ISSS-BU News . 18 February 2008. ISSS-BU News
An electronic news service for international students and scholars, owned by the Office of International Student and Scholar Services at Binghamton University, State University of New York
Visit ISSS on the Web! http://isss.binghamton.edu
Editor’s Note: Today is President’s Day in the United States, a federal holiday. Banks and Post Offices are closed. However, because classes are in session, many University offices, including the ISSS, are open today.
The Office of International Student and Scholar Services has opened access to CINTAX, the income tax preparation software for filing your federal tax forms. E-mail messages were sent out late last week. If you did not receive an e-mail message, go to the following link to read the message text and request a CINTAX access code: http://isss.binghamton.edu/taxes/cintax.htm
The ISSS has not yet received its supply of income tax forms. However, if you are using CINTAX, it will print all the necessary Federal forms. The ISSS hopes to have information on NY State Tax forms in the coming week. For more information on tax filing, read today’s income tax articles, below.
CONTENTS:
1. Tragedy at Northern Illinois University Reminds Us, Have You Activated Emergency Notification?
On Thursday, February 14, a former student at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Illinois entered a lecture hall, and then shot and killed five students, injured eighteen others and then took his own life. An emergency notification system alerted students to stay away from the building where the shooting had taken place.
Binghamton is a safe campus but the potential for violence can exist anywhere. In an emergency, Binghamton University has a service for alerting students and all other members of the campus community, using text messaging to your cell phone and email to your e-mail account. But, you must register for the service to receive it. Registration is free of charge! Go to: https://www.getrave.com/login/binghamton and click on “Join Now.”
If you have a cell phone, or email account, you are urged to subscribe to the emergency notification service. The same service notifies you if the University cancels classes due to weather or other unexpected conditions.
2. This Week’s Employment Workshops
Two employment workshops are scheduled for this week. The first is:
CPT (Curricular Practical Training) and On-Campus Employment
This workshop will be held on Tuesday, February 19th, 2008 at 3:00pm in Fine Arts Room 212. Karen Keefe-Guzikowski, Assistant Director of the ISSS and Amelia Shafer, International Student Advisor, will take you through a Power Point presentation on Curricular Practical Training, the most popular employment option for internships and other off-campus employment opportunities related to your field of study.
The second workshop is The US-Style Interview
This workshop will be held Friday, February 22nd, 2008 from 1:30pm-3:00pm in Academic A ~ Room G 23. Note time change from the announcement published last Thursday.
Do you know what to expect during a US job interview? A staff member from the Career Development Center will discuss strategies, tips and resources. You won’t want to miss this valuable workshop!
Looking for an easy way to keep track of upcoming ISSS employment workshops? The direct link is: http://isss.binghamton.edu/emp/sp08empwsp.html or just go to the ISSS home page.
The Spring 2008 Employment Workshop series is co-sponsored by International Student and Scholar Services and the Career Development Center.
3. Are You A Freshman Or Senior Undergraduate Student? Have You Been Selected To Respond To The NSSE?
Today, February 18th, randomly selected freshmen and senior undergraduate students will receive an email from President DeFleur regarding the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE). If you are one of the students who receive the e-mail message, please complete the survey. Binghamton University would like as many of the selected students as possible to respond. Why is the NSSE so important? The survey asks questions about learning, academic experiences, student-faculty involvement and the campus environment. Binghamton uses the results to determine ways to improve the undergraduate experience for students. Binghamton’s data is also compared with data from other peer U.S. institutions. So, if you receive an email message about NSSE, completing the survey is important
4. Undergraduate Admissions Seeks Tour Guides
Are you an undergraduate student who loves Binghamton University and want to tell others about it? Applications to become a campus tour guide are now available at the Undergraduate Admissions Office front desk in Academic A. Applications are due by 5 p.m. March 7, 2008. Questions or concerns? E-mail mailto:buguides@binghamton.edu
5. Do You Know a Graduating Senior Who Has Done Something Worthy of Distinction? Nominations are Now Being Accepted for BU Foundation Awards!
Each year, the Binghamton University Foundation selects students who are graduating to receive one of a series of special awards for graduating undergraduate seniors. This year, the deadline for nominations is March 3, 2008, and the awards can be given to eligible undergraduate students who graduated in August 2007, December 2007 or May 2008.
