Financial Information
Whether you are living in Oxford, leaving Oxford, or thinking about coming to Oxford, ISSS can help you plan for financial considerations.
Our office seeks to provide current and accurate information about all financial matters related to working with the University for our international faculty, scholars, and staff members.
Employee Benefits
International scholars and faculty who are paid directly by the University of Mississippi are afforded a number of employee benefits offered by the University of Mississippi. To be eligible for benefits, university employees must meet some minimum requirements such as at least 4.5 months of continuous employment and at least 20 hours per week (half-time) of employment.
Some of the primary benefits of being an employee of the University of Mississippi are health insurance coverage, optional dental and life insurance, retirement savings, investment opportunities, as well as tuition waivers for university courses.
Find out more about Employee Benefits.
Oxford Cost of Living
| Expenses Per Month | |
| Housing (One or Two Bedroom Apartment) | $550 – $850 |
| Utilities (Electricity, Water, Sewer, Garbage) | $100 – $150 |
| Phone/ Cell Phone | $50 – $100 |
| Home Internet Access | $20 – $50 |
| Health Insurance for J-1 (if not on UM insurance) | $126 – $150 |
| Groceries/Food | $600 – $700 |
| Miscellaneous (Travel, Clothing, Bedding, etc.) | $200 – $450 |
Total | $1,646 – $2,450 |
*The estimated costs of living increase with each added dependent. Estimated cost for a J-2 Dependent Spouse is $7000 per year in additional costs. The estimated cost for each J-2 Dependent Child is $5000 in additional costs per child.
If you are coming from another city in the United States, you can compare the cost of living at a variety of websites including:
Note that your city may not be listed on one or more of these websites. Additionally, these websites are only examples and are not affiliated with nor endorsed by the University of Mississippi.
Banking
Newly arrived faculty and scholars will probably find it easiest to open an account in person at one of the local banks or the credit union. Think about your needs and compare the options at different providers. Factors influencing the costs will be things like the minimum balance maintained in the account, the number of deposits and debits being made, use of a debit card, foreign transaction fees, etc.
Those who are not eligible or do not yet have a U.S. Social Security or Individual Taxpayer Identification number will be limited to opening accounts that do not earn interest on the money deposited. After obtaining a U.S. Social Security Number or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number, there will be additional options for the types of accounts that can be opened and financial institutions that can be used.
Common Account Types:
Checking accounts are designed to allow you to write checks or use a debit card to access money you have deposited in your account. There is usually a fee when you order checks and there may be charges for using a debit card to withdraw funds from an automated teller machine (ATM). Some checking accounts have a monthly maintenance fee.
Documentation required to open a checking account at most banks:
- Valid passport or driver’s license
- US Citizenship and Immigration Services documentation (I-20, DS-2019, H-1B or O-1 I-797 Approval Notice, TN I-94, Employment Authorization Card, Green Card, etc.)
- School ID
- Physical address (Apartment, home, or residence hall address)
- Mailing Address (P.O. Box or street address where you can receive mail)
- Phone Number and email address
One may write checks on a savings account that is earning interest daily.
The initial deposit to your account could be cash, a bank draft payable to you or a transfer of funds from another financial institution. Bank draft or transfer of funds can delay your ability to access the funds since the bank will wait until the transfer has been fully processed by the originating institution.
Local Financial Institutions
Bank of OxfordLocations: 2531 Jackson Ave. West | 2043 University Ave. Minimum deposit of $100 to open account Social Security Number required | Regions BankLocations: 158 Courthouse Square (in The Square) | 1960 University Avenue | 1800 Jackson Avenue West Social Security number required? No. However, internet banking access cannot be granted without SSN. |
Cadence BankLocations: 517 South Lamar Blvd | 1929 West Jackson Ave No Social Security Number needed | Renasant BankLocations: 1106 Van Buren Ave | 1111 Jackson Ave. East | 1901 University Ave. Minimum deposit of $50 to open account Social Security Number required |
First National Bank of OxfordLocation: 101 Courthouse Square (in The Square) Social Security Number required | Trustmark BankLocations: 106 Courthouse Square | 714 Jackson Ave. East Minimum deposit of $50 to open account Social Security Number required |
Mississippi Federal Credit Union | Woodforest BankLocation: 2530 Jackson Avenue West (inside Walmart) Special requirements: For on-campus students: letter from Dept. of Student Housing confirming residence and mailing address. For off-campus students: Any personal mail received at your address in your name (i.e. utility bill, credit card statement, etc.) plus letter from apartment leasing office or copy of lease confirming address. |
Guaranty Bank(previous Oxford University Bank) Locations: 1550 University Avenue | 404 Enterprise Drive Suite A | 1800 Jackson Ave W Social Security Number required |
Tax Information
- What is Considered Income
- What is a Tax Return
- Who Must File a Tax Return
- What is a “Non-Resident” Alien
- Determining Tax Residency
- Where to Get Help Locally
- Additional Internet Resources
Form 8843
Every student, scholar, researcher and dependent child or spouse is required to file this form even if no income was earned. This form may be found at irs.gov. Simply type 8843 into the search mechanism and you will be linked to the form.
Please keep in mind that in most cases, all tax forms are required to be filed by April 15th. Failure to do so may result in penalties. It is highly suggested that photocopies of all tax forms be kept, and all mailed documents should be sent by certified mail with return receipt requested.
In general, international students and scholars who resided in Mississippi from January 1 through December 31 of the previous year are residents for tax-purposes and should fill out tax form 80-105 or 80-110.
Students or scholars who lived in Mississippi for LESS than 12 months during the previous year are considered non-residents for tax-purposes and should fill out tax form 80-205.
