Customized Training

Certainly one of our greatest strengths is our training workshops - instead of just fixing a problem, we teach our clients about nonresident alien tax issues and how to handle situations when they arise. We offer several types of customized workshops that focus on an institution's specific needs. Our workshops are for the particular institution, following are the basic types of workshops we offer. Please contact us to discuss more customized training.

Targeted Training

We have developed a series of in-depth, comprehensive training workshops designed for the designated tax specialist(s), his or her "back-up," and other key individuals from the processing departments (e.g., Payroll, Accounts Payable, Student Accounts) to permit these individuals to (i) perform proper review and analysis of collected information, and (ii) implement and maintain the new compliance policies and procedures. (This type of targeted training is generally 1-2 days held 3-4 times over several months during the development and implementation of new policies and procedures. Depending on the size of the institution, institutions typically select 3-5 individuals to participate in this type of training).

Standard Training Workshops

For over eight years, in the spring and fall of each year, we have offered our "standard" workshops for individuals to learn together with their colleagues from other institutions. Our series currently includes (i) Comprehensive Level - More Than Just The Building Blocks, (two days) (ii) Intensive Level - Becoming More Efficient and Effective, (two days) (iii) A Practical Approach to Income Tax Treaties, (two days) (iv) Are You Ready to Report? (one day), and (v) Advanced Update (one day). We also conduct these standard workshops specifically for an institution and customize to feature case studies prepared for the institution's specific questions, issues and concerns - they are well-suited for state systems or multiple location institutions because they allow an unlimited number of people from the institution to attend. In addition to avoiding multiple registration fees, there is a significant savings in travel costs.

Departmental Workshops

We conduct informational "policy and procedure" workshops for an institution's non-tax personnel (e.g., department chairpersons and administrators) to introduce and explain the nonresident alien tax compliance policies and procedures and review the policy and procedure manual. In many cases, new policies and procedures are met with more acceptance when on outside tax professional delivers information and instruction. (Each workshop is approximately 1 ½ - 2 hours and provides a high-level overview of the tax issues, concentrating on the institution's policies and procedures - telling the departments exactly what is expected of them and how to accomplish it.)

International Student and Scholar Tax Return Preparation Workshops

Our international student and scholar tax workshops provide guidance to an institution's foreign student, scholar, and employee population in the preparation of U.S. nonresident alien income tax returns (e.g., Forms 1040NR and 1040NR-EZ). We begin with a high-level overview of general U.S. federal tax issues, focusing on how an individual can determine if he or she is a nonresident alien. We review and discuss tax statements (e.g., Forms W-2, 1042-S, 1098-T, and 1099), as well as income tax . We then go through each relevant line of both nonresident alien tax returns, explaining the purpose of the requested information and how to complete the line. We also conduct question/ answer sessions for the workshop attendees, held either immediately after the workshop or on the following day. Individuals have the opportunity to ask specific questions, as well as have portions of returns reviewed. These sessions are often considered more beneficial to the institution than the individual as they significantly reduce the number of questions from students and scholars to the payroll, tax and international student services offices. (The workshop is generally limited to 300 individuals and requires approximately 2 ½ hours; more time will be needed for more individuals.)

For More Information

To discuss how Arctic can assist your institution in better managing its nonresident alien tax compliance issues or to obtain a proposal for services, please Contact Us at 202.223.4583.