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View Full Version : Claiming tax treaty for postdoc employed in National Lab


Dgolubchik
Apr 8, 2013, 09:56 PM
I'm a post-doctoral researcher in Lawrence Berkeley Lab.
Being an Israeli citizen I wander if I can claim the federal income tax exemption.
My status meet all the criteria of the treaty except that the Laboratory is not an educational institution. However it is a governmental institution and my salary is paid by the Energy Department.
Thank you in advance.

The tax treaty citation:
An individual who is a resident of Israel on the date of arrival in the United States and who is temporarily in the United States primarily to teach or engage in research, or both, at a university or other recognized educational institution is exempt from U.S. income tax on income from the teaching or research for a maximum of 2 years from the date of arrival in the United States. The individual must have been invited to the United States for a period not expected to be longer than 2 years by the U.S. Government or a state or local government, or by a university or other recognized educational institution in the United States.

taxesforaliens
Apr 9, 2013, 08:27 AM
Shalom,

Since it a Governmental institution it would seem that it is covered by the treaty
"The individual must have been invited to the United States for a period not expected to be longer than 2 years by the U.S. Government or a state or local government"
Private institutions like HHMI would not be covered

AtlantaTaxExpert
Apr 10, 2013, 08:41 AM
I agree; you should be covered by the treaty.