Frequently Asked Questions

Instructions are included in your Glacier packet with information on submitting your forms. 

Yes, Glacier is only used for determination of taxation.  However, submitting your Glacier forms is vital to ensuring your taxes are withheld correctly and is needed to honor your country's tax treaty.

Update your information through the Glacier website and submit a request through HR Connection with a copy of your updated paperwork.

The forms will automatically be reviewed by Payroll and if there are any errors or missing information, someone from the Payroll Office will reach out to you.

Since you may be eligible for the benefits of a tax treaty between your home country and the US, you will want to complete GLACIER. The benefits of many tax treaties allow you to be exempt from federal tax on your payments from OSU. Note: The mere existence of a tax treaty between the US and your home country does not guarantee that you are eligible to receive this benefit. You must qualify for the tax treaty before you can receive any benefit of a tax treaty. Note: A tax treaty between the US and your country of residence only applies to federal tax, it does not apply to state – (however, the State of Ohio currently honors the tax treaties), city tax or Medicare tax – so even if you qualify for the benefit of a tax treaty with your home country there will still be other tax deductions from your paycheck.

GLACIER prepares all the forms necessary to take advantage of a tax treaty between the US and your country of residence. Without the completion of GLACIER and the submission of the GLACIER forms to the payroll office the maximum amount of federal tax must be withheld from your payment. If you are employed by OSU and do not complete GLACIER the rate of tax to be withheld from your paycheck is set by law at 30%. If you are receiving a scholarship or a fellowship, the rate of tax is set by law at 14%.

For most students/scholars, in your first year, you will need to access GLACIER at least two times. The first time is to create your record in GLACIER and to prepare all the forms necessary to take advantage of a tax treaty. The second time you will need to access GLACIER is to ‘renew’ your tax treaty. The forms produced by GLACIER are only valid for one year, thus, they need to be completed each year, printed and signed by you and sent to the payroll department – the address to send the forms to is printed on the forms that GLACIER produces (you’ll need to send required copies of other requested documents as well).
You may also access GLACIER at any time to update your information – for instance, if your Visa status changes, if your address in the US changes, if your anticipated departure date changes. It’s a good idea to review all the information in GLACIER when you are doing your tax treaty renewal each year.
You will want to also access GLACIER one last time – when you leave OSU. Just indicate that you are receiving no payments of any kind and submit the record. This will stop reminder emails to you when it is no longer necessary for you to have a record in GLACIER.

If you are employed at OSU you will need a Social Security Number (SSN). If you don’t have an SSN you will need to apply for one from the Social Security Administration. This is done by completing Form SS5, Application for SSN.

You can apply in person at the local Social Security Office. The Form SS5 is available on the Internal Revenue Service website at www.irs.gov, click on Forms and Publications, then Form and Instruction Number, and scroll through a listing of form numbers until you see Form SS5. You will receive a receipt from the Social Security Administration at the time of application. Approximately six to eight weeks later you will receive the actual SSN. You will also need a letter from the Office of International Affairs with the SS5.

If you are not employed by OSU (for instance, only receiving a scholarship or fellowship with no work or service requirement you are not eligible for an SSN and you will need to apply for an ITIN (Individual Identification Number) from the Internal Revenue Service – see below, “What's an ITIN Number?”.

You will need to re-enter GLACIER and input the SSN, then print all the forms GLACIER prepares for you, sign them and submit them to the address on the form.
You should also notify the Office of the University Registrar and email HRConnection@osu.edu your valid SSN.  All of these notifications are necessary as you may have been assigned various temporary numbers until you have received your valid SSN.

An ITIN (Individual Taxpayer Identification Number) is a number assigned by the Internal Revenue Service, not the Social Security Administration. It is not the same as an SSN, an ITIN is not to be used for employment purposes. An ITIN number is only used for tax purposes. That is, in order to be employed you need an SSN. If you are just receiving a scholarship or fellowship and are not employed otherwise, then you need an ITIN.

You must apply for an ITIN using a form W-7. The W-7 is available on the IRS website at www.irs.gov, click on Forms and Instructions then Forms and Instruction Number and scroll to the W-7 form. The W-7 form must be mailed to the IRS office at the address in the instructions with the W-7 form. You cannot take it to the IRS office nor is it to be mailed to the OSU Payroll Department. The IRS is the agency that issues the ITIN. Do not send original documents with the W-7 form and insure that you follow the directions in the instructions for additional documents you must attach to the W-7 – some of which may require they be notarized by a notary public. You will also need a letter from the Office of International Affairs to accompany your form W-7 stating you are not employed by the University and do not qualify for an SSN.

When the ITIN number is received from the IRS you will need to re-enter GLACIER and input this valid number, print sign and submit the GLACIER forms to the address on the form. You should also notify the Office of the University Registrar and email HRConnection@osu.edu.

A Tax Treaty is an agreement between the United States and other countries. Currently there are approximately 66 different tax treaties in effect. Some of the tax treaties allow a student/researcher/scholar to receive income in the US without it being taxed by the federal government. There are several limitations on this benefit such as the amount of money received, the time you receive the money, your length of stay in the US, your visa status, the status in which you entered the US and others. To determine if you are eligible for a tax treaty you will need to complete the information in the GLACIER system (see above), print, sign and submit the forms that are prepared by GLACIER.

GLACIER Tax Prep is a tax return preparation system. OSU offers this software for free to OSU foreign nationals. Each year you will be required to file a federal income tax return. The GLACIER Tax Prep system only prepares Form 1040-NR for nonresident aliens. It does not prepare Form 1040, used by permanent resident aliens. It is to be used only by OSU international students/researchers/scholars. You can access GLACIER Tax Prep through GLACIER using your GLACIER password and user ID. GLACIER Tax Prep is not available generally until March and is used to prepare tax returns for the previous year.

If you have a green card and receive an email about GLACIER, please email HRConnection@osu.edu with a copy of your green card.