Financial Information

Financial questions can be directed to Derek Balcom. However, for tax advice specific to your personal circumstances, please contact an accountant. University staff members are not in a position to give guidance on taxation. The Davis International Center at Princeton offers information and advice specifically relevant to international scholars as tax filing season approaches.

Direct Deposit

The Office of Finance & Treasury strongly encourages all visitors to enroll in direct deposit. To enroll in direct deposit, visit HR Self Service: www.princeton.edu/selfservice. Select the "personal information" tile for address changes and the "payroll" tile to enroll in direct deposit.

If you are an international scholar, we recommend opening up your U.S. bank account within the first few days of your arrival and updating your HR Self-Service payroll record with your banking details. 

To update your payroll record with your banking details, please log-in to HR Self-Service (go to the Princeton Human Resources page, click on “Quick Links” and select “HR Self-Service”). Then, choose the “Payroll” tile, and then the “Direct Deposit” tile, where you can enter your U.S. banking details. 

For faculty and staff who are not enrolled in direct deposit, paychecks will be mailed on payday to their home/local address on file. Please make sure this address is up-to-date in the self service portal.

Payroll

Princeton salary is paid monthly on the last business day of each month. For specific questions about your payroll, please contact the Princeton Payroll Services team at [email protected].

Relocation Allowance

Fellows, visiting research scholars, and postdocs receive reimbursement (after their start date) for moving expenses up to a maximum set in their offer letter for their moves to Princeton. Please retain your receipts associated with moving expenses for reimbursement. Note that relocation expenses are taxable. Moving costs incurred and reimbursed are added to the individual’s taxable gross income, and taxes are withheld based on the W4 on file. Depending on the amount, subsequent taxation is spread over multiple months to lessen the tax implication from one payment. 

Expenses normally reimbursed include:

  • One pre-move visit, including meals, tips, lodging, taxis or rental car not to exceed three calendar days (includable in taxable income)
  • Transportation charges for one continuous move of household items and personal effects from the current domicile to the Princeton area (includable in taxable income)
  • Container costs for household items, including book cartons, wardrobes, linen cartons, dish packs, mattress carton, and corrugated cartons for mirrors and pictures (includable in taxable income)
  • Packing charges for breakable items such as dishes, glassware, lamps, mirrors, and pictures and for mattresses and box springs (includable in taxable income)
  • For family members, reasonable and customary expenses for transportation to the new location, including lodging not to exceed three calendar days (includable in taxable income)

Expenses not normally reimbursed are:

  • Charges for moving laboratory equipment, office equipment, houseplants, pianos, perishable food, firewood, boats, building materials, domestic and non-domestic animals, and automobiles
  • Packing and unpacking of normal household goods — with the exception of breakable items, mattresses, and box springs
  • Purchase of furniture
  • Cleaning expenses
  • Expedited service — unless requested by the University
  • Costs for replacing household items not transported to the Princeton area
  • Temporary or interim lodging or accommodations
  • Temporary storage of household items or vehicles

Research Expense Account

A research expense account is established for each visitor (for your available balance at any time, please contact Dawn Disette). The Center will provide research account balances monthly, via email. Your research account is available for any expenses incurred during your appointment, from September 1 through May 31. Balances as of that date revert to the University Center. The deadline for submission of reimbursements/substantiation of expenses is June 15.

Please note that the following guidelines are provided for information purposes only. The Center and the University's administration (the Office of Finance and Treasury and the Office of the Dean of Faculty) reserve the right to deny any expense reimbursement requests they feel do not align with the University’s guidelines, policies, and procedures.

 

During your fellowship year, you will be issued a Princeton Travel & Expense Card. Concur is Princeton’s system for booking travel arrangements and seeking expense reimbursements/substantiating expenses charged to your university travel and expense card. When you use your Travel and Expense Card, your charges are automatically uploaded to your My Concur page and are ready to be substantiated on an expense report. Using the Princeton Travel and Expense Card reduces manual entries and the need to spend cash out of pocket.

Receipts are required for expenses of $50 or more. Photograph or scan these receipts and attach them to your expense report in Concur.  Receipts for expenses less than $50 are not required. 

The Center asks that you submit a Concur report for any expenses you have incurred the previous month. All expenses must be substantiated via a Concur expense report within 45 days of being incurred. You will be reminded to submit an expense report each month. If your office is in Wooten Hall or you are a Values and Public Policy Postdoc, please direct questions regarding Concur to Dawn Disette ([email protected]). If your office is in Green Hall, please direct questions regarding Concur to Kim Girman ([email protected]). You will receive an email with instructions for setting up your Concur profile and the Center will provide a Concur expense report demo session in the fall semester.

For more information on Princeton’s expense policies, please refer to the Finance and Treasury Department's Business Expense Policy. Note, the University expects the cost of business meals to be reasonable and to be $125 or less per person (including tax and tip).

