Non-Resident Aliens

Guidelines & Tax Treaties

The United States has negotiated tax treaties with many other countries in the world. Oregon has chosen to honor these tax treaties and Portland State University has chosen to extend treaty benefits through payroll to those employees who are eligible under the provisions of a tax treaty.

Please bear in mind that not all treaties exempt income earned in the United States from income taxes. Some treaties exempt income received from foreign sources for the support of a student or faculty member while here. Most treaties contain clauses to eliminate double taxation of a foreign national while here. The true limit on most treaties is calculated from the first date of arrival in the United States. IRS rules regarding treaties can be found in Publication 519—US Tax Guide for Aliens and in Publication 901—US Tax Treaties.

Remember that Tax Residency and Citizenship are not the same. The information provided on these pages refers to Tax Residency. Considerations evaluated relative to what taxes an employee may be subject to on income are based on a set of criteria. Income tax determination is based upon the employee's eligibility for a tax treaty and FICA (Social Security and Medicare) is determined by the type of visa the employee has been granted and whether they have met the test for substantial presence or the green card test.

Important Definitions

Non-Resident Alien (NRA): Non-US citizen who holds a VISA. Some VISAs allow the holder to work with the proper authorization. Non-Resident Alien employees are subject to Federal and State income taxes and may be exempt from FICA withholdings. There are restrictions imposed when completing the Form W-4 due to Internal Revenue Service filing options for NRAs. Refer to IRS Topic 851 for additional information.

Resident Alien (RA): Non-US citizen who holds a Green Card or qualifies under the "Substantial Presence Test." If an employee becomes a lawful permanent resident of the US at any time during the calendar year, they are considered a resident alien. Resident Alien employees are subject to Federal and State income taxes as well as FICA withholdings under the same rules as a US citizen.

Tax Treaty Eligibility

Employees who believe they may be eligible under the provisions of a tax treaty should review the list of home countries below to find out whether a negotiated treaty is established with the United States that has a provision that would be applicable.

Required Forms for all Non-Resident Alien & International Employees

Additional documents to submit as necessary

• I-766 Employment Authorization Document 
• I-797 Notice of Action 
• I-551 Permanent Resident

Important Notes

The CO-NRA form is a required form for all international employees. It allows PSU to determine what taxes an employee is subject to in the US and evaluate treaty eligibility (if applicable).

Foreign employees must fill this out when:

• Employment begins
• Visa Status changes
• At the start of each calendar (tax) year—due by January 10th
• Failure to submit a CO-NRA on time will result in all taxes being withheld from pay until such time that the form is submitted to the Office of Human Resources.

Employees whose home country has negotiated a treaty with the United States are eligible to claim treaty benefits.

• Click on the link below for the appropriate country (to view/print) and fill out the treaty letter attachment.
• Then complete the IRS Form 8233 (if an employee's home country is not listed below, there is no need to complete the Form 8233).

All new employees must complete both the Form W-4 (IRS)  and the Form OR-W-4 at the time they are hired.

For Form W-9 and the Form W-9 Attachment.

Gather all of the required forms/documents and ready files for submission via the CO-NRA Packet submission portal.

Student/OPT

Teacher/Researcher