The university is not currently approving employees to work outside the United States. Employees who were not previously approved by their Dean or VP to work outside the U.S. permanently in order to fill a critical business need should have returned to their normally approved, U.S. based, work location by August 31, 2021.
The information below is only applicable to those individuals who received prior approval to work outside the U.S.
Receiving Payments through Payroll
Individuals with a U.S. Bank Account
- If the employee has a U.S. bank account, the employee can receive payment via direct deposit.
- New employees can follow the standard process for setting up Payment Elections in Workday.
- An employee who completed the Direct Deposit Declaration while in the U.S. should review to ensure the declaration is still accurate.
- An individual who indicates in their Direct Deposit Declaration that they will transfer 100% of their funds to a bank outside the U.S. will not be permitted to receive payroll payment via direct deposit and should contact Payroll Service for further guidance.
Individuals without a U.S. Bank Account
- Payroll payments to individuals living outside the United States who do not have a U.S. bank account will be made via international wire transfer.
- If an employee working outside the U.S. does not have a U.S. bank account, the department should contact Payroll Services to request payment be made via international wire transfer.
- Employees will be required to complete an Authorization for International Wire Transfer form. In this form, employees will designate their foreign banking information, certify its accuracy, and authorize the University to use a wire transfer for payment purposes. Upon request, this form will be initiated by Payroll Services in DocuSign.
- The department will be responsible for the international wire fee of up to $30 per transaction. The department will be required to provide an account that can be charged this amount as part of the request.
- Paper checks can be issued to employees working outside the U.S.; however, Payroll Services cannot mail them to an address outside of the U.S. If the employee would prefer to be paid via paper check, please contact Payroll Services to discuss arrangements.
Withholding and Reporting U.S. Tax Information
Employees that are working for The University of Texas at Austin and are located outside the United States may sign and submit a Statement for Services Performed Outside the United States. This document is used to ensure that U.S. income taxes are withheld and reported correctly, per IRS rules.
- Income earned outside the U.S. by Nonresident Aliens for Tax Purposes is not subject to federal withholding tax and should not be reported on the Form W-2.
- Income earned outside the U.S. by Resident Aliens for Tax Purposes, Permanent Residents, and U.S. Citizens is subject to U.S. taxation and is reported as if the income was earned in the U.S.
Statements are encouraged to be submitted for any portion of time where an employee will be working outside the U.S. and employees should notify Payroll Services if/when they return to work in the U.S. so that tax income reporting and taxation remains accurate.
Statements will automatically be sent to Payroll Services upon completion. The Statement for Services Performed Outside the United States can be accessed here, to be signed electronically with DocuSign.
Employees that are working outside the U.S. should speak with a tax advisor for guidance on any tax obligations they may have to the country from which they are working.
For additional information, please contact Tax Services directly at tax@austin.utexas.edu.
Last updated 4/15/2022