TO ALL VISITORS WHO WILL BE RECEIVING A SALARY

If you are receiving financial support from the KITP in the form of a salary, you should anticipate that there will be some deductions made from your check. In all cases, no matter what your citizenship or visa status, California state taxes will be withheld. This is generally not a large amount, and can be reduced by claiming any allowances to which you are entitled, but it is deducted from all paychecks issued for work performed in California.

If you are a U.S. citizen, permanent resident, or have H-1B visa status, you will have Federal tax withheld as well as State tax. You will also be subject to deductions for both Medicare and retirement. The Medicare tax is currently 1.45%. The retirement consists of a 7.5% pretax deduction which goes into the University of California's Defined Contribution Plan. This is in lieu of Social Security, it can be rolled over into another employer's plan or an IRA, and it is not taxed until the money is withdrawn. If you are an KITP postdoc, depending upon your appointment type and length of stay, you may pay less into DCP, but in that case you will pay into Social Security (OASDI).

If you have a J-1 visa, you are exempt from Medicare and Social Security deductions. You may also be exempt from Federal income tax. This latter depends upon how long you have been or will be in the U.S. and whether a tax treaty exists between your home country and the U.S. You may already be aware of the existence of any tax treaties that affect you.

In all cases, if you are not a U.S. citizen or U.S. permanent resident, you will need to be processed through GLACIER to determine you tax status.  Once you are here we will enter you into this system. You will then receive an email telling you how to log on and complete a questionnaire. The results of this questionnaire will determine your tax status.

Regardless of your citizenship or visa status, the amount of the deductions for taxes is not necessarily the amount of tax you actually owe. If you are subject to withholding, then you are required to file State and Federal tax returns after the end of the year, and the amount of tax that you will owe will depend on your total income and other personal circumstances and can be more or less than the amounts withheld from your pay.

You will also need to be able to sign the University's patent agreement. Please read this now and let us know immediately if you anticipate any conflict.

One last reminder: in order to be employed in the United States, you must present proof of eligibility to work in the United States. This is equally true for U.S. citizens, permanent residents, and visa holders. Many documents are acceptable for this purpose, e.g., passport, alien registration card, or a combination of documents such as a driver's license and social security card, and it is up to you to decide which documents to present; however, you must present original documents--not copies, and employment cannot begin until this is done.

If you have any questions, please contact Deborah Storm. Thank you.

last modified 4/24/09 ds