Revenue Procedure Statement 87-9 Form (Teachers and Researchers)
Table of Contents:
- Purpose:
- General Information:
- Exhibit and Instructions:
- Form Requirements:
- Number of Copies and Ultimate Distribution:
- Where To Send Completed Forms:
- Contact Information:
- Cross References:
Use of Google Chrome Required:
NOTE: Google Chrome must be used to access the GURU website and for completing and/or downloading fill-and-print forms. Firefox, Internet Explorer, and/or Microsoft Edger browsers do not support all features required for PDF fill-and-print form functionality. Substitutes for an approved University official form (created using a different browser or scanned copies) will be returned with the request to use the Chrome version of the form.
Purpose:
The Revenue Procedures Statement 87-9 form is used to request exemption from federal taxes by teacher or researcher visa holders.
General Information:
If you are a professor, teacher, or researcher with an J-1 or H-1 visa receiving compensation for personal services and are a permanent resident of a country listed on the form, you can claim exemption from withholding of tax by completing Revenue Procedure Statement 87-9 form and submitting it to Payroll along with a completed 8233 form.
NOTE: A request for federal tax exemption cannot be processed without a USA issued Social Security Number.
- If you do not have a USA issued Social Security Number, contact your Business Area Human Resources representative
- Employees are required under law to provide Penn State HR Shared Services with their USA-issued Social Security Number immediately upon receipt
- See the Payroll Foreign National Employee Information page for additional information
Exhibit and Instructions:
This form has fill-and-print form fields and digital ID (signature) fields enabled. The PDF version has instructions provided for the type and/or format of information to be included within the fill-and-print form fields. Hovering the computer mouse over any form field within the PDF will display these instructions. See Converting Web-based Documents to PDF Document for details. See Applying Digital IDs on PDFs (general instructions) for instructions on adding signatures.
For step-by-step instructions for completing the Revenue Procedure Statement 87-9, click on link below:
Revenue Procedure Form 87-9 Exhibit
Form Requirements:
No form may be used that substitutes for an approved official University form without prior review and approval by the steward of the form/central office, as facilitated by the Office of Systems and Procedures (designated representative of the Associate Vice President for Budget and Finance). Policy FN17 Required Use of Approved University Forms Appearing in the General University Reference Utility (GURU) requires that all form templates must be vetted and approved prior to being published on the GURU website and all such documents having gone through said established approval process must be password protected.
Accessing GURU Forms:
GURU PDF forms are designed for use with Adobe Acrobat Reader or Adobe Acrobat Pro. Each browser (Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer, Microsoft Edge, etc) has a built-in PDF viewer making it the default PDF viewer without asking users. These built-in viewers do not necessarily support all features required for PDF forms. Similarly, many calculations are not supported by other stand-alone PDF readers (for examples, Nuance). It has been brought to the attention of the Office of Systems and Procedures that PDF forms do not function appropriately when accessed using Firefox and/or Microsoft Edge. In order to access any of the forms on GURU and have the fill-and-print functionality work properly, the end-user must access the GURU website using Google Chrome.
The latest version of Adobe Acrobat Reader is available for free. Contact your IT support staff person for downloading assistance, if/as needed. If Adobe Acrobat Pro better suits your needs, contact your IT support staff person for purchasing and installation assistance.
Web-based Documents:
Clicking the form download icon on any of the form instruction pages on GURU will open a web-based version of the form. While it appears to have fill-and-print fields available, not all functionality may be available for use (i.e. digital ID fields). With some exceptions (see exceptions below), it will be necessary to convert these web-based documents to PDF documents (see Converting to PDF documents section).
Converting Web-based Documents to PDF Documents:
In order to have a version with all PDF capabilities enabled, click the Fill & Sign in Acrobat icon located in the upper right-hand corner of the screen. This icon must be clicked before entering any information. Clicking this icon opens an actual PDF version of the document. Complete this version and save the document in a location where you will be able to locate it.
If, upon opening the PDF in Google Chrome, the Fill & Sign in Acrobat icon does not appear in the upper right-hand corner of the screen, it will be necessary to enable Adobe Acrobat extension. Please visit Enable Adobe Acrobat extension for Google Chrome for instructions to enable Adobe Acrobat extension.
