior international business major.
"My main concern would be to put all the numbers in the correct place," Antoszewska said.
Students who plan on attending should bring their visa, passport, last year's return (if they have it), W-2 and 1042S form. UTEP's payroll office will be distributing 1042S tax forms and assisting students by providing correct tax forms.
"There is often confusion with the type of form the student actually needs," said Olaya Hernandez, payroll/tax manager for the Office of Financial Services. "If they have either worked on campus or received any type of scholarship payment and are international, they may receive a 1042S."
Hernandez encourages all international students to attend these sessions because they could benefit from the one-on-one assistance with tax preparation at no cost by professionally trained IRS agents.
Lynette Rodriguez may be reached at prospector@utep.edu.
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