1. National Holidays for March
2. In-Person Income Tax Assistance Begins Monday, March 3
3. Come to the Next International Coffee Hour, Friday, March 7
4. "Learn to Lead" Workshop Series hosted by the XCEL Center
5. Daylight Savings Time Starts on March 9 This Year
6. Where Is My International Health Insurance ID Card?
7. BU Summer Session Registration Information is Now Available
8. Off Campus Employment and Why International Students Need Work Authorization
9. Income Tax Information: How to Request a Copy of a Previous Year’s Income Tax Return
10. Income Tax Information: Tax Treaties
11. Income Tax Information: Tax Benefits for Spouses and Dependents

1. National Holidays for March

The following countries are celebrating national holidays during the month of March.

Country	Date
Republic of Korea	1-Mar
Bulgaria	3-Mar
Ghana	6-Mar
Mauritius	12-Mar
Ireland	17-Mar
Tunisia	20-Mar
Namibia	21-Mar
Pakistan	23-Mar
Greece	25-Mar
Bangladesh	26-Mar

2. In-Person Income Tax Assistance Begins Monday, March 3

ISSS is pleased to announce the availability of in-person assistance with completing your non-resident income tax forms.  This service is primarily to assist you if you need help with New York State forms IT-2, IT-203 and IT-203B, since CINTAX is available for completing your federal returns.  However, federal non-resident tax questions can be answered as well.

Mr. Jim Rollo, who graduated from Binghamton University’s School of Management in 1984 and is a local businessman, will be available to provide in-person assistance with completing your non-resident income tax forms beginning Monday, March 3.  He is available on Mondays from 1:00pm to 3:00pm, Wednesdays from Noon to 2:00pm and Fridays from Noon to 2:00pm in Room 125, in the Hinman Commons portion of Rockefeller Center (up the outdoor stairs and enter to your left).  Then, follow the signs down the hall to Room 125. 

Appointments are not required. Be sure to bring your income tax forms with you.

3. Come to the Next International Coffee Hour, Friday, March 7

Good company! Free food! An opportunity to visit with friends and classmates!

This month's International Coffee Hour will be held on Friday, March 7 from 3:30-5:00pm in the University Union Old Union Hall. The Coffee Hour strives to be a space where the entire Binghamton University community, including international students, U.S. students, faculty/staff, and community members are welcome. The coffee hours are informal and provide an opportunity to meet and learn more about each other in a relaxed atmosphere. Each coffee hour has free hot and cold beverages and cookies, sponsored by a different department on campus.
The sponsor of this month's International Coffee Hour is the Division of Research.

4. "Learn to Lead" Workshop Series hosted by the XCEL Center

Binghamton University’s XCEL Center for Excellence in Student Leadership is pleased to announce the new “Learn to Lead” Workshop Series for the Spring 2008 semester!  These workshops are open to both undergraduate and graduate students. Students who attend seven workshops over the course of the semester will earn a leadership certificate.

3/06 5-6pm “Find your passion: Self Motivation” (Old) University Union Room 201
3/11 5-6pm “What is Leadership?” (Old) University Union Room 201
3/19 6-7pm “Relational Leadership” (Old) University Union West Lounge
4/01 5-6pm “Leadership and Diversity” (Old) University Union Room 201
4/09 5-6pm “Hurtful Words” (Old) University Union Room 201
4/15 6-7pm “Creating Change in Organizations” (Old) University Union West Lounge
4/22 6-7pm “Leadership for Social Change” (Old) University Union West Lounge
4/30 5-6pm “Leadership After College” (Old) University Union Room 201
5/06 6-7pm “Transitions in Organizations” (Old) University Union West Lounge

For more information and full workshop descriptions, visit http://xcel.binghamton.edu

5. Daylight Savings Time Starts on March 9 This Year

The U.S. Energy Policy Act of 2005, passed by the U.S. Congress in July 2005, extended Daylight Saving Time (DST) in the United States by approximately four weeks. As a result, DST will start on Sunday, March 9, 2008, and end on Sunday, November 2, 2008.

So, you’ll want to remember to set your clocks ahead one hour before going to sleep on Saturday night, March 8, so that you’ll be all set for the start of Daylight Savings Time on Sunday, March 9. 

