The International Tax Office will move to an online platform for exchanging information and documents with international employees, students and vendors, starting in August 2024.

This change will streamline tax-related tasks required of all new international employees, reduce retroactive payroll adjustments and enable international employees and students to easily access their tax reporting forms online.  It will also allow for a seamless and consistent experience with nonresident alien tax prep software offered by Employee Services, Sprintax Returns, during tax filing season.

The International Tax Office will use the online platform Sprintax Calculus to gather immigration, tax residency and tax treaty eligibility information from new international employees and students and to update existing employees’ information, beginning with the fall 2024 semester.

In preparation, international tax appointments will pause starting July 24, 2024.

How will the Sprintax platform work?

With the introduction of Sprintax Calculus, international employees and students can expect accurate taxation sooner rather than later, resulting in fewer retroactive payroll adjustments during the semester.

New employees will receive an email notification from CUIntlTax-noreply@Sprintax.com asking them to complete their Sprintax profile within approximately 14 days of their employment begin date.  Please encourage international employees to watch their email – including spam folders – for this activation email.

Students receiving taxable scholarship through their Campus Bursar’s Office will receive an activation email when taxable scholarship is identified on their student account. 

Existing international employees and student scholarship recipients will receive annual emails asking them to update their information and documentation online as needed.

The streamlined online platform eliminates required one-on-one appointments with International Tax Office staff, and eliminates appointment wait times that previously slowed down the onboarding process. Employee or student stipend pay will be appropriately taxed sooner – reducing or eliminating scenarios where refunds are issued, or additional tax deductions are needed to correct withholding discrepancies.

Additionally, by using the Sprintax suite, international employees and students automatically have their required tax data imported into Sprintax Returns – saving time and stress around tax time. With the recipient’s consent, tax reporting form 1042-S will also be accessible online, through the platform, for the first time enhancing security, saving environmental resources, and reducing administrative efforts to reissue forms when they are lost or mailed to an incorrect address.

More information to follow

As we prepare for the new online platform’s launch, you may have questions about your specific case or circumstances. With the Sprintax Calculus rollout, the International Tax Office will expand virtual office hours, so any concerns can be quickly brought to a tax officer and resolved.

The International Tax Office is still dedicated to helping and assisting with every part of the onboarding and taxation process. The easiest way to reach out is by attending office hours or emailing intltax@cu.edu.