Nominations may be made by any member of the University community, including students. To view the list of awards and to obtain a copy of the on-line nomination form, please visit the following link: http://studentaffairs.binghamton.edu/foundationawards.htm
6. Not-for-Profit/Public Service Career Fair at Columbia University in NYC on March 7
Columbia University is hosting a Not-for-Profit/Public Service Career Fair on its campus in New York City on Friday, March 7, 12 noon – 4 pm.
Binghamton students are invited to attend this event. Many NY City based organizations that do not typically travel to Binghamton for CDC’s Job & Internship Fairs will be recruiting students for jobs and internships. CDC, along with OCC and the Graduate Student Organization of the Public Administration Program are sponsoring a bus for current Binghamton University students who would like to attend this event for $20 round trip. Space is limited so sign up before February 22nd.
Who should attend? Students who are interested in working for organizations that are not in the corporate sector – those who want to ‘help people’ through direct service work, advocacy, policy, government, etc. Take a look at the impressive list of participating employers linked on CDC’s website http://cdc.binghamton.edu/eventsspecial.html.
More information about the event and bus transportation (including reservation form) is available on CDC’s website http://cdc.binghamton.edu/eventsspecial.html
7. Traveling During the Spring Breaks?
Do you plan to travel during the Spring break? There are two breaks this year, one in the third week of March and another in mid-April. Whether you will travel within the United States or to another country during Spring break, be sure to read the ISSS article titled “Traveling During Spring Break” available on the ISSS website in the “Travel” section. The direct link is http://isss.binghamton.edu/travel/springbrk.html
8. I Keep Receiving E-mail Messages Titled “Part-Time Job Opportunity.” Can I Do It?
Have you received an e-mail that is similar to the one below?
“Dear Student,
We offer the opportunity for home workers, nationwide to perform entry level assignments. Our company is committed to providing quality, professional services to our clients.
We seek honest, self - motivated people with a desire to work in the home typing and data entry field area. The preferred applicants should be at least 18 years old. No experience is needed. Average weekly earnings start at $1000 to $3000 in the first couple weeks and increases as you continue to work with our agency.
You will not have to devote full time hours. These assignments can be done on your time. They may be done in Internet cafes or where ever you can get Internet access.
If you are interested in making money using your computer at home or at school just reply to my email!”
Work from home job postings are everywhere. There are listings for data entry jobs, research positions, multi-level marketing opportunities, and a variety of other ways to make a lot of money fast. In fact, there are so many of them that work at home schemes are on the (U.S.) National Consumers League's list of Top 10 Frauds.
Most work-at-home jobs don't guarantee regular, salaried employment. Many neglect to mention that you have to work many hours without pay. Others require that you spend your own money for products or instructions before finding out how the offer works. And the "work" may entail getting others to sign up for the same job--which continues the fraud. Work-at-home scams have cost victims thousands of dollars.
For international students, “working from home” even if the opportunity was from a legitimate company, requires prior authorization. Since federal regulations governing F-1 and J-1 students only permit employment if certain criteria are met, the vast majority of F-1 and J-1 students cannot accept employment that involves “work-at-home.”
If you have a question whether or not a job opportunity is legal, always contact the Office of International Student and Scholar Services.
9. Income Tax Information: Using CINTAX
The ISSS hopes to announce the arrival of federal and state income tax forms soon. We will publish an announcement in ISSS-BU News once all tax forms are available.
Keep in mind that the deadline for filing tax forms is April 15, 2008.
A number of students have asked questions about CINTAX. This is a web-based tax preparation product designed for use by international students and scholars who are attending US-colleges and universities. Several hundred US schools provide CINTAX for their campus’ use. The ISSS purchases a yearly license for CINTAX and then makes it available free of charge to eligible international students and scholars. CINTAX is for any international student or scholar, and their dependents, who was in the United States for some portion of calendar year 2007 and needs to file an income tax form as a non-resident for tax purposes.
Non-residents are F-1 and J-1 students who have been in the United States for five or fewer years (entered the United States in F-1 or J-1 status in 2003 or later), and J-1 scholars/faculty who have been in the United States for two or fewer years (entered the United States in J-1 scholar/professor status in 2006 or later).
Even if you earned no U.S.-source income during 2007, you still need to file an income tax form. Non-residents with no U.S.-source income just need to file federal form 8843. Non-residents with U.S. source income will need to file either federal form 1040NR EZ or federal form 1040NR (CINTAX will automatically select the correct form for you). All of these federal forms can be completed by using CINTAX.
