International Students

If you would like to pay your tuition and fees using foreign currency, you can do so online in the MyHPU portal, Business & Payments. HPU partners with Flywire for all international payments to student accounts. Fees will apply per transaction. 

Students who use Flywire through the MyHPU portal, Business & Payments, enjoy the following benefits:

• Know where your payment is in the bank transfer process and see when HPU receives your payment.
• Have Peace of mind. There is 24 hour multilingual customer support when you need it most.
• Eliminate hidden bank fees and ensure Hawaii Pacific University receives the correct amount.
• Save on exchange rates – in most cases you can make a payment in your home currency. Flywire will process the currency exchange, offering you wholesale exchange rates, unmatched by traditional banks.
  • Flywire has a Best Price Guarantee so you can always be sure that you are receiving the best transfer price.
• If a refund needs to be issued to you for any reason, sending your money back through Flywire is a snap! Learn more below in the REFUNDS section.

If you decide to open a US checking account while studying at HPU, you will have the ability to make payments in MyHPU, Business & Payments. This portal will provide you all of your account information including charges, payments, and overall balance. 

You may pay your tuition in person at the STUDENT SERVICES CENTER (WP5A). In person, the following are accepted: 

• Cash (US funds only)
• US Personal Check
• US Cashier's Check

• • A Cashier’s Check can be obtained at most US financial institutions. Exclusions and fees may apply.

• US Money Order
  • Available for purchase at but not limited to: Walmart, United States Postal Offices, CVS/Longs, or 7-Eleven. Exclusions and fees may apply.Hours

CASHIERING HOURS: HPU accepts in-person cash payments Monday-Friday between the hours of 8:30am-4:00pm Hawaii Standard Time (except for university holidays). Checks, money orders, and cashier's checks may be delivered any time during the Student Service Center’s open hours and will be receipted or processed to the student account the following business day if delivered after 4:00pm. Cash payments are not accepted before 8:30am or after 4:00pm.

In the United States, there is an income tax at the federal or national level as well as the state level for most states. US citizens, resident aliens, and nonresident aliens are subject to federal and state income tax, but different tax rules may apply depending on your status.  

A student is a nonresident alien if the student is not a US citizen, does not have a green card, and does not meet the "substantial presence" test. Most international students are nonresident aliens, but please consult your tax advisor for your particular situation. 

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) administers the federal tax, and the Hawaii Department of Taxation administers the state tax in Hawaii. 

The tax year for individuals is from January 1 through December 31. 

Nonresident alien students must file a US tax return if they have any of the following types of income for the calendar year:

1. A taxable scholarship or fellowship grant,
2. Income partially or totally exempt from tax under the terms of a tax treaty, or
3. Any other income that is taxable under the Internal Revenue Code.

If a portion of your wage income or scholarship income was withheld from you for tax purposes, you may be able to receive back some or all of the amount that was withheld, but only if you file a tax return.   

A scholarship or fellowship is excludable from income only if both of the following are true:

1. You are a candidate for a degree at an eligible educational institution (HPU is an eligible educational institution), and

2. You use the scholarship or fellowship to pay qualified education expenses.

Qualified education expenses include the following items:

• Tuition
• Required fees to enroll
• Required course fees, books, supplies, and equipment

Qualified education expenses do not include the cost of the following items, even if required:

• Room and board
• Travel
• Research
• Clerical help
• Equipment and other expenses that are not required for enrollment in or attendance at an eligible educational institution

The amount of the scholarship used to pay any expense that is not a qualified education expense is generally taxable.

Tax treaties reduce the U.S. taxes of residents of foreign countries. The United States has tax treaties with a number of foreign countries. Under these treaties, residents (not necessarily citizens) of foreign countries are taxed at a reduced rate or are exempt from U.S. taxes on certain items of income they receive from sources within the United States. These reduced rates and exemptions vary among countries and specific items of income. 

To determine whether you may benefit from a tax treaty, review the following IRS resources:

• Search for tax treaties on the IRS website: https://www.irs.gov/businesses/international-businesses/united-states-income-tax-treaties-a-to-z 
• Learn more about tax treaties in IRS Publication 901: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p901.pdf  
• IRS tax treaty summary tables: https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/tax-treaty-tables 

IRS Form 1042-S reports certain US source income paid to a foreign person and the withholding, if any, on that income. You may have received a Form 1042-S from HPU for the following reasons:

1. You received a taxable scholarship used to pay for your housing, travel, or other living expenses.
2. You earned wages from HPU, but at least a portion of your total wages was exempt from tax due to a tax treaty benefit.
3. You received a prize, award, or other type of taxable income from HPU.

The Form 1042-S will show the following information:

• Box 1 - Type of income:
  • Code 16 = Scholarship or fellowship grants
  • Code 20 = compensation during studying or training
  • Code 23 = other income (prizes, awards, etc.)
• Box 2 - Gross income amount
• Box 3a - Whether an exemption applies
  
  • Code 04 = exempt under tax treaty
• Box 10 - Total amount withheld (You may be able to receive a portion of this amount back from the IRS if you file a tax return.)

Because a Form 1042-S reports taxable income or income that is exempt under a tax treaty, you should file a US tax return if you received a Form 1042-S.

HPU will mail you a Form 1042-S on or around March 15. You may not have received a Form 1042-S if the scholarship was either

• Not paid by HPU
• Not paid during the previous year, or
• Applied to your tuition and did not exceed the amount of your tuition and required fees.

However, you may not have received a Form 1042-S if you did not update HPU with your latest mailing address or SEVIS address. 

If you still believe that you should have received a Form 1042-S from HPU but did not, please send an email to apfinance@hpu.edu so that we can investigate further.

IRS Form W-2 reports taxable wages and withholdings on those wages. You should have received a Form W-2 from each of your employers where you earned taxable wages during the previous year. 

The Form W-2 will show the following information:

• Box 1: Federal taxable wages
• Box 2: Federal income tax withheld (You may be able to receive a portion of this amount back from the IRS if you file a tax return.)
• Box 16: State taxable wages
• Box 17: State income tax withheld (You may be able to receive a portion of this amount back from the state if you file a tax return.)

Because a Form W-2 reports taxable wages, you should file a US tax return if you received a Form W-2.

You may not have received a Form W-2 if the amount of your earned wages did not exceed a tax treaty exemption benefit that applied to you.

However, you may not have received a Form W-2 if you did not update your employer with your latest mailing address. Please note that if you worked for HPU in the previous year, you can electronically access your Form W-2 at https://my.hpu.edu under the Employee Self-Service link. 

If you still believe that you should have received a Form W-2 from HPU but did not, please send an email to payrollinfo@hpu.edu so that we can investigate further.

• Internal Revenue Service - IRS forms, instructions, publications, and other guidance
  • IRS Publication 519
• Hawaii Department of Taxation - Hawaii forms, instructions, publications, and other guidance
• VITA - Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program
• Goodwill Hawaii - Free tax services to qualified individuals 
• Sprintax - Online filing website
• GLACIER Tax Prep - Online filing website
• Tax return preparers and tax advisors

Please note that HPU faculty and staff are not authorized to provide tax advice and do not provide personal assistance in completing tax returns.