In recent months, many international students have received IRS notices inappropriately denying them credit for taxes withheld on their 2014 1042-S Tax Forms. The University notified students through e-mails, listservs and message boards as soon it became aware of this issue in February. A copy of that original message containing details about the problem is available at http://registrar.uconn.edu/irs-notices/. The IRS has confirmed that the problem is on their end, and that is a widespread, systematic one. It is not unique to UConn or even to students.
Over the past two months, the Tax & Compliance Office has assisted over 100 international students in responding to the IRS notices. We have also corresponded with industry groups, software providers, and the IRS about implementing a solution as quickly as possible. As of the date of this notice, however, the IRS still has not given all students appropriate credit for their 2014 NRA taxes.
As the IRS works to fix the problem, affected students should keep the following in mind:
Even though the IRS may eventually fix the issue on its own, it is important that students DO NOT IGNORE the notices. Please continue to spread the word among your international colleagues. If you received a notice, and you have not e-mailed taxcompliance@uconn.edu to request documentation to provide to the IRS, we recommend that you do so as soon as possible. You should also call the service number provided on your notice in the section beginning with “If you don’t agree with the charges.” Students have noticed shorter wait times when calling between 8:00 am and 9:00 am.
Some students who have mailed documentation to the IRS may receive additional notices from the IRS (particularly, Notice CP501) showing that the tax continues to be due. This does not mean that the IRS has rejected the student’s documentation. Rather, these notices generate automatically when a student appears to owe tax in the IRS’s systems. If you receive Notice CP501 after mailing documentation to the IRS, you should call the IRS at (267) 941-1000 and request that a hold be placed on your account while the IRS reviews your documentation.
We appreciate the continued patience of our students through what has been a frustrating issue for international taxpayers across the country. Please continue to call Nicholas Ferron (6-0933), Dorothy Koss (6-1644) or Karla Desjardins (6-5763) with questions or concerns.
For more information, contact: Tax & Compliance at taxcompliance@uconn.edu