Exceptions:
Combining PDF Documents:
There may be times when it is necessary to combine multiple pdf documents into a single document for submission. In those instances, complete the following steps:
- Click on the appropriate form in GURU
- Complete the fill-and-print boxes on the web-based form
- Click the printer icon located in the upper right-hand corner of the screen
- Change Destination to Microsoft Print to PDF using the drop-down arrow
- Click Print at the bottom of that panel
- Enter a file name in the box at the bottom of the pop-up window (i.e. promotion-and-tenure-form-Smith) and be sure to select a location where you will be able to relocate the document
- Click Save
Repeat this process for each document that will be combined
- Now, open one of the completed pdf documents and on the far right select combine files
- Click Add Files and select the files to be combined
- Click Combine
- This new version will have a temporary tile of "Binder", change the file name and save
Applying Digital ID's on PDF's (general instructions):
This form has the Digital ID (applying an electronic signature to the document) process enabled. If, upon opening the PDF in Google Chrome, the following does not appear in the upper right-hand corner of the screen, it will be necessary to enable Adobe Acrobat extension

Please visit the following for instructions to enable Adobe Acrobat extension:
Enable Adobe Acrobat extension for Google Chrome
Sign PDF with Digital ID:
Complete all fill-and-print form fields before completing the signature process:
- Open the Revenue Procedure Form 87-9 form
- Click the Open in Acrobat icon located in the upper right-hand side of the screen to download the web-document
- Complete all fill-and-print fields
- Once the form is completed, click in the signature form field and either:
- select your digital ID and click continue; or
- create your digital ID, select your digital ID, and click continue
- Review the information in the appearance box and click sign
- Save a copy of the document (the digital signature is not applied until the form is saved)
- the form name "revenue-procedures-statement-87-9-form" will appear in the file name field, add a dash and your last name and dash first name (no spaces and all lower case to the end of the file name (i.e. revenue-procedures-statement-87-9-form-smith-mary or revenue-procedures-statement-87-9-form-smith-joseph))
- choose a location to save the file where you will be able to locate/retrieve this saved version
- click save
- Close the form version appearing on your screen
- Open the version containing your last name saved in the previous step
- Verify that the digital ID appears on the document
- Close the document and upload into WorkLion for processing, following the instructions on the Foreign National Employee Information page on the Payroll website
If you encounter any difficulties, contact the GURU support staff by submitting a Technical Support Form request or by calling the tech support line at 814-863-8592.
Number of Copies and Ultimate Distribution:
Document: | Ultimate Distribution: | Retention Periods: | Disposition Method: |
---|---|---|---|
Original | Payroll via HR Shared Services (WorkLion) | End of calendar year +7 years after date of final pay | Paper document = Secure Bin disposition or Shred Electronic document and data = delete and empty recycle bin |
Employee copy* | - - - - - | - - - - - | If document created and saved on a University computer - delete and empty recycle bin |
*The copy created during the application of the digital ID process and/or a copy retained by the employee. These are considered "transitory" copies. Transitory/Disposable Records are University Records that have temporary value and, as a result, may be destroyed after they are no longer needed. In no event shall be retained longer than the official copy of the University Record as delineated on the Records Retention Schedule. This document contains personally identifiable information as define in Policy AD95 Information assurance and IT Security and must be destroyed beyond recovery.
Where to Send Completed Forms:
Please UPLOAD all required forms and documents (see the Foreign National Employee Information page for complete details) in WorkLion.
The Payroll Office is notified by the system when he request has been submitted.
As an alternative - Hard-copies of the completed forms may also be may be mailed to:
The Pennsylvania State University
Payroll Department
120 S. Burrowes Street
101 James M. Elliott Building
University Park, PA 16802
NOTE: The Revenue Procedures Statement 87-9 forms contains Personally Identifiable Information (PII). DO NOT send the forms as an attachment to an email. Uploading the forms into WorkLion is safe and secure.
Contact Information:
For questions, additional details, or to request changes to this form, contact the Payroll Office.
Cross References:
- Policy AD35 University Archives and Records Management
- Policy AD95 Information Assurance and IT Security
- Policy FN17 Required Use of Approved University Forms Appearing in the General University Reference Utility
- Foreign National Employee Information
(1/4/2022)