IRS Form W-4

[Reviewed 2/6/2024]

NOTE: The W-4 had a major revision for the 2020 tax year. Your employer should not be asking you to complete the previous version (tax years 2019 or earlier).

Purpose of the W-4

NOTE: If you are claiming a treaty benefit, see information below about filing IRS Form 8233 instead of IRS Form W-4.

Your employer will ask you to complete a W-4 so they can withhold an appropriate amount of money from your paycheck that will be used to pay your federal and state income tax. The money withheld is not the tax; it is a prepayment of the tax. The amount of money withheld for federal and state tax will be reported to you on a W-2 that will be sent to you by your employers in January. 

How you complete the W-4 only affects the amount of money withheld that will go towards the payment of your taxes. It does not affect the actual calculation of your taxes when you complete your federal 1040-NR and state tax returns.  

When do I submit the W-4 to my employer?

Completed your W-4 when you begin employment with a new employer. 

Complete an updated Form W-4 when your personal or financial situation changes in a way that makes your previous W-4 answers incorrect. 

When your status is nonresident alien, there are specific instructions (see below) about how to complete it.

For the current version, see the blank form at https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw4.pdf 

The Federal Standard Deduction

Because nonresident aliens may not claim the standard deduction on their federal tax return, employers are instructed to withhold an additional amount from a nonresident alien's wages.

Nonresident aliens on an F or J visa from India:  By treaty benefit, nonresident aliens on F or J visa from India are eligible for the federal standard deduction when they file their federal personal income tax return (the same as U.S. residents), so employers are not required to withhold an additional amount of federal tax withholding.

W-4 Instructions for NonResident Aliens (2020 Revision)

Following are simplified instructions summarized from IRS Notice 1392.

Step 1: 

(a) - Enter your name as it appears on your Social Security Card, enter your current address in the U.S.

(b) - Enter your Social Security Number

(c) - Check "Single or Married filing separately."

Steps 2, 3, 4: Most nonresident aliens will not need to complete these sections.  Go to "Below Step 4(c)."

Step 2: Do not complete this section unless you have more than one job at the same time. Do not account for your spouse's job because nonresident aliens may not file jointly. See IRS Notice 1392 for more information and instructions.

If you must answer a "yes or no" question when completing an online version of the W-4: 

Step 3: Claim Dependents: Only certain nonresident aliens should use Step 3. Nonresident aliens from Canada, Mexico, South Korea, or India may be able to claim the child tax credit or the credit for other dependents.

Step 4c: Do not claim exempt from withholding in this space.

Below Step 4(c):

In the space below Step 4(c):

Write "Nonresident Alien, see IRS Notice 1392" 

If from India: Write "Nonresident Alien from India, see IRS Notice 1392" 

See IMPORTANT NOTE below regarding Social Security and Medicare tax (FICA) withholding.

Step 5: Sign and date

Give the original to your employer

Make a copy for your records. You might want to consider having your employer sign and date your copy so you have proof of when it was submitted and to whom it was submitted.

Oregon Form OR-W-4 Withholding Statement and Exemption Certificate

Download Oregon Form OR-W-4 Oregon Withholding Statement and Exemption Certificate 150-101-402

To complete the OR-40-W form, nonresident aliens should refer to page 2, "Specific Information," "Nonresident Aliens" in instructions for Oregon Form OR-40-W (2023)

Short version:

Line 1: Check the "single" box regardless of your marital status.

Line 2: "Usually, you should claim -0- withholding allowance." See Page 2, "Nonresident Aliens," 2023 Form OR-W-4 Instructions (see link above)

Line 4: Don't claim exempt from Oregon State Tax withholding unless you are certain you will owe no state taxes.

FICA (Social Security and Medicare Taxes) Withholding

IMPORTANT: When you begin employment, if your status is nonresident alien on an F1 or J1 visa, you should make sure your employer knows that you are not subject to FICA (Social Security (6.2%) and Medicare (1.45%)) withholding. Ask your employer what you are required to do (and when and how often) to ensure these taxes are not withheld from your paycheck.

Examine each paycheck's information to ensure these taxes are not being withheld. Contact your employer's HR department if you have any concerns or do not understand with each deduction is for. Do not assume your employer is processing your paycheck correctly.

Failure on your part could result in an additional 7.65% being withheld from your paycheck for those two taxes. (If you make $10,000 during the year, unnecessary withhold could cost you $765 in unnecessary taxes.) The only way to get those taxes refunded to you is by reimbursement from your employer or submitting a special return to the IRS. 

See FICA for more information.

W-4, Treaty Benefits, and IRS Form 8233

NOTE: Nonresident alien students from Indian do not need to complete IRS Form 8233 to use the standard deduction on their tax form (1040NR or 1040NREZ) that they will file in the spring (due April 15). The following is not relevant to nonresident alien students from India.

Using Treaty Benefits to reduce your withholding: If you are a nonresident alien on F or J visa as a student or visiting scholar, teacher, researcher, you may have treaty benefits. It may be beneficial for you to submit to your employer IRS Form 8233 along with the W-4. If you are a PSU international student, see the link to PSU's Tax Treaties & Non-Resident Alien Guidelines on the "References and Links" page for more information about Treaty Benefits.

Using IRS Form 8233 does not affect the amount of tax that will be calculated on your annual tax form (1040NR or 1040NREZ). It will just reduce the amount of tax that is withheld from your paycheck during the year. (The amount withheld is like a prepayment of the tax that will be calculated on the annual tax form.)

If you submit IRS Form 8233 to your employer, the following year, your employer will issue to you a 1042-S in addition to a W-2 for use in preparing your tax forms. The 1042-S will report the amount of wages you earned for the year up to the amount of your country's treaty benefit. During the year, as soon as you have earned more than your country's treaty benefit, your employer will begin withholding taxes (Federal and State, if your state has income tax; Oregon has income tax). 

The amount you earned above your country's treaty benefit will be reported to you by your employer on the annual W-2 along with any amount withheld in federal and state taxes as a prepayment on your tax liability.  

If your total earnings for the year are less than your treaty benefit and you had your withholding adjusted by using IRS Form 8233, you may only receive a 1042-S.

CAUTION: The treaty benefit is an annual amount. If you work for more than one employer, it is your responsibility to make sure that not more than the total yearly amount of your treaty benefit is processed by your employers as exempt from withholding. Failure to do so could result in not enough federal and state taxes being withheld from your paychecks. When your tax is calculated on the 1040NR, you may find that you have to pay a large balance of the tax when you file your return.

Example: You are from China and have a treaty benefit of $5,000 per year. You work for employer #1, you submit to your employer IRS Form 8233 to claim your treaty benefit and you earn $4,000 from employer #1. Your job ends. Now you only have $1000 left of your treaty benefit for the remainder of the year. If you go to work for employer #2 and submit IRS Form 8233, you should notify your employer you only have $1000 left of the treaty benefit.