All student workers must have a valid Student Employment Card. 

• Cards for U.S citizens/Permanent residents are issued by program student employment liaisons or student employment.
• Cards for foreign nationals are issued either by the student employment liaison if an I-9 is already on file or by Payroll/Student Employment if an I-9 needs to be completed. 

Students are required to complete Form I-9 - Employment Eligibility Verification on or before their first day of employment. In compliance with the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, Rensselaer must verify a person's eligibility to work in the United States. This is done via Form I-9 and must be done on or before your first day of employment. 

Section 1 of the form can be completed by the individual, online, at the link above. 

Once Section 1 has been completed, it will give you instructions on the next steps to complete Section 2, which will need to be in-person with a certified representative. You must present original unexpired documents such as a U.S. Passport or a driver's license and social security card to a certified representative in the department for which you will be working. 

Students are encouraged to complete the Form I-9 as early in the job search process as possible. Completion of this form generally is required only for your first job on campus. Once the form is completed online and identity documents are verified by a student liaison, the student will be issued a student employment card. This card should be shown to the student's supervisor prior to the first day of actual work.

Employers are required to withhold Federal and State payroll taxes from an employee's pay. To ensure the appropriate amount of taxes are withheld, employees must fill out Federal Form W-4 and New York State Form IT-2104. These can be submitted via Rensselaer Self Service. More information about federal and state taxes, along with instructions on where and how to complete the forms is located in the "Tax Information" section below. 

To be paid on time, hourly paid student workers must report hours worked by the due dates. Rensselaer currently has two methods to report hours worked:

• Electronically via the web using the  Student Information System (SIS)
• Paper time sheets (only for special circumstances.)

Your department administrator will let you know if a paper timesheet is ever required. 

Students are paid every other Friday. The payroll schedule has important dates for pay periods, timesheets, and pay dates.

• 2026 Student Payroll Calendar
• 2025 Student Payroll Calendar

Students can be paid either by direct deposit into their bank account or by check:

• Direct Deposit (Recommended Option) — Students may set up direct deposit by setting up your Direct Deposit in SIS. Alternatively, you may complete a Student Direct Deposit Authorization Form and submit it to the support site. It may take up to two weeks for processing. In addition, the payroll office may call you to have you verify your banking information and you will need to ensure you connect with them to confirm the account update. Your first check may be issued as a paper check.
• Paper Check — checks can be picked up with Payroll in the Troy Building, 5th Floor. 

During the academic year, students registered for a minimum of six (6) credit hours and working on campus are exempt from having Social Security and Medicare taxes withheld from their paychecks. The exemption only applies to Social Security and Medicare withholdings. It does not apply to other types of taxes required to be withheld. 

Form W-4 must to be completed to ensure that Rensselaer withholds the correct federal income tax from your pay. This form is used to specify your marital status and deductions or if you wish to claim exempt from federal tax withholding. Determine your eligibility carefully to avoid any tax penalties. Consider completing a new Form W-4 each year and/or when your personal or financial situation changes.

Your Form W-4 can be completed online in your Self-Service account. See instructions for making W-4 elections online. Rensselaer Self-Service Information System W-4 Tax Form Instructions

If you are unable to make elections via your Self Service account, you can submit a paper form to the Payroll office. Complete the Form W-4 and submit it via a support ticket. 

If you are exempt from Federal taxes are claiming exempt on your Form W-4, a new W-4 will be required to be submitted each year, re-electing that exemption. 

International students will receive assistance from the Payroll Office during the hiring process.

Form IT-2104 is completed by an employee to ensure that Rensselaer withholds the correct state withholding tax from your pay. The more allowances claimed, the lower the amount of tax withheld. Determine your eligibility carefully to avoid any tax penalties. New York State has two different forms, the regular form to calculate the appropriate withholding and a different form if you are claiming exemption from state taxes.

Form IT-2104 can be filled out in your self-service account. See instructions here: Rensselaer Self-Service Information System NY State Tax Form Instructions. If you are unable to make elections from your Self-Service account, you can you can submit a paper form to the Payroll office. Complete the Form IT-2104 and submit it via a support ticket.

If you believe you are exempt from New York State taxes, Form IT-2104-E must be completed. This form will need to be submitted every year if you qualify to claim exemption from paying New York State tax. Form IT-2104-E can only be submitted via paper form and this election cannot be made via Self-Service. Complete the Form IT-2104-E and submit it via a support ticket. 

Please note that only one of these forms (IT-2014 or IT-2104-E) need to be completed.

International students will receive assistance from the Payroll or Student Employment Office during the hiring process.

Form W-2 is an IRS document employers use to report an employee's annual wages, tips, and other compensation, alongside withheld taxes, to the Social Security Administration and employees by January 31st. It is recommended that employees elect to receive their W-2 electronically via Rensselaer Self Service for the following reasons:

• Provides earlier access to your Form W-2. Typically, electronic W-2s are available by the second week in January, while paper W-2s are not mailed until January 30. Please be advised that only those employees who have consented to electronic-only W-2 delivery will be able to view their W-2 on the RSS/SIS site.
• Eliminates the potential for lost, stolen, delayed or damaged W-2s sent via the U.S. Postal Service.
• Allows easy access to your form if you lose it. You can access again online. 
• Access is available 24/7 at the same easy-to-use secure web site at which you access your other payroll information.

Employees can enroll to receive electronic W-2s by following the steps below. Once an employee has given their consent, they do not need to do it again.

1. Sign into the Rensselaer Self Service.
2. Enter your secure userID and password.
3. Click on Open Employee Dashboard.
4. Click on Taxes.
5. Click on Electronic Regulatory Consent.
6. Check the box labeled "Consent to receive W-2 electronically".
7. Click Submit.

Taxes may be required to be withheld from graduate fellowship payments made to international students. 

Students who are US citizens for tax purposes do not have any withholding on their fellowship stipends which are generally for tuition, nor are these amounts reported to the Social Security Administration. However, all stipends and fellowships are considered by the IRS to be taxable income, to the extent that they exceed the cost of books, fees, equipment and supplies required of all students in a course of instruction.

International students may receive a W-2, a 1042S, or both forms, depending on the amount of income you receive and your country's tax treaty stipulations. The Form 1042S will report fellowship stipends and payments exempt under a tax treaty; all other payments are reported on a W-2. International students should wait until both forms have been made available before filing their tax returns. While Form W-2 is required to be provided by January 31st, Form 1042S forms are not required to be provided until March 16th. 

1042S forms are not accessible on SIS. Form 1042S can be accessed on the Sprintax website, if you elected electronic consent. It is recommended that employees elect to receive their 1042S electronically. If you do not elect electronic consent, the form will be mailed to you. 

Tax-related information is provided on the International Services for Students and Scholars web page. Please also review the International Student Worker section of this website for important non-resident alien tax compliance website information through Sprintax. 

The Office of International Students and Scholars website contains information specifically pertaining to international students, and that Office may sponsor a tax workshop in the spring that many international students find helpful.

The Rensselaer payroll staff cannot give advice on completing any tax forms. If you have questions, please talk with your parents or a qualified tax professional. If these forms are not received by the Payroll Department, the government requires a default setting of single claiming zero exemptions.