International Student Taxes | Taxes

Yes. You need to file Form 8843. This is the only form you will need to complete if you earned no income or only earned bank interest. F-1 or J-1 students with U.S. income from other sources, in addition to bank interest, such as dividends from stocks, salary or wages, scholarships or fellowships, prizes or awards will need to file form 1040NR or 1040NR EZ, in addition to the 8843. back to top

2. Is there a tax treaty between my country and the United States that can save me money on my federal income taxes?
Click here to find out if there is a tax treaty between your country and United States. The tax treaties with the United States include substantial benefits for students. Check the list to see if your country appears to have a tax treaty with United States. You are generally entitled to these tax treaty benefits for five years, the same period that you usually remain a nonresident for federal income tax purposes. back to top

3. Am I a resident or nonresident for U.S. income tax purposes?
Your answer to this question determines your obligations under U.S. (also called "federal") tax law.

If you are a nonresident taxpayer you pay federal income tax only on the income you receive from U.S. sources, but you must file an annual income tax return, even if you had no income at all from U.S. sources during the year.

If you are a resident taxpayer (which you can be, even if you are not a "permanent resident" or immigrant to the U.S.) you must pay federal income tax on your worldwide income. You do not, however, have to file an annual income tax statement, or "tax return", unless your income exceeds a certain amount.

Most F-1 students are nonresident taxpayers for federal income tax purposes. In general, you were a nonresident in 2007 if you entered the U.S. anytime after January 1st, 2003 and have been present since then only on an F visa. back to top

4. Did I have taxable income in 2007?

If you were a federal tax nonresident in 2007, remember that you pay U.S. income tax only on your U.S. source income. As a nonresident you had taxable income in 2007 if you had any of the following (check those that apply to you):

• a non-service scholarship or a fellowship grant from a U.S. source that exceeded the amount of your tuition and mandatory fees at the University (that is, a grant that covered room or board in addition to tuition and fees, or paid you a monthly stipend to help you meet your living expenses; scholarship amounts granted to cover tuition and fees are not taxable; these amounts are not reported on Form 1042-S and do not have to be reported on your tax return.) Your university or other granting institution should report this taxable income to you on IRