Who is Considered a Students and Apprentices

Residents of specific countries who are in the United States to study or acquire technical experience are exempt from U.S. income tax, under certain conditions, on amounts received from abroad for their maintenance and studies.

This exemption does not apply to the salary paid by a foreign corporation to one of its exec­utives, a citizen and resident of a foreign coun­try who is temporarily in the United States to study a particular industry for an employer. That amount is a continuation of salary and is not re­ceived to learn or acquire experience.

There is a statement of the conditions under which the exemption applies to students and apprentices from that country for each country listed.

Amounts received from the National Insti­tutes of Health (N.I.H.) under provisions of the Visiting Fellows Program are generally treated as a grant, allowance, or award for purposes of whether the treaty provides an exemption.  Amounts received from N.I.H. under the Visiting Associate Program and Visiting Scientist Pro­gram are not exempt from U.S. tax as a grant, allowance, or award.

Students and Apprentices

An individual who is a resident of Venezuela on the date of arrival in the United States and who is temporarily in the United States primarily to study at a university or other recognized educa­tional institution in the United States, obtain pro­fessional training, or study or do research as a recipient of a grant, allowance, or award from a governmental, religious, charitable, scientific, literary, or educational organization is exempt from U.S. income tax on the following amounts.

• Payments from abroad, other than com­pensation for personal services, for maintenance, education, study, research, or training.
• The grant, allowance, or award.
• Income from personal services performed in the United States of up to $5,000 for each tax year.

An individual is generally entitled to the ben­efit of this exemption for a maximum of 5 years from the date of arrival in the United States.

This exemption will also apply to any additional period of time that a full­time student needs to complete the educational requirements as a candidate for a postgraduate or professional degree from a recognized educational institu­tion.

An individual who is a resident of Venezuela on the date of arrival in the United States and who is in the United States as an employee of, or under contract with, a resident of Venezuela is exempt from U.S. income tax for a period of 12 months on up to $8,000 received for per­sonal services if the individual is in the United States primarily to:

• Acquire technical, professional, or busi­ness experience from a person other than that resident of Venezuela, or
• Study at an educational institution.

These provisions do not apply to income from research carried on mainly for the private benefit of any person rather than in the public interest.