Social Security Number (SSN)
A Social Security Number (SSN) is a unique number assigned to an individual for tax purposes. International students are qualified for a SSN in certain circumstances such as:
- On-campus employment (including TA/RA)
- Authorization for off-campus employment through Curricular Practical Training or Pre/Post-Completion Optional Practical Training.
Requirements
To apply for a SSN, students will need to collect the following documents:
- Original signed I-20 (F-1 students) / Original signed DS-2019 (J-1 students)
- Passport
- Catholic University of America ID
- Evidence of on-campus employment, such as SSN form letter (signed by your job supervisor and OIS)*
- I-94 information
*Please click here to download the on-campus employment authorizaion form. Fill in your section, and forward the form to your hiring department. Once filled out and sined by your department, the letter should be printed out on their letterhead. Then, you have to bring the form back to ISSS for a signature from an ISSS Advisor.
Once you have the required documents listed above, please visit your closest Social Security Administration Office and bring the documents with you.
W-4 (Employee's Withholding Certificate)
When individual starts a new job, the Form W-4 has to be completed (Employee's Withholding Certificate). This form is used to inform your employer how much tax they should withhold from your paycheck.
Students who are about to start working on-campus: Please make sure to complete Sprintax Tax Determination System (TDS). This system will help you to complete your W-4 form as well. Any Catholic University Student who has questions about W-4 or if you have any issue with Sprintax TDS, please contact the Catholic University Payroll Office (cua-payroll@cua.edu).
Students who are about to start working off-campus through Curricular Practical Training or Pre-/Post-Optional Practical Training:
- Sprintax “The New W-4 Form Explained”
- SprintaxTDS Personal: SprintaxTDS Personal is a software that can prepare your pre OPT/CPT tax documents for you. SprintaxTDS Personal can determine your residency for tax purposes, FICA exemption, tax treaty eligibility and generate the pre-employment tax forms that you need, such as the W-4, 8233, W8-BEN and more. Once your forms have been generated, all you need to do is sign your tax documents and provide them to your employer.
Who can use SprintaxTDS Personal?
Any nonresident who is starting OPT/CPT can use SprintaxTDS Personal to prepare their pre-employment tax forms which they can provide to their employer to help get taxed correctly on income received from the employer.
What are the steps to Get Started?
- Register an account by following this link: https://www.sprintaxtds.com/personal/tcua/
- Complete the online questionnaire
- Complete the payment page
- Sprintax TDS Personal will prepare your tax documents to sign and provide to your employer
SprintaxTDS Personal user guide
If you need assistance on the SprintaxTDS Personal process, you can access the OPT/CPT User Guide which will provide you with information on the pre-employment tax forms for OPT/CPT as well as a walkthrough of the SprintaxTDS Personal process.
Is there a cost involved?
There is a charge to generate your tax forms of $19.95. There is a free tax residency determination and FICA exemption calculation before any charges which is also useful to know.
Need SprintaxTDS Personal support?
If you need help while using SprintaxTDS Personal, please contact them directly:
Email at tds@sprintax.com