Student Wages and Tax Treaties

The table below indicates which countries have tax treaties with the United States in which some, or all, student wages are tax exempt, provided certain conditions are met.

If a student’s country of residence is included in the table below and the criteria in Column B and Column C are met, wages qualify for a tax exemption, and the following tax form needs to be completed upon hiring:

Form 8233: Exemption from Withholding on Compensation for Independent (and Certain Dependent) Personal Services of a Nonresident Alien Individual.

If a student’s country of residence does not appear in the table below, Form 8233 does not need to be completed.

Description of Table Columns

Column A: Students’ country of permanent citizenship. This is used in completing Form 8233 line 12c.

Column B: Maximum length of exemption. After the maximum number of years in the United States has been reached, the individual is subject to federal tax withholding.

Example: A student from Egypt has $2,000 of student wages but has been in the United States for six years. The $2,000 is subject to taxation because the student has been in the United States over the five-year limit.

Column C: Maximum earnings for exemption. The information in Column C is used for completing Form 8233 line 12b. Earnings above the annual maximum per year are subject to taxation. The one exception to this condition is for Canada. Wages below the $10,000 threshold are exempt. However, if wages exceed $10,000, the entire amount is taxable and not just the amount that exceeds $10,000.

Canada Example: A student from Canada earns $12,000. Because it exceeds the $10,000 threshold amount, the entire $12,000 is taxable.

Other Example: A student from China has student wages of $6,000. Because the tax treaty exempts up to $5,000, only $1000 will be subject to federal taxation.

Column D: The tax treaty article citation. This is used in completing Form 8233 line 12a.

Tax Treaty Table for Student Wages

Column A

Column B

Column C

Column D

Country of
Residence

Maximum Presence
in USA

Maximum
Compensation

Treaty Article
Citation

Bangladesh

No Limit

$8,000

21(2)

Belgium

No Limit

$9,000

19(1)(b)

Bulgaria

No Limit

$9,000

19(1)(b)

Canada

No Limit

$10,000

XV

China, People’s Republic

No Limit

$5,000

20(c)

Cyprus

5 years

$2,000

21(1)

Czech Republic

5 years

$5,000

21(1)

Egypt

5 years

$3,000

23(1)

Estonia

5 years

$5,000

20(1)

France

5 years

$5,000

21(1)

Germany

4 years

$9,000

20(4)

Iceland

5 years

$9,000

19(1)

Indonesia

5 years

$2,000

19(1)

Israel

5 years

$3,000

24(1)

Korea, South

5 years

$2,000

21(1)

Latvia

5 years

$5,000

20(1)

Lithuania

5 years

$5,000

20(1)

Malta

No Limit

$9,000

20(2)

Morocco

5 years

$2,000

18

Netherlands

No Limit

$2,000

22(1)

Norway

5 years

$2,000

16(1)

Pakistan

No Limit

$5,000

XIII(1)

Philippines

5 years

$3,000

22(1)

Poland

5 years

$2,000

18(1)

Portugal

5 years

$5,000

23(1)

Romania

5 years

$2,000

20(1)

Slovak Republic

5 years

$5,000

21(1)

Slovenia

5 years

$5,000

20(1)

Spain

5 years

$5,000

22(1)

Thailand

5 years

$3,000

22(1)

Trinidad and Tobago

5 years

$2,000

19(1)

Tunisia

5 years

$4,000

20

Venezuela

5 years

$5,000

21(1)