6. Where is My International Health Insurance ID Card?

Generally, health insurance ID cards for students covered under the International Student Health Insurance Program for the Spring 2008 semester are distributed in the ISSS beginning in early March.  This year, the health insurance cards are late.  The reason for the delay is that the ISSS is working with a new database for tracking health insurance enrollments.  Students will receive an email message once the health insurance ID cards have arrived, which will be within the next 14 days.  Please note that all international students enrolled in the insurance program have had full coverage since January 15, 2008, even in the absence of an ID card.   If you have an upcoming doctor’s appointment and need a health insurance card for that appointment, you may come to the ISSS and request one, and a temporary insurance ID will be provided to you.  If you have your international health insurance ID card from last semester, all of the information contained on that card, except the expiry date, remains unchanged.

7. BU Summer Session Registration Information is Now Available

Registration information for Summer Session 2008 is now available at http://summer.binghamton.edu  Students must clear all outstanding financial obligations before they can register or add classes. You can view and/or pay your outstanding financial obligations at http://busi.binghamton.edu  To view your outstanding debts, select Quick Pay-Student Payment.  You will be able to view your debts and pay for them at this link.

The Summer Session Course Catalog can be viewed at:
http://summer.binghamton.edu/summercatalog.php

8. Off Campus Employment And Why International Students Need Work Authorization

In recent weeks, staff in the Office of International Student and Scholar Services have answered a number of students’ questions regarding off campus employment.  A reminder: A student in F-1 or J-1 status cannot be employed away from the Binghamton University campus unless they have obtained appropriate federal authorization to do so before employment can begin.  The only exception to this rule are F-1students who are working away from BU but are paid on a Binghamton University state or research foundation payroll.

• All off-campus internships must be authorized in advance even if the internship is “unpaid”
• Employment at another SUNY campus (such as Cortland or Oneonta) or Community College (such as Broome Community College) is NOT “on-campus employment” and must be authorized in advance.   Other SUNY campuses are no different than any other off-campus location; the employment must be authorized.

The U.S. government exacts heavy penalties for students who work without authorization.

In addition, many U.S. international student offices report problems with students putting unpaid internships on their resume as “work experience” and having difficulties when they secured employment and were to be sponsored for H-1B visas.  Their immigration attorney looked for corresponding work authorization on their I-20, found none and concluded that the student had engaged in unauthorized employment.

Readers may wish to take note of the following two articles on the ISSS website:

Employment Overview
http://isss.binghamton.edu/emp/overview.html

Don’t Place Your Immigration Status at Risk: Consequences of Illegal Employment
http://isss.binghamton.edu/emp/illegalemp.htm

The ISSS website has many resources on employment.  Just visit http://isss.binghamton.edu and click on “Employment.”

If you have questions regarding employment, please do not hesitate to contact the International Student Advisor, Amelia Shafer at ashafer@binghamton.edu or Assistant Director, Karen Keefe-Guzikowski, kkeefe@binghamton.edu They are happy to assist you.

If you would like to make an appointment to discuss issues of employment, please call the ISSS office at (607) 777-2510.

9. Income Tax Information: How to Request a Copy of a Previous Year’s Income Tax Return

When you file an income tax form as a non-resident or as a resident, you are required to keep copies of the forms, and attachments.  The ISSS has been asked several times for help if a student has somehow lost or misplaced a previous year’s income tax forms.

Both the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the New York State tax department provide separate instructions on how to obtain a copy of an income tax forms.

To request a copy of a previous year’s federal income tax form, follow the instructions at the following web link: http://www.irs.ustreas.gov/faqs/faq1-6.html

To request a copy of a previous year’s New York State tax return, print the form at the following web link and follow the instructions on the form: http://www.tax.state.ny.us/pdf/2005/fillin/misc/tr152_505_fill_in.pdf

10. Income Tax Information: Tax Treaties

This week's Income Tax article is about Tax Treaties. For more information, visit http://isss.binghamton.edu/taxes/treaties.html

How do you find out whether your country HAS a tax treaty with the U.S. that allows such a deduction and additional details regarding the deduction? Consult IRS Publication 901 (U.S. Tax Treaties) available on the IRS website at http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p901.pdf
Be sure that you are referencing the correct section of the publication; tax treaty provisions for students begin on Page 18.

The section titled "Professors, Teachers, and Researchers" (which starts on Page 15) only applies to those individuals who entered the U.S. in non-student categories, such as a J-1 Visiting Professor or Research Scholar.

If you use CINTAX, it will inform you of any tax treaty for which you might be eligible, and put the information on the appropriate federal income tax form.

If you earned wages (as reported on form W-2) during 2007 and are a national of a country that has a tax treaty with the United States that includes a personal services provision for students, you may be able to deduct that tax treaty amount on your tax form. If you use CINTAX, it will do that for you.

