US Taxes and the Glacier Tax Compliance System

GLACIER is an online tax compliance system designed to allow institutions to efficiently and effectively collect information, make tax residency and income tax treaty determinations, manage paperwork, maintain data, and file reporting statements with the IRS. The Office of Human Resources has more information on its Glacier website.

All foreign national employees being paid or receiving funds through UWM payroll must create and maintain a GLACIER individual record for payroll and taxation purposes. This includes Resident Aliens and Nonresident Aliens.

All international students who were in the United States during the tax year are required to file federal and state tax returns (even if they did not earn any income in that year). CIE maintains a Tax Resources page on their International Student and Scholar Services (ISSS) website.

To help guide international employees through the Federal tax filing process, UWM offers web-based tax software called GLACIER Tax Prep designed exclusively for foreign nationals who are non-residents for tax purposes. It is a part of the GLACIER program and opens in late-February each year.

If Graduate Assistants use a professional accountant or an online filing system, they should choose a service that has experience with international student tax filing. They also must clearly and accurately provide their filing status for tax purposes, such as non-resident alien, resident alien, or U.S. citizen.