10 The following paragraphs apply to all staff members claiming reimbursement of income tax. Special instructions for those who are subject to United States income tax or French income tax appear under separate headings further on in this text. For all staff, United States income tax matters including reimbursement are handled by United Nations Income Tax Unit (UNIT).
20 In order that the liability of the Organization may be accurately determined, a staff member claiming reimbursement of income tax must provide a full/complete and signed copy of the income tax return, the relevant tax instruction publications as well as all supporting documentation for income other than that received from WHO. In addition, should a staff member file an amended income tax return, or should there be changes in marital, dependency or visa status or contractual status or in any other matter affecting tax liability, full and complete information must be submitted to UNIT. A staff member may be required by WHO to provide information certified by a local tax accountant in order to determine WHO's tax liability. The fees of the accountant will not be reimbursed by the Organization.
30 The Organization reserves the right to verify any income tax return or statement pertaining to the return with the income tax authorities concerned.
40 Staff members must exercise all available measures within the framework of the relevant national tax laws and regulations so as to minimize their income tax liability. United States taxpayers should refer to III.18.3 United States income tax.
Income Tax advances
50 If a fixed-term staff member holding a continuing or fixed-term appointment is required to pay income tax by instalments or in advance, the Organization, upon request, makes appropriate advances which are based on the amount of the tax liability in respect of WHO earnings in the previous year. Such advances are subsequently adjusted against the actual tax reimbursement due, as computed based on the income tax return. New staff members requesting similar advances must provide information on such points as status with the Organization, WHO earnings, outside income, deductions, exemptions, exclusions, filing status and other relevant matters. No advances are made for estimated income tax to staff with a contract duration of less than 6 months. Estimated tax disbursements will cease immediately upon receipt of notice of a staff member's separation from the Organization.
60 The Organization reserves the right to withhold advances if a staff member has not presented the information necessary to determine the final adjustment of the previous year's reimbursement, or if he has not repaid any refunds due to WHO.
Recovery of excess income tax advances
70 Where advances have been made against anticipated income tax payments and subsequently these exceed the actual tax levied, the excess amount will be considered as estimated tax payment for the current year. The total amount of new advance payments made for the current year estimated tax will be reduced accordingly. Any such excess payments will be deducted from the first quarter tax advance deposit for the current year and if necessary from subsequent quarterly tax advance deposits. In certain instances, WHO advances received to pay estimated tax may have greatly exceeded the staff member’s total tax due and the staff is eligible to receive an unusually large refund from the tax authority. Overpayments of estimated tax in excess of twice the amount of income tax due on WHO earnings are considered to be unusually large refunds. In these instances, most or all the potential refund is due to and payable to the United Nations since the excess payment by WHO cannot be recovered in a reasonable time by the normal method of reducing the staff member’s current year tax advance. In above circumstance, active staff and all separated staff must request a full refund on their tax return and remit (by endorsing IRS check or writing personal check) the refund to the UNIT when received. The UNIT will then issue another check made payable to the staff member for whatever portion of the total refund wasn’t due to WHO. Any such unusually large refunds from a tax authority which are attributable to a significant overpayment of tax advances by WHO and which aren’t returned to UNIT within 90 days of the required filing date of the tax return will be subject to immediate recovery from salary of final separation.
80 Regarding to former staff members, the Organization may take whatever action is necessary for the repayment of any excess amount it has reimbursed for income tax when, after separation from WHO service, such ex-staff members receive or will receive a tax refund which relates to their WHO employment. For this reason, separating staff members to whom advances have been given for income tax payments will be required in the termination clearance process to make definite arrangements for the settlement of outstanding income tax matters with the Organization and UNIT before their departure. To this end WHO may at its discretion withhold the amount of any outstanding advances from separation benefits.
