Navigating UCLA Tax Forms: A Comprehensive Guide

Tax season can be a confusing time, especially when dealing with various forms and requirements. This guide aims to provide clarity on UCLA tax forms, resources, and filing information for students, employees, and former employees. It will cover everything from accessing your tax documents to understanding your filing obligations as a resident or non-resident alien.

Accessing Your Tax Documents

UCLA provides several avenues for accessing your tax documents, depending on your affiliation with the university. Always access your tax documents through safe and known links to protect your information.

UCPath

Current employees can access their W-2 and 1095 forms through UCPath. To do so, click on Employee Actions > Income and Taxes > View Online W-2/W-2C and/or View Online 1095. Duplicate copies of Form 1095 are also available in UCPath for employees and former employees.

UC Retirement At Your Service (UCRAYS)

It’s easier than ever to access your tax documents from your UC Retirement At Your Service (UCRAYS) account. Select “Tax Statements” on your UCRAYS dashboard to view or download your tax statements. The 1095-B form will be available in UC Retirement At Your Service (UCRAYS) and will be available for download. If you opted-in for electronic distribution of all tax documents, you will not receive a paper copy of your 1095-B form.

Direct from Insurance Carriers

Members of Kaiser Permanente and UC Blue & Gold HMO will receive a paper form directly from your health insurance carrier (Kaiser or Health Net). UC Care, CORE and UC Health Savings Plan members will be sent a paper copy of your 1095 form. Former employees continuing coverage by COBRA will receive a separate Form 1095 reflecting your COBRA coverage.

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Tab Service Company (TSC)

UCLA partners with Tab Service Company (TSC) to provide secure access and student support for 1098-T tax forms. 1098-T tax forms are accessible through the Tab Service Company vendor via www.tsc1098t.com, where students can securely view and download the 1098-T form and review detailed FAQs. Students may call the 1098-T Support Center at (888) 220-2540 for live assistance with logging in and general information about 1098-T.

Understanding Key Tax Forms

Several tax forms are relevant to individuals affiliated with UCLA. Here's a breakdown of some of the most common ones:

W-2 Form

A person who earns a standard wage/salary will receive a W-2 form and will do their taxes based on that information. Note: UCLA employees and scholars can elect to receive their W-2 forms electronically through UCPath.

1042-S Form

However, if you have received scholarships, stipends, fellowships, etc., you will receive a 1042-S. This form reports amounts paid to foreign persons (non-resident aliens) that are subject to U.S. tax withholding.

1095 Form

UC Care, CORE and UC Health Savings Plan members will be sent a paper copy of your 1095 form. Members of Kaiser Permanente and UC Blue & Gold HMO will receive a paper form directly from your health insurance carrier (Kaiser or Health Net). UC Medicare plans: The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is the responsible entity for issuing 1095 forms for all individuals on Medicare, including UC retirees enrolled in UC-sponsored Medicare plans or in Medicare plans through Via Benefits. For employees and former employees, duplicate copies of Form 1095 are available in UCPath.

1098-T Form

The IRS Form 1098-T Tuition Statement is used to assist the taxpayer in determining eligibility for certain education tax credits. Your 1098-T reports Qualified Tuition and Related Expenses (QTRE) paid to the University in Box 1. Generally, this amount includes amounts paid during the tax year for tuition and related expenses that are required for enrollment at the University of California. In alignment with other UCs, UCLA reports Box 1 (QTRE amounts paid) and maintains compliance with institutional reporting requirements under federal law.

Form 8843

If you didn’t receive any taxable income, you are still required to file a Form 8843. Non-Resident Aliens (NRA) for tax purposes are individuals who do not hold a green card (permanent residency card) or have passed the substantial presence test. It is a form used by the U.S. government for certain nonresident aliens (including the spouses or dependents of nonresident aliens). An ITIN or SSN is not necessary to complete Form 8843.

Tax Filing Information

You must file your Federal Taxes and your state taxes separately. Once you have received all of your income and earnings documents for the tax year, you can begin to find and complete relevant federal and state tax forms before submitting them to the Federal and/or State governments that apply to your situation. In addition to the tax documents that may be received, you should also be prepared to have your passport, visa, valid I-20, most recent I-94 Admission Record, SSN or ITIN (not required to complete Form 8843).

Important Dates and Deadlines

The 2025 Federal Tax Filing deadline is April 15, 2026. The CA State Deadline can be found at the California FTB webpage. Generally, the deadline to file your taxes is April of every year.

Filing as a Non-Resident Alien

Non-Resident Aliens (NRA) for tax purposes are individuals who do not hold a green card (permanent residency card) or have passed the substantial presence test. Resident Aliens (RA) for tax purposes are individuals who meet either the green card test or the substantial presence test. If you are a nonresident and need to file federal and state taxes & have received taxable income in the last year: SPRINTAX (tax filing software that supports federal and state tax filing).

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Tax Filing Assistance for International Students and Scholars

The Dashew Center has teamed up with Sprintax to provide non-residents an easy-to-use tax preparation software to file tax forms. federal and state income tax forms. The Dashew Center has purchased discount codes for International Students and Scholars. Discounted codes are distributed on a first-come first-serve basis. To get your discount on the cost of tax-filing, simply go to Sprintax and enter F25UCLA1000 when you begin filing. Please ensure that you have completed your GLACIER record with UCLA Corporate and Financial Services. Once your UCLA GLACIER record is complete, you will then gain access to GLACIER. federal income tax form.

Extension to File

If you need additional time to file your tax forms, you can file for an extension to file your tax return.

Resources Available

UCLA and external organizations provide numerous resources to assist with tax preparation:

Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
Internal Revenue Service - Foreign Students and Scholars
IRS - Taxation for Nonresident Aliens - General Information
State of California Franchise Tax Board
UCLA Tax Services
SPRINTAX (online self-preparation software for filing taxes) supports federal and state tax filing for international students & scholars. Learn how Sprintax works & Frequently Asked Questions.
GLACIER (UCLA)

Workshops and Webinars

TAX Filing Assistance & Workshops: The Dashew Center in partnership with campus partners, FTB and Sprintax offers tax workshops during filling season every year.
General Sprintax Nonresident Tax Webinars: In these tax webinars, international students, scholars and professionals will be run through everything they need to know about non-resident tax for the tax season.
International Student Tax Education Workshop: Visit their webpage for more!

UCLA Financial Wellness Program

The mission of UCLA’s Financial Wellness is to empower all Bruins to confidently navigate their finances in a way that supports their overall well-being. This program fosters financial literacy skills through workshops, coaching and online educational efforts.

GLACIER and Sprintax

GLACIER (UCLA): GLACIER is a secured web-based Nonresident Alien (NRA) tax compliance system that foreign visitors can use to provide their immigrant and tax data to UCLA via the internet 24 hours a day. GLACIER helps determine tax residency, withholding rates and income tax treaty eligibility. GLACIER also manages NRA’s paperwork, maintains NRA’s data and prepares tax forms and required statements.
SPRINTAX: SPRINTAX (tax filing software that supports federal and state tax filing) How does it work for students? See here!

Important Considerations

Tax Treaty Eligibility

Please visit UCLA’s Tax Treaty Eligibility by Country for Income Code for more information on which countries have a tax treaty with the United States for individuals receiving a scholarship or fellowship for study, training, or research.

UCLA Extension Students

UCLA Extension students may be eligible for the Lifetime Learning Tax Credit or American Opportunity Act Tax Credit under provisions of the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997, provided your adjusted gross income is within current IRS specifications. The IRS requires UCLA Extension to report records for each student from whom we have received qualified fee payments.

Updating Your SSN/ITIN

Current federal tax regulations require the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) to report your Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN), with other registration-related information, to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) on form 1098-T for each year that you are enrolled. Your TIN may be a Social Security Number (SSN), or an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) if you are not eligible for a SSN. If you have an existing SSN/ITIN and it is not yet registered with the university, you must submit your SSN or ITIN to UCLA via MyUCLA.

529 Plans

Section 529 of the Internal Revenue Code allows taxpayers to establish accounts on behalf of a designated beneficiary (e.g., child, grandchild, spouse, niece, nephew, friend, or even himself or herself). Currently, earnings and qualified distributions from 529 Plans are tax free at both the state and federal level. Qualified distributions may be applied toward fees and required books/supplies for all courses, certificate candidacies, colloquia, independent studies, and internships offered through UCLA Extension.

Form 1098-T Boxes Explained

Box 1: Amounts paid for QTRE to UCLA for the calendar year.
Box 2: Amounts billed for QTRE to UCLA for the calendar year. UCLA does not currently report Box 2.
Box 4: Adjustments made for a prior year. These are fee amounts billed and reported to you on a prior year 1098-T, but adjusted in the current tax year.
Box 5: Scholarships or grants. Any scholarships, fellowships, grants or any other tuition reduction (excluding student loans) received by a student that were processed through the financial aid office or the graduate division office on the campus. The UC Grant to Purchase UCSHIP is reportable.
Box 6: Adjustments to scholarships or grants for a prior year.

When You Might Not Receive a 1098-T Form

Potential reasons for this are:Student was not billed qualified tuition related fees, or did not receive applicable scholarships or grants (i.e. inter-campus visitor program or all courses were complimentary) for the tax year. Student took courses for which no academic credit is offered, even if student is otherwise enrolled in a degree program.

Disclaimer

PLEASE NOTE:- The University is not able to provide tax advice. Consult with a H&R Block or similar verified tax professional/software. Note: We do not recommend using TurboTax as a nonresident (Watch this video to learn more). Depending on your circumstances, you may be able to E-file your Federal tax return. However, this will depend on certain eligibility criteria. You can learn more about eligibility in this Sprintax blog. Only utilize VITA if you have a UCLA GLACIER record and have received your federal return from GLACIER.

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