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International Employee General Information

International employees need a United States Social Security Number (SSN) to file an annual tax return which is required by the IRS/MD comptroller. An SSN can be obtained from the Social Security Administration (SSA). International Student & Scholar Services can provide individuals here in the U.S. on an F1 or J1 visa with a letter of recommendation to obtain their social security number.

NRA individuals are not the only individuals that are required to have an SSN.

Process of Obtaining a SSN

  1. Before the employee has received a permanent SSN, a temporary ID number is issued to the employee through the PHR system. This number should be indicated on a signed Affidavit of Compliance that accompanies any payroll paperwork collected during the onboarding process. Any new employee should submit a W4 and state withholding form using this temporary number. Please do not wait until a permanent SSN has been issued to submit payroll paperwork.
  2. Once the employee has obtained a permanent SSN, the department payroll representative should update the number in the PHR system and have the employee update their information in their Glacier profile. A new W4 and state withholding form only needs to be submitted at this time if the social security update in Glacier prompted a treaty claim.

W4 Form Instruction

  1. W4 Form Instructions
  2. Publication 15

Tax Treaties

  1. U.S. has income tax treaties with a number of foreign countries. Under these treaties, residents (not necessarily citizens) of foreign countries are exempt from federal tax on certain income types. These income types vary from country to country.
  2. International tax treaty exemptions at UMD apply only to federal tax withholding. The state of Maryland does not recognize tax treaty exemptions applied to state withholding. The Glacier Tax Compliance system makes all treaty determinations for employees of the university. This determinations is made based on the information entered into the Glacier system. All Glacier determinations are final and if the system determines that someone is not eligible, UMD will not facilitate the treaty.
  3. A permanent SSN is required to claim a tax treaty. Tax treaty exemptions facilitated by the university are not retroactive and will only be applied to wages earned after a permanent SSN is obtained. An employee may have the option to claim a tax treaty benefit on wages earned prior to obtaining a permanent SSN when they file their tax return.