All foreign nationals receiving income from the University of Kentucky are required to have a tax analysis performed. This includes faculty/staff, student employees (GRAs, GTAs, Student Assistants), athletic scholarship recipients, fellowship recipients, postdoctoral research fellows, visiting scholars, prize/award recipients, royalty recipients, honoraria recipients, research participants, and independent contractors.
The tax analysis will determine the foreign national’s tax status, and eligibility for federal tax exemption, on part or all of their income, based on a tax treaty between their country of tax residence and the United States. If the foreign national is not eligible for a treaty exemption, the analysis will ensure they are paying taxes at the appropriate tax rate as required by Internal Revenue Service guidelines. All required tax withholding and/or treaty benefit forms will be completed as part of the individual’s tax analysis. Examples of these forms include: 8233, W-8BEN, W-9, W-4.
For short-term visitors receiving an honorarium or fee, the tax analysis should be performed in advance of the visit. The Foreign National Information Form (FNIF) can be completed remotely and submitted by email along with copies of the necessary documents, as described below. Before hosting a foreign visitor, the department should contact internationaltax@uky.edu for assistance. However, if the short-term visitor is only receiving payment of travel expenses documented with receipts, the tax analysis is not required.
All other foreign nationals requiring a tax analysis (including employees, students, visiting scholars and researchers) must complete an initial Tax Analysis as soon as possible after arriving on campus. Tax analysis information must be updated annually. If a foreign national has previously had a Tax Analysis, he or she will receive an email in December from internationaltax@uky.edu with instructions regarding the Tax Analysis Update procedures for the upcoming year.
To complete a Tax Analysis, please email the documents listed below to internationaltax@uky.edu:
After the individual submits the required documents for their tax analysis, please allow 7 – 10 business days for the tax analysis to be processed.
Once the tax analysis is complete, the individual will receive an email from Sprintax (noreply@sprintax.com) containing additional instructions on viewing and electronically signing any necessary tax withholding and/or treaty benefit forms.
Tax Compliance Services