Any advise would be much appreciated. I am about to move to the US from the UK for a 2 year postdoc posting on a J1 visa. I am trying to research everything so that there are no suprises once I arive in the US. I have several questions though.

Tax in the US: I have read that under a J1 visa I am exempt from paying tax in the US for the 2 years that I am working there. However, I have also been informed that if I work over the 2 years that I will made to pay back the tax that I was exempt from paying.

Tax in the UK: I am slightlyh confused about the details here. I presume that I will be paying tax in the UK while I reside in the US for the two years. However, I have found little details about this process...


Could anyone confirm if I am correct in my findings and also shed some more light on the tax payment in the UK.

Many thanks

I believe you are referring to a provision in the OLD tax treaty, which, under Article 20, allowed teachers, academics, professors and researchers to come to the U.S. and work tax-free for two years.

There is NO such provision in the latest tax treaty; see link below:

http://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/tax-policy/treaties/Documents/uktreaty.pdf

That being the case, you will pay income taxes at the federal and state level on all income earned in the United States. You will file as a non-resident alien, filing Form 1040NR or 1040NR-EZ plus Form 8843, plus the state tax return.

For the first two CALENDAR years, you will be EXEMPT from FICA (Social Security and Medicare) taxes.