Personal Tax Information

We are located at 720 University Place , 2nd Floor on the Evanston campus (847-491-7362) and at Abbott Hall, Room 850 on the Chicago campus (312-503-9700).

Employee Tax Forms

All employees should complete Form W-4 so that we can withhold the correct amount of federal tax. All employees should also complete Form IL-W-4 for their state withholding tax except for employees who live in Wisconsin who should complete form WT-4 (also employees working in Washington DC, Maryland , and New York can file applicable state forms).

•  Federal Form W-4 ( PDF)
•  Federal Form W-5 Earned Income Credit ( PDF)
•  Illinois Form W-4 ( PDF)
•  Wisconsin Form WT-4 ( PDF)
•  Tax Withholding Tables ( PDF)

Annual Tax Forms and Information

Each year, annual tax forms are prepared and sent out to employees for completing their tax returns. Form W-2 is sent out to employees by January 31 of every year. Form 1042-S for students receiving scholarship/fellowship payments and also foreign national employees receiving payments with treaty benefits is sent out by March 15 of every year. It is your responsibility to make sure that the Payroll office (and not just the student system) has your current address on file.

•  Form W-2 Information
•  Form 1042-S Information (for nonresident aliens)
•  Tax Withholding Tables ( PDF)
•  IRS Publication 970 Tax Benefits for Education ( PDF)
•  IRS Home Page
•  Illinois Department of Revenue Home Page

Scholarships & Fellowships

Students who receive stipends from a fellowship/scholarship through payroll will not have tax withheld or wages reported on Form W-2 at the end of the year but must report all amounts paid that are not used for qualified expenses (tuition, books, etc.; please refer to IRS Publication 970). These students can have tax withheld by completing Form W-4 requesting “Additional amount” to be withheld on line 6 estimating the amount of tax that will be owed on their taxable fellowship.

Social Security (OASDI) and Medicare Tax for Students

Students who are enrolled full time will not have Social Security and Medicare (also called FICA) taxes withheld. Graduate students who enroll late may have these taxes withheld from their monthly payments. The Graduate School publishes the dates that students must enroll by to avoid these taxes. To receive a refund of Social Security and Medicare tax taken from your monthly check due to late enrollment, you must send the payroll office a copy of both your check stub showing the tax was withheld and also a copy of your schedule or other proof of full-time student status. Your tax will then be refunded in a separate payment within 30 days sent to your deparment.

NRSA Postdoctoral Trainees

National Institutes of Health (NIH) National Research Service Award (NRSA) postdoctoral trainees continue to retain their trainee status. Information on this can be found on the NRSA web page from the Office of Sponsored Research. They will not have tax withheld or wages reported on Form W-2 at the end of the year but must report all amounts paid that are not used for qualified expenses (tuition, books, etc.; please refer to IRS Publication 970). These trainees can have tax withheld by completing Form W-4 requesting “Additional amount” to be withheld on line 6 estimating the amount of tax that will be owed on their taxable fellowship.