For more information about using your UCHV research account for business travel, please refer to the University Travel Policy 

Research Expense Account: Allowable Expenses 

The UCHV will provide each Fellow and Postdoc with research support as detailed in their offer letter during the fellowship year. These funds are allocated to assist you in your research and are intended to pay for research-related expenses, such as the purchase of books and other research materials, including software, the employment of research assistants, payment of subventions, payment of translation expenses for research materials, research-related travel and other research-related expenditures. We are not able to reimburse you for the purchase of computer hardware, such as peripherals, digital cameras, phones, iPads, etc. Research Funds are not available to be used for personal or office moving expenses. Fellows are permitted to use their research account funds for meals with colleagues (at which research interests are discussed) and our funding does not preclude using your research account for meals that include alcohol. However, we ask that you use good judgment and select, for example, house wines. All expenses incurred must be for research activities taking place during your appointment period.

LSR Visiting Faculty Fellowship: Stipends

LSR Visiting Faculty Fellowship stipends are paid monthly on the last day of the month. "Stipends" are considered taxable, non-compensatory fellowship grants. For those with nine-month appointments beginning in September, the first payment will be September 30.

U.S. Citizens and Permanent Residents

Although the amounts are considered taxable, the University is not required to report fellowship payments or withhold taxes from these payments for U.S. citizens or permanent residents; therefore no formal tax document is provided (you will be issued a W-2 for relocation allowance which is considered taxable income). When filing taxes this year and next, please use the last pay statement of the year. Please be in touch with a tax specialist if you have questions about how the stipend should be reported. 

Non-U.S. Citizens/Permanent Residents

Any non-U.S. citizen/permanent resident who is at our institution and receiving payments from Princeton is subject to tax withholding. If the individual is from a country that has a tax treaty exemption, then he/she must apply for the treaty and must have a U.S. issued Social Security Number (SSN) or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN). More information on applying for a Social Security Number can be found on the Davis International Center website. IRS Publication 901 contains information regarding tax treaties. If you want information about withholding, you can reference IRS Publication 515.

U.S. tax law requires the University to withhold income tax on payments received in the United States. You will receive information from the office of Non-Resident Tax Compliance at Princeton University regarding the Sprintax Calculus system and you will be required to enter your visa information in the Sprintax Calculus system within 10 days of arriving on campus. The signed Sprintax Calculus forms must be provided to Non-Resident Tax Compliance and Reporting Team (NTCR) located at 701 Carnegie Center, Ste 442A at least one month prior to the date of payment so that the correct tax withholding can be made; failure to do so may result in the maximum rate of tax withholding. The maximum tax rate that may be withheld from your stipend payment is 30%.

If Sprintax Calculus has determined that you are eligible to claim a tax treaty benefit at an exempted or reduced tax rate and you have not provided your signed Form W-8BEN or 8233, then you will not be able to claim a tax treaty benefit. If not already on file, the completed forms must be submitted to the Non-Resident Tax Compliance and Reporting Team (NTCR) located at 701 Carnegie Center, Ste 442A. 

You can also find information on the Office of Finance & Treasury website and specific questions may be directed to our office of Non-Resident Tax Compliance at [email protected].

Once on campus, Kristy L. Holmes from Global Financial Services conducts, non-resident tax appointments (office appointments for tax questions, Sprintax Calculus document drop off, and ITIN applications with or without a tax return).

UCHV Fellow in Law, Ethics, and Public Policy: Salary

Much of the logistical information about LSR Fellowship payments apply to all ranks (particularly for international visitors). However, the UCHV Fellows in Law, Ethics, and Public policy are appointed at the rank of Visiting Research Scholar. As such, these fellows are paid salary rather than a fellowship stipend. This differentiation will inform fellows' tax status and benefits eligibility. U.S. taxes will be withheld where applicable. Note, the salary amount outlined in the appointment letter for this rank is the “gross” salary amount, and this amount is subject to federal and state taxes. Therefore, the amount of money you receive each month in your bank account (otherwise called your “net salary” or “take-home pay”) will be reduced by applicable taxes. In general, foreign workers in the U.S. are subject to paying U.S. state and federal tax on incomes earned in the U.S.

Opening a US Bank Account

The Nassau Street branch of Bank of America (located at 90 Nassau Street, Princeton, 08542 US) does not require a social security number to open an account. They do need the following: a photo ID (a passport will suffice). Additional documentation is helpful (such as a letter of employment). This branch recommends making an appointment to open a new account.

Institutional Payments

A small number of visiting ranks are eligible to be paid via an Institutional Payment (IP). Institutional Payment will be limited to visitors in the Visiting Faculty, Visiting Research Scholar, and Visiting Professional Specialist ranks who work for domestic (U.S.) universities that contribute to TIAA. In these cases, any tax forms issued will be done so by the visitor's home institution (a tax from is issued only if payments are processed through Princeton's payroll). Salary and benefits reimbursement are made in one lump sum on or about these dates: for fall term appointments, November 15; for spring term appointments, April 15; for 9-month academic year appointments, February 1.