In Notice 2009-91, Withholding on Wages of Nonresident Alien Employees Performing Services Within the United States, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) modified the procedures for calculating the amount of federal income tax to be withheld from wages paid to nonresident aliens starting on January 1, 2010. Since nonresident aliens are not eligible for the Making Work Pay Tax Credit, the withholding procedures must be modified to reflect this difference. According to Notice 2009-91:

First, employers need to add an amount to wages before determining withholding under the wage bracket or percentage method in order to offset the standard deduction built into the withholding tables. Second, employers need to determine an additional amount of withholding from a separate table applicable only to nonresident alien employees to offset the effect of the Making Work Pay Tax Credit built into the withholding tables. The specific steps to be followed for each of these two modifications will be set forth in Publication 15 and other IRS forms or publications.

Contact Vision Payroll if you have any questions on Notice 2009-91.