If you have not yet requested your CINTAX password so that you can start using CINTAX, just visit the following link: http://isss.binghamton.edu/taxes/cintax.htm
In the January 28, 2008 issue of ISSS-BU News, we cautioned our readers to not be hasty in filing their income tax forms. You can read the article at: http://isss.binghamton.edu/news/isssbu2008/Jan282008.html#eleven
Be sure you have Wage and Tax Statements (form W-2) from all of your 2007 U.S. employers before filing your income tax forms. Also, if you will be issued form 1042-S, you cannot file your income tax form until the 1042-S arrives.
If during calendar year 2007 you were employed in New York State and had state income tax withheld that you would like to have refunded to you, OR if you were employed in New York State and earned more than $7500 from all income sources (even jobs outside of New York State) during 2007, you must file a New York State tax return as well. The New York State forms that non-residents file are form IT-203, IT-203B and IT-2. More information about these New York State forms will be made available shortly.
The ISSS website contains helpful information on income tax. Visit http://isss.binghamton.edu and click on “taxes.”
10. Income Tax Information: Students’ Questions About CINTAX
The ISSS has received some excellent questions from students who have started to use CINTAX. Since the answers may be of interest to our readers, we are presenting edited versions of those questions below.
Question
I thought I could fill and send income tax forms on line. Do I have to come to the ISSS? Why should I use CINTAX if I need to come to the ISSS?
Non-resident income tax forms (for those in F or J status for five or fewer years, since 2003 or later) cannot be filed on-line. The U.S. government offers the on-line filing option for resident tax payers only. CINTAX computes your tax liability, pre-fills the required federal income tax forms, allows you to print the forms for postal mailing, and provides instructions for mailing the forms. The ISSS will have the paper versions of the non-resident income tax forms available, for both federal and New York State filing. But, if you use CINTAX, you will not need the paper federal forms. Plus, CINTAX does all the tax computations for you.
Question
I did register for CINTAX, but I don't understand what CINTAX is. How will CINTAX help me submit the required tax forms. Do I need to pay to use CINTAX? Can I just submit my tax forms myself?
Answer
CINTAX is a non-resident tax preparation software that is used by students and scholars at hundreds of colleges and universities in the United States. Binghamton University purchases a license each year so that BU international students who are eligible to file as non-residents can comply with their income tax obligations. CINTAX is offered to BU international students and scholars for free, and removes much of the complexity of completing income tax forms by taking the income tax information you provide and doing all the work for you. While you can attempt to complete your income tax forms yourself, most students find it to be a very complicated process and appreciate the convenience of using CINTAX.
Question
Last semester I received a tuition scholarship as part of my funding as a graduate assistant. Will I receive a form 1042-S for the tuition scholarship? Do I need to report the tuition scholarship as income on my tax return?
Answer
Tuition scholarships are neither taxable nor reportable as income. So, you do not report your tuition scholarship as income, nor will you receive any tax form for your tuition scholarship. At Binghamton University, students do not receive a tuition scholarship as income. Instead, it is listed as a credit on your student semester bill.
Question
I am a research assistant and I filled my taxes for 2007 using CINTAX software. The calculated tax that I have to pay is $256.00. Why do I need to pay more federal tax when such tax was already withheld from my paycheck?
Answer
There may be several reasons why a student may owe additional income tax. If the student is from a country that has no tax treaty with the United States, then depending upon the amount of money earned, the student may owe additional tax. Or, if too little tax was withheld from a student’s earnings during the year, the student may owe tax. Lastly, if a portion of a student’s earnings came from income that was not taxed at all, then taxes may now be due on that portion of earnings that were not taxed at the source.
Students who have already obtained a CINTAXpassword and are using the product and find that they have technical questions are encouraged to write to the CINTAXhelp desk at support@cintax.us Replies are usually received within 48 hours.
To sign on to ISSS-BU from an e-mail account on the Binghamton.edu server, send an e-mail message to
listserv@listserv.binghamton.edu
Leave the subject line blank. In the message text, type: subscribe ISSS-BU first name last name
Replace “first name last name” with your name.
If your e-mail account is on a server other than Binghamton.edu, send an e-mail message to isss@binghamton.edu
In the message text, type: Please subscribe isss-bu, your e-mail address, your first and last name.
If you are a registered student and don't have an e-mail account, you may claim an e-mail address and password http://busi.binghamton.edu/welcome.html Be sure to read and follow the instructions carefully. If you encounter difficulty, visit the Help Desk in the lobby of the Computer Services building.