Frequently Asked Questions

What is the timeline for reimbursement?

• Send your academic report to [email protected]
• Send your reimbursement request (you have 120 days from the last day of your stay)
  • If you are a Columbia student, complete the non-profiled payee form
  • If you are a non-Columbia student, you'll complete the Candex Reimbursement Form.
    • PLEASE NOTE: Expenses MUST be in the same order as the receipts supplied. Otherwise, it will get denied, and the process will be exponentially longer.
  • Prepare and submit a detailed expense report including all receipts and corresponding proofs of payment. Each expense should be clearly documented with a description, vendor, date of purchase, and amount.
    Please combine organized expenses and proofs of payment into a single document.
    • Allowable expenses can be found here
    • SPECIAL NOTE: please consider only submitting large ticket items (airfare, lodging) as all expenses have to be itemised.

Expense Report: How-to

For reference, here is an example of how to format your expense documentation in line with Columbia’s Accounting and Audit & Review team requirements:

*Refer to your Non-Profiled Payee Worksheet Expense Item 1 “Airfare”

Expense Item 1 – Airfare

Page 1: Airfare receipt
Page 2: Airfare Proof of Payment (e.g., bank statement)
*Refer to your Non-Profiled Payee Worksheet Expense Item 1 “Rental - Apartment”

Expense Item 2 – Rental - Apartment

Page 3: Rental Agreement (Receipt)
Page 4: Rental Proof of Payment (e.g., bank statement)

Reimbursement via Candex

At the end of your stay: 

1. You will receive an email invitation via Candex sent by the requesting employee at Columbia University. From this email the payee must create a Candex account and complete their payment information. Payees must complete this step to proceed with receiving a payment.
2. Add Preferred Payment Details
3. On the Request Payment screen, the payee should click the Add Details button beside Pay to bring up the Personal and Bank Details screen. Complete the fields.
4. Payees who are foreign, non-US residents are required to upload a completed W8 form. Click the Add File link to upload.
5. When the payee is finished entering the above information, they must click the Add button. The payment details will appear on the payee's Request Payment screen.
6. The payee must complete the Candex Reimbursement Form.
7. In addition, the payee will create a separate document entitled “Expense Report”. All receipts and corresponding proof of payment should be organized by date and must be in the proper order for Accounts Payable to review. Please see APPENDIX for further details.

• You will be asked to complete
  • Tax information (assistance can be found here or you can contact PaymentWorks support directly). Please note, Alliance staff is not qualified to validate any tax form.
  • Bank information - Please make sure this is all correct, that the IBAN and bank name match. Your bank might have fees for foreign transfers. 

Do I need and how do I apply for an SSN or TIN?

Social Security Numbers

If you have a U.S. social security number (SSN), this is your taxpayer ID number. All U.S. citizens are assigned a social security number at birth. Any social security number is assigned by the federal government and should never be shared unless you trust the entity requesting it, such as a government or student loan application. 

An SSN is not the same as the nine-digit ID number assigned by Columbia that is found on your school ID card.

International Students

In general, international students and scholars need to have specially authorized employment to apply for a social security number (SSN). The following exceptions also allow for international students to seek SSNs:

 J-1 visa holders (exchange visitors), which are select students, researchers, and short-term scholars, are eligible to apply for an SSN without authorized employment.

 F-1 visa holders are doctoral fellowship stipend recipient students who do not work the first year of their program but will later have teaching and research responsibilities. These students may also seek an SSN.

Taxpayer ID Numbers

If the above employment or visa conditions do not allow for an international student to seek a social security number, then international students may need to seek an individual taxpayer ID number (ITIN) if they expect to receive payments from the university while in the U.S. Stipends, scholarships, grants, and other such payments may be considered taxable income for international students. The University is required to report the payment of stipends and on-campus employment to the IRS and to withhold local, state, and federal taxes.

To apply for an ITIN, you must print a W-7 Form from the IRS, complete it, and mail it back to the IRS. Review the instructions for how to complete and mail the form. 

ISSO can also assist with this: https://isso.columbia.edu/content/wages-and-stipends-columbia