International Employees - Treaty Exemptions and FNIS Questionnaire

The Internal Revenue Service requires that we apply U.S. withholding and reporting rules consistent with the U.S. tax status as a resident alien or nonresident alien (See NRA Definitions). Resident aliens are taxed like U.S. citizens, while nonresident aliens are taxed under different withholding and reporting rules. U.S. tax status depends on the U.S. immigration status and U.S. presence of the individual. 

An individual may be entitled to tax exemptions depending on U.S. tax status or an applicable tax treaty, or both. The application of a treaty exemption to an individual is specific to that individual and is dependent on many factors including (but not limited to) current visa type, prior visits to U.S., length of time in U.S., and country of tax residency (not necessarily citizenship). Two individuals from the same country may not necessarily have the same treaty exemptions.

Since immigration actions and U.S. presence may change the way these individuals are taxed, we request that all non-U.S. Citizens provide us with up-to-date information each year so that we may verify the U.S. tax status and eligibility for any tax exemptions. Without this information and current forms, we cannot provide tax exemptions which might otherwise be applicable.

The first step in the process is for the individual to complete the information in our Foreign National Information System (“FNIS”) so that U.S. tax status can be determined and the necessary forms can be generated. This is required for all nonresident alien employees and for any other foreign individual who may receive a scholarship, award, or other income from Emory. FNIS is a secure online questionnaire tool that Emory uses to aid in determining the appropriate tax residency and available treaty benefits for foreign individuals.

To complete FNIS, please send an email with your name, seven digit Emory ID number, and Emory email to Emory's Nonresident Tax Services at nonresident.tax@emory.edu to request a user name and password for the system. You will receive a link to the system with a user name and temporary password. The email will also contain instructions on how to complete FNIS. See additional information and FAQs on completing FNIS below.

If you are not an Emory employee or student but will be receiving payment from Emory, you may still use the FNIS system to provide your information and access tax forms at the end of the year. 

Once FNIS is completed, the tax specialist will review the information and send a follow up email on how to access the forms for printing and signing and submitting required documents back to the tax office. Electronic documents are accepted in the Tax Office if they are in PDF format. Do not submit photo copies taken with a camera as these submissions are not received in a printable format

How to Complete a Foreign National Information System (FNIS) Questionnaire

The first step in the process is to complete the information in our Foreign National Information System (FNIS) so that the necessary tax forms can be generated.

  1. Contact the Nonresident Alien Tax Office (nonresident.tax@emory.edu) to obtain a user name for FNIS. You will receive an email with information on how to log in to the system as well as a user name and the email address associated with your account.
  2. Log on to the FNIS software with the user name emailed to you. This user name is not the same as your Emory net ID, so please make a note of it. Use the “Can’t access your account?” link to receive a temporary password to the system. You will be prompted to change this password once you log in.

Detailed instructions on completing FNIS

A few things to remember:

  • Make sure to use an IBM compatible system when completing the questionnaire. We recommend that you use Microsoft Edge to complete it, as other browsers (especially Chrome and Safari) do not work well with the system.
  • If you do not have all the information for this U.S. visit, including your I-94 document, WAIT to complete and submit the FNIS questionnaire until you arrive in the U.S.