How To: Claim Tax Treaty for Fellowship Payments

Who does this?  Stanford Students, Postdoctoral Scholars and Other Fellowship Recipients

When?  A student, postdoctoral scholar or other fellowship recipient is a resident of a country that maintains a tax treaty with the U.S. for reduced federal taxation on fellowship payments

How?  By completing and submitting a W-8BEN Tax Treaty Form to Payroll

Note:  Tax treaty benefits for salary payments are claimed using the 8233 form. See Quick Steps: Claim Tax Treaty for Salary Payments.

 

 

Claim Tax Treaty for Fellowship Payments (6 steps)

step 1

Confirm eligibility to claim a tax treaty:

  1. You are eligible to claim a tax treaty if you are a non-resident alien, present in the U.S. on a F-1 or J-1 visa, and were a resident of one the following countries immediately preceding your arrival to the U.S.:

    • China (does not include residents of Hong Kong or Taiwan)
    • C.I.S.
    • Cyprus
    • Czech Republic
    • Egypt
    • Estonia
    • France
    • Germany
    • Iceland
    • Indonesia
    • Israel
    • Kazakstan
    • Korea
    • Latvia
    • Lithuania
    • Morocco
    • Netherlands
    • Norway
    • Philippines
    • Poland
    • Portugal
    • Romania
    • Russia
    • Slovak Republic
    • Spain
    • Thailand
    • Trinidad & Tobago
    • Tunisia
    • Ukraine
Note: Commonwealth of Independent States (C.I.S.) countries include Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
step 2

Download and print the W-8BEN Form:

  1. Click W-8BEN to download.
  2. Print form.
step 3

Complete the following fields on Part I of the form:

  1. Field 1 – Enter your full name.
  2. Field 2 – Enter your country of citizenship.
  3. Field 3 – Enter your permanent address in your country of residence.
  4. Field 4 – Enter your U.S. address.
  5. Field 5 – Enter your Social Security Number OR Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) (required to claim a tax treaty).
step 4

Complete the following field on Part II of the form:

  1. Field 9 – Eenter your country of residence.
step 5

Complete Certification section in Part IV:

  1. Read certification statement.
  2. Sign and date the form.
step 6

Submit the completed W-8BEN to Payroll by:

  • U.S. Mail to: 3145 Porter Drive, Palo Alto, CA 94304.

    • ~ OR ~
  • ID Mail to MC 8440.

    • ~ OR ~
  • In person at the University Payments Office (formerly University Cashier's Office) at 459 Lagunita Drive, Tresidder Memorial Union Suite 7, Stanford, CA 94305.
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What Happens Next?

  • After receiving your completed form, Payroll will exempt your future fellowship payments from taxation.
  • Payroll will automatically refund any federal tax withholding that was taken on your fellowship during the current tax year (the U.S. tax year is January 1 – December 31). Allow at least 1 week for processing of student fellowship tax refunds. Postdoctoral fellowship tax refunds are included on the next regular monthly check.
  • Tax refunds for previous tax years must be claimed with the IRS on your tax return.

Questions?

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