*If you must file state tax forms from a state other than Mississippi, please visit that states website. Most sites may be accessed at www. (state’s name) .gov.
Electronic filing of your tax return and choosing direct deposit may speed up your refund by 8 weeks.
Please keep in mind that in most cases, all tax forms are required to be filed by April 15th. Failure to do so may result in penalties. It is highly suggested that photocopies of all tax forms be kept, and any mailed documents should be sent by certified mail with return receipt requested.
Applying for a U.S. Social Security Number
You may begin working while the application for an SSN is being processed by the Social Security Administration (SSA). You may not, however, receive income until SSN processing receipt and or SSN has been issued and processed by the Human Resources department of their respective employer.
Employers may wish to reference the SSA’s Fact Sheet, Employer Responsibilities When Hiring Foreign Workers, available at socialsecurity.gov. This fact sheet contains information on how to report wages for an employee who has not yet received an SSN.
Scholars must (in order)
- Obtain one of the following
- J-1: Letter of affiliation/support from J-1 Program Advisor
- Upload your completed “Request” form into our J-1 Employment Permission Box Folder
- See the last section of this webpage for more information
- J-1: Letter of affiliation/support from J-1 Program Advisor
- Once you have your Job Offer letter, please log into your isss.olemiss.edu portal account. Choose “control center” and then “Applying for a U.S. Social Security Number” Upload your job offer letter there so that our office can provide your Status Verification Letter.
- Print out or pick up Status Verification Letter from ISSS when notified via email.
- Copy immigration documents required (seen below)
- Apply in person at the Security Office in Tupelo, Mississippi
- The ISSS office has a Social Security Officer that comes to campus once a semester. Information about the visit will be sent out around the second week of classes.
As a caution when applying:
The social security office has gotten several emails from students because a student inadvertently gave the wrong address. The Social Security Office can’t reprocess those applications. If your address was wrong in your application, you will need to schedule an appointment in Tupelo to re-apply.
Some of our students reported Oxford Post Office of being very strict. If the student’s name is not on the mail box they will not deliver the mail. The card will be sent back to the Tupelo central office and destroyed. Also, the Oxford Post Office will not deliver to a dorm hall.
If you do not have your receipt or card within 10 days, you can call 1-866-504-4267 to schedule an in-office appointment.
The following documents must be presented when applying for the SSN:
- Completed Social Security Application (Form SS-5)
- Original *and* Copy of your Passport Information Page
- Original *and* Copy of your Passport Visa Page
- Original *and* Copy of your immigration document (I-20/DS-2019)
- Copy of your (I-94 Arrival record)
- Job Offer Letter*
- Status Verification Letter (SVL) from ISSS
- J1 only: Once you have your Job Offer letter, please update it to the SSN Box Folder so that our office can provide your Status Verification Letter.
Additionally, please note that the following statuses do not allow employment, thus preventing the issuance of a SSN: F-2, H-4, TD and B.
- You can apply for an SSN at the regional office of the SSA in Tupelo, Mississippi. The SSA office is open Monday- Friday from 9:00am-4:00pm. The SSA is closed for federal holidays.
- Contact Information:
- Social Security Administration – Regional Office 199 Saddle Creek Drive Tupelo, Mississippi 38801
- 1-866-504-4267
- www.ssa.gov
- A Social Security Administration officer will visit campus Thursday, January 30th from 9:00 am to 2:30 pm. Students will have the opportunity to apply for an SSN on-campus during this time. We will share more information about this closer to the date of the visit.
Individual Taxpayer
Identification Numbers
Generally, all F-1 an J-1 visa holders and their dependents are required to file tax forms each year, whether or not they earned any income. When completing the tax forms, you are required to indicate your U.S. Social Security number. However, many individuals who hold other non-immigrant statuses are not eligible for social security numbers, since the issuance of Social Security numbers is tied to eligibility for employment authorization.
Therefore, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has created the Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) to be used by the limited number of non-U.S. citizen individuals who are not eligible for a Social Security number, but who have tax responsibilities. An ITIN is a nine-digit number that always begins with a 9 and has a 7 or 8 for the fourth digit; example: 9xx-7x-xxxx
The ITIN is for tax purposes only. It cannot be issued for other purposes, such as applying for a driver’s license or state ID card. You as the applicant must have a valid tax purpose for obtaining an ITIN; otherwise, the IRS cannot accept your application.
Requirements for application
Examples include:
- An individual not eligible for a social security number but required to file a tax return to claim a refund of tax under the provisions of a U.S. tax treaty
- An individual not eligible for a Social Security number but who is the dependent child or spouse of a non-resident visa holder from Canada, Mexico, India, or Republic of Korea (these are the only countries that permit non-residents for tax purposes to claim spouses or children as dependents on their tax returns, based on the terms of the tax treaty with the United States.)
- An individual not eligible for a Social Security number who is a dependent or spouse of an individual who is a resident for tax purposes (once an F-1 student has been in that non-immigrant status for more than five years, that student becomes a resident for tax purposes and can claim their spouse and/or children as dependents on their U.S. tax return).
- An individual not eligible for a Social Security number but who has opened an account with a financial institution that generates income subject to either reporting or withholding
To apply for an ITIN, obtain form W-7 from the IRS
For individuals seeking an ITIN in order to file an income tax return, the W-7 must be filed along with the income tax return.
Student athletes seeking an ITIN in order to meet reporting or withholding requirements of The University of Mississippi will be advised by the student advisor at International Student and Scholar Services. If you are eligible to file for ITIN it takes four to six weeks to receive an ITIN decision.
Staff at International Student and Scholar Services are neither qualified nor permitted to give individual tax advice. Tax information is available only at tax workshops scheduled during the academic year.