• The W-4 must be completed with name, address, SSN and a signature and date. (The figures on the W-4 are irrelevant to the "new hire" process for an NRA.)
• There is no requirement to have an SSN at the time of hire for a newly-arrived NRA.

On July 1, 2002, the Social Security Administration (SSA) was mandated to verify Social Security number applicants with a U.S. Immigration and Naturalization (now called BCIS) database. While modifications are being made to the system to provide for more expeditious review, this process currently may take as long as 2-3 months.

• Because of this new system, the SSA requires that newly-arrived nonresidents wait 10 days after their U.S. arrival before submitting an application for a Social Security number.

• Accounting will not be processing any payments for nonresident aliens except those that are for a reimbursement of business-related expenses in accordance with the "accountable plan."
• All payments made to nonresident aliens other than wages and scholarships paid through Financial Aid must go through the Nonresident Alien Taxation Specialist and are to be submitted on the Form UM376A (Non-Employee Alien PAF) and the UM140 (On-Line Check Request).
• See procedures for scholarship, prize, and honorarium recipients directly below.

• Departments submit the scholarship information to Financial Aid so the amount is applied directly to the student account (SIS) or
• Departments complete Forms UM376A and UM140 (for UM-140 instructions, see below) and submit to the NRA Taxation Specialist so the payment is processed through PeopleSoft Payroll.
  • This is for scholarship recipients who are not enrolled students and for some student payments departments choose to process outside SIS.

• Nonqualified scholarships made to NRA students who have completed the tax assessment process will generally be taxed at a maximum of 14% unless a tax treaty exemption applies.
• If there is no tax assessment on file, withholding may be as high as 30%.

• Recipients must contact Judy Todd by e-mail, ToddJ@missouri.edu, from anywhere in the world, and will subsequently submit copies of passport and identification documents via fax [573] 882-4453 or by e-mail as a scanned attachment.
• Departments must provide completed Forms UM376A and UM140 for each prize recipient. (If the recipient has received previous MU prize income, the UM-376A is not required.)

1. Before arrival of the NRA, departments should contact Judy Todd, the NRA Tax Specialist, at ToddJ@missouri.edu. Please add the visitor's name to the "Honorarium recipient" subject line to allow more effective communication. Please include in the email general information about the NRA and the nature of honorarium payment(s). This will maximize tax benefits and allow anticipation of withholding amounts by both the department and the NRA. Withholding will be 30% in the absence of tax treaty benefits.
   • Gross-Up Formula: Departments have the limited option of "grossing up" the payment to provide the contracted amount to the NRA. The amount is calculated by multiplying the contracted amount by 1.428572. This is recommended only in unusual circumstances (i.e. the presentation is made outside of Columbia so the NRA cannot meet with the Tax Specialist).
2. The NRA must contact Judy Todd, ToddJ@missouri.edu, by e-mail. The body of the e-mail must contain the visitors name (as in the passport), date of birth, US Social Security Number or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) if available, name of department hosting the visitor, the type of activity (i.e. lecture), a complete address in the home country, the passport number and expiration date, anticipate arrival and departure dates, and the planned visa type, if known. If the visitor has been in the USA previously, the immigration statuses and dates of those prior visits should be provided as accurately as possible.
3. After arrival of the NRA, an appointment must be scheduled with the NRA Taxation Specialist and the NRA. The NRA must bring the following documentation to the appointment:
   • Passport and all immigration documents (to verify eligibility for honorarium payment).
   • Evidence of SSN or ITIN, copy of application already submitted, or completed IRS W-7 (provided by the MU NRA Taxation Specialist) so the NRA Taxation Specialist can facilitate the ITIN application.
4. Prior to the arrival of the NRA, if possible, the department must submit to the NRA Taxation Specialist the following documentation:
   • A copy of the contract signed by both Business Services and the NRA (if the amount of the honorarium requires a contract).
   • A completed UM378 (Supporting Statement for Honoraria and/or Reasonable Business Expenses Provided to a Nonresident Alien Admitted to the US.....).
   • A completed UM376A (no voucher is required for payments of this type).
   • A completed UM140 on-line check request.
5. During the tax assessment appointment, eligibility for tax treaty and other exemptions will be determined and appropriate forms will be printed, signed by the NRA, and forwarded to the IRS as needed.
6. Honorarium payments may be made only to a nonresident alien who is in an immigration status that legally allows such payments. These statuses generally include persons in B-1, B-2, WB, and WT status. Because laws passed by Congress in 1998 currently conflict with INS policies on honorarium payments, all MU NRA honorarium policies are in constant review and may be revised once the INS issues regulations governing honorarium payment issues.
   
   

• Leave the Empl ID blank if there is not an existing Empl ID.
• For honorarium, non-SIS scholarship, and other income (prizes, awards)
  • the Job Code (Field 10) will always be 9888
  • the Account (Second part of Field 11) will always be 708000
    • budget must be set up with this MoCode and Account code combination
    • the MoCode must have "payroll" turned on
    • contact your department fiscal officer to facilitate the above two processes
  • the Earnings Code will be
    • ASC for scholarships (alien scholarship)
    • AIC for honoraria (alien independent contractor)
    • AOI for prizes and awards (alien other income)
• For repeat payments to the same individual, (i.e. monthly scholarship payments) one Form UM140 may be used with multiple lines (one for each payment).

• Nonresidents living in Columbia may seek tax return assistance through the MU NRA VITA site each spring, according to information that will be provided at http://cashiers.missouri.edu/nra.htm at the beginning of 2005.
• Nonresidents outside Columbia will be provided assistance via e-mail and fax whenever possible. Prior to leaving Columbia, students and researchers with income must provide a forwarding address to the NRA Taxation Specialist to ensure timely delivery of Forms W-2 and 1042-S.
• Persons who are outside the United States on April 15 have until June 15 to file their tax return.

• Contact the NRA Taxation Specialist ToddJ@missouri.edu to schedule a presentation for department or division personnel that is tailored to your NRA needs.
• Other useful information may be obtained by visiting the MU International Center website.