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Withholding on Wages: U.S. Taxes for Noncitizens (2025 IRS Guide)

This guide covers “Withholding on Wages” within u.s. taxes for noncitizens. The following material presents the IRS treatment of this topic, including the qualifications, exceptions, and examples in the source section. Read the rules alongside the facts of your own situation before deciding what to report, deduct, or document.

Adapted from Publication 519 (2025), U.S. Tax Guide for Aliens, published by the Internal Revenue Service. This guide retains the source edition’s years, amounts, deadlines, and examples. It is guidance for that edition, not a statement that the same figures apply to every tax year.

Context for these rules

The following discussion generally applies only to nonresident aliens. Tax is withheld from resident aliens in the same manner as U.S. citizens.

Wages and other compensation paid to a nonresident alien for services performed as an employee are usually subject to graduated withholding at the same rates as resident aliens and U.S. citizens. Therefore, your compensation, unless it is specifically excluded from the term “wages” by law, or is exempt from tax by treaty, is subject to graduated withholding.

Withholding on Wages

If you are an employee and you receive wages subject to graduated withholding, you will be required to fill out a Form W-4. Also fill out Form W-4 for a scholarship or fellowship grant to the extent it represents payment for past, present, or future services and for which you are not claiming a tax treaty withholding exemption on Form 8233 (discussed later under Income Entitled to Tax Treaty Benefits). These are services you are required to perform as an employee and as a condition of receiving the scholarship or fellowship (or tuition reduction).

Nonresident aliens must follow the special instructions in Notice 1392 when completing Form W-4 for compensation paid as employees performing dependent personal services in the United States. Compensation for dependent personal services includes amounts paid as wages, salaries, fees, bonuses, commissions, compensatory scholarships, fellowship income, and similar designations for amounts paid to an employee.

To see if you need to have your withholding increased or decreased, use the IRS Tax Withholding Estimator.

See Withholding on Scholarships and Fellowship Grants, later, for how to fill out Form W-4 if you receive a U.S. source scholarship or fellowship grant that is not a payment for services.

Students and business apprentices from India.

If you are eligible for the benefits of Article 21(2) of the United States-India Income Tax Treaty, you may claim an additional withholding allowance for the standard deduction.

Household employees.

If you work as a household employee, your employer does not have to withhold income tax. However, you may agree to voluntarily withhold income tax by filing a Form W-4 with your employer. The agreement goes into effect when your employer accepts the agreement by beginning the withholding. You or your employer may end the agreement by letting the other know in writing.

Agricultural workers.

If you are an agricultural worker on an H-2A visa, your employer does not have to withhold income tax. However, your employer will withhold income tax only if you and your employer agree to withhold. In that case, you must provide your employer with a properly completed Form W-4. You can find more information about not having tax withheld at IRS.gov/ForeignAgriculturalWorkers.

Wages Exempt From Withholding

Wages that are exempt from U.S. income tax under an income tax treaty are generally exempt from withholding. For information on how to claim this exemption from withholding, see Income Entitled to Tax Treaty Benefits, later.

Wages paid to aliens who are residents of American Samoa, Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico, or the U.S. Virgin Islands may be exempt from withholding. The following paragraphs explain these exemptions.

Residents of Canada or Mexico engaged in transportation-related employment.

Certain residents of Canada or Mexico who enter or leave the United States at frequent intervals are not subject to withholding on their wages. These persons either:

  • Perform duties in transportation service between the United States and Canada or Mexico; or

  • Perform duties connected to the construction, maintenance, or operation of a waterway, viaduct, dam, or bridge crossed by, or crossing, the boundary between the United States and Canada or the boundary between the United States and Mexico.

Caution:

This employment is subject to withholding of social security and Medicare taxes unless the services are performed for a railroad.

To qualify for the exemption from withholding during a tax year, a Canadian or Mexican resident must give the employer a statement in duplicate with name, address, and TIN, certifying that the resident:

  • Is not a U.S. citizen or resident;

  • Is a resident of Canada or Mexico, whichever applies; and

  • Expects to perform duties previously described during the tax year in question.

The statement can be in any form, but it must be dated and signed by the employee and must include a written declaration that it is made under penalties of perjury.

Residents of American Samoa and Puerto Rico.

If you are a nonresident alien employee who is a resident of American Samoa or Puerto Rico, wages for services performed in American Samoa or Puerto Rico are generally not subject to withholding unless you are an employee of the United States or any of its agencies in American Samoa or Puerto Rico.

Residents of the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Nonresident aliens who are bona fide residents of the U.S Virgin Islands are not subject to withholding of U.S. tax on income earned while temporarily employed in the United States. This is because those persons pay their income tax to the U.S. Virgin Islands. To avoid having tax withheld on income earned in the United States, bona fide residents of the U.S. Virgin Islands should write a letter, in duplicate, to their employers, stating that they are bona fide residents of the U.S. Virgin Islands and expect to pay tax on all income to the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Using the guidance

Keep the documents that establish the dates, amounts, and circumstances described above. References to other chapters, forms, worksheets, or earlier and later sections refer to the linked IRS publication. Check the full publication and its updates before relying on a rule for a different tax year or a situation not addressed here.

Sources and further reading

The cited U.S. government text is in the public domain. Source accessed October 28, 2026. Fynoptic has organized this material for educational use and is independent of, and not endorsed by, the IRS.

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