Office of Student Financial Services

• Direct deposit is the easiest and most convenient way to receive your pay; your money will be deposited directly into your bank account each week, which saves you the hassle of having to pick-up your checks. If you do not sign up for direct deposit, you will need to pick your check up from the Payroll office at 60 Turner St.
• Once you are hired, Payment Election (Direct Deposit) will appear as a task in your Workday inbox. You can always change your information manually by typing "Payment Election" n the search bar and the Payment Elections task will appear. From there, you can add or edit your bank account information.

• Under the Preferred Payment Method section, "Regular Payroll" refers to your paycheck. Please make sure this is set to "Direct Deposit — Payroll"

• Full instructions for "Payment Elections" and tax withholdings (pdf)

• You must complete a Form W-4 so your employer can withhold the correct federal income tax from your pay. Consider completing a new W-4 each year and when your personal or financial situation changes.
• The W-4 will come to your Workday inbox on your initial hire. If you need to make edits or complete a new W-4, type Withholding Elections in the search bar of Workday. Federal Tax Elections can be edited in the first tab.
• View a hard copy of a Form W-4 (pdf) to see full instructions. You can find answers to Frequently Asked Questions about the W-4 on the IRS website.

• Complete a Form M-4 so Brandeis can withhold the correct state income tax from your pay.
• The M-4 will come to your Workday inbox on your initial hire. If you need to make edits or complete a new M-4, type Withholding Elections in the search bar of Workday. State Tax Elections can be edited in the second tab.
• View a hard copy Form M-4 (pd) to see full instructions.

• The purpose of the Foreign National Information Form is to determine a foreign individual's tax status and whether tax exemptions or treaties may be available. If you are a foreign national worker or scholarship recipient, you should complete the Foreign National Information Form available in Workday.
• This form must be completed before you may receive any form of payment or scholarships from Brandeis University. If you're hired for a position, the form will be sent to your Workday inbox during onboarding. If you do not receive it in your Workday inbox, you can type Create Request in the search bar of Workday and the request type is Foreign National Form.
• The form requires that you attach a copy of the I-94, a copy of your visa with entry stamps, your passport and I-20 or DS-2019.
• Failure to complete this form may result in improper taxation and/or delayed receipt of payments/scholarships. Please call Payroll at 781-736-4495 or email payroll@brandeis.edu if you have any questions about this form.

• W-2: Includes earned wages & compensation paid through Payroll. Reports federal taxable income and withholding and state taxable income and withholding. This document is issued by Jan. 31 for the previous tax year.  It is available in Workday.
• 1042-S: Reports federal taxable income and withholding including fellowships, scholarships above the cost of tuition and required fees and/or specifically NOT for tuition and required fees, and compensation for non- resident aliens that is considered under a tax treaty (any amount of compensation outside a tax treaty limit would be included on a W-2). This document is issued by March 15 for the previous tax year and is available on paper only (mailed to the address on the Foreign National Form).
• 1098-T: Tuition statement shows the total payments received by Brandeis for qualified tuition and related expenses less any reimbursements or refunds that relate to those payments. This document is issued by Jan. 31 for the previous tax year. It is available in Workday.

A fellowship is any amount paid or allowed to, or for the benefit of, an individual to aid such individual in the pursuit of study or research. A fellowship may take the form of: (i) payment(s) to the recipient, such as stipend payments; (ii) reimbursement or payment of expenses, such as travel expenses, to or on behalf of an individual.

A fellowship payment is not related to the performance of services for the university.

That depends on whether it is a qualified or non-qualified fellowship.

• Qualified means it does not constitute income to the recipient if it is used for required tuition or fees for a degree program.
• Non-qualified means the payment is used for purposes other than required tuition or fees for a degree program, and constitutes income to the recipient.

This information is informational only. Please see Section 117(a) of the Internal Revenue Code and consult your personal tax consultant for more information.

For U.S. tax residents: Fellowship stipends are taxable income to the recipients.  Brandeis is not required to withhold tax or report fellowship stipends on a W-2, Form 1099 or other formal tax document. Responsibility for reporting the income and paying any taxes rests solely with the recipient. This means the amount of a fellowship payment to a U.S. tax resident will equal the amount granted, since no taxes are taken out, but the recipient may need to pay taxes on that amount when they file a tax return at the end of the year.

All Brandeis students receiving fellowships should consult a tax advisor with any questions before filing their tax returns.

For non-resident aliens: Brandeis does need to withhold taxes and report the income to the IRS and on Form 1042-S. This means that the net amount of a fellowship payment to a non-resident alien may be reduced because taxes are taken out, typically at 14% (or possibly 30% if no Social Security number is reported). Some countries have a tax treaty with the U.S. that reduces the amount of withholding required.

Payroll can provide more information on withholding rates for NRAs and tax treaty benefits. Form 1042-S will be issued by March 15th for the previous tax year.