Many students who are eligible for tax treaty benefits that are either applicable to wages or scholarships will be issued form 1042-S by Binghamton University in mid-March.  Students who will receive form 1042-S should wait to receive form 1042-S before filing their income tax returns.

The following countries permit their nationals who are students in the United States to protect a portion of their wages from income tax: Bangladesh, Belgium, Canada, China, Commonwealth of Independent States*, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Egypt, Estonia, France, Germany, Iceland, Indonesia, Israel, Japan (if you first entered the U.S. in the appropriate visa status prior to March 30, 2004), Korea, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Morocco, Netherlands, Norway, Pakistan, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovak Republic, Spain, Thailand, Trinidad & Tobago, Tunisia, and Venezuela.(*This treaty is in effect for Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kyrgystan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan). However, the rules vary by country.

An easy to read chart for tax treaties based on wages for students can also be found on the ISSS website at: http://isss.binghamton.edu/taxes/saltable.html

If you have a qualifying scholarship or fellowship grant (not a teaching or research assistantship, and not a tuition scholarship) and are from one of the following countries, you may be able to protect all or part of your grant from tax: Bangladesh, Belgium, China, Commonwealth of Independent States*, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Egypt, Estonia, France, Germany, Iceland, Indonesia, Israel, Japan (if you first entered the U.S. in the appropriate visa status prior to March 30, 2004), Kazakhstan, Republic of Korea, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Morocco, Netherlands, Norway, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Slovak Republic, Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Ukraine and Venezuela. (*This treaty is in effect for Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kyrgystan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.)

An easy to read chart for tax treaties based on scholarships or fellowships for students can be found on the ISSS website at: http://isss.binghamton.edu/taxes/schtable.html
If you are a student from India, stop by the ISSS for the handout which describes the India Tax Treaty or visit the ISSS website at http://isss.binghamton.edu/taxes/usindia.html for specific information on the U.S. tax treaty with India.

An easy to read chart for tax treaties for J-1 scholars and faculty who earned salary and wages as reported on a W-2 can be found on the ISSS website at:
http://isss.binghamton.edu/taxes/teachresea.htm

Two other good sources of information on tax treaties are the special tax treaty page of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS):
http://www.irs.gov/businesses/international/article/0,,id=96739,00.html
and the website of Windstar Technologies, http://www.windstar-tech.com/public/treaties.html
Both sites have posted the entire text of tax treaties for each country.

11. Income Tax Information: Tax Benefits for Spouses and Dependents

Many international students and scholars who are married and/or have children ask if they can claim their spouse and/or children as dependents on their income tax returns. The answer is, "it depends."

If you are an F-1 or J-1 student, and have been in that status for five or fewer years (since 2003 or later) OR if you are a J-1 scholar or faculty member who has been in that status for two or fewer years (since 2006 or later) you are considered to be a non-resident for tax purposes. You can only claim a spouse and/or children as dependents IF you are a national of one of the following four countries:

  Canada
  India (students ONLY)
  Republic of Korea
  Mexico

Nationals from Japan used to be able to claim their spouses and dependents on their income tax returns, but that was under an old tax treaty.  The new tax treaty that was ratified on March 30, 2004 eliminated the dependent option after 2005.

If you are a national of any other country, you cannot claim a spouse and/or children as dependents. This is because only those four countries have entered into tax treaty agreements with the United States that permit a spouse or dependent to be claimed as a dependent by a non- resident. This also means that only residents from those four countries can also claim tax credits based on having dependents.

Here are the specific rules:

Spouses:
A spouse exemption is available to married individuals from Canada, Mexico and the Republic of Korea. A spouse exemption is also available to married students from India IF the spouse is living with the student in the United States and if the spouse had no earned U.S. income for the 2007 tax year. No other countries are eligible for the spouse exemption. If you are claiming a spouse exemption, you cannot file form 1040NR EZ. Instead, you must file form 1040NR.  CINTAX will complete the correct tax form for you.

Dependents (Children)
Only individuals from Canada, Mexico or the Republic of Korea can claim children who live with them as dependents. Individuals from Canada or Mexico can also claim children who don't live with them as dependents. Students from India can only claim children living with them in the United States if the children are U.S. citizens or U.S. permanent residents.

ISSS-BU is a listserv owned and managed by the Office of International Student and Scholar Services, Division of Student Affairs, at the State University of New York at Binghamton. It is the publisher of ISSS-BU News . Permission is granted to freely distribute the information posted to this list as long as its contents remain unchanged.