Payroll Summer Housing Information

Student Summer Housing 

Summer Residency is a privilege and must be applied for with the Campus Housing Office!  Please visit their website for the most up-to-date information:

Campus Housing Office: Learn more about on-campus summer housing

Departments Paying for Summer Housing

The employing department may elect to pay full or partial cost of summer housing for student workers, however, this arrangement must be made with Campus Housing by their deadline (see link above).

*Please keep in mind that on campus housing for summer is limited and based on availability. Summer Housing is assigned first come first serve, based on the date and time of application submission.

TAXABLE SUMMER HOUSING

Housing costs covered by an employer are considered a form of pay (or Taxable Fringe Benefit) to your student worker. Any payment made by the department for summer housing will be included as income and is subject to taxation on the employee’s paycheck(s). Payroll taxes applicable to this “non-cash” income include FICA, Medicare, SDI, Federal and CA State withholding.

• It is the responsibility of the employing department to inform their student workers about the added tax they will be incurring for the housing cost paid by the College.
• Student(s) should work a minimum of 30 hours per week at SMC during the period of time housing is covered to help offset the burden of the additional taxation.  These hours can be from multiple departments and/or positions.
• Taxation on the total housing paid will be divided over the period of time the student is receiving the taxable benefit.  This is done instead of taxing the entire housing payment at the time it is paid.
• If your student worker will be receiving this benefit and would like to get an estimated preview of their paycheck and the tax impact ahead of time, we can certainly provide a projection. Students are welcome to call or make an appointment to see us.

For any additional questions, please feel free to reach out to the Payroll Office or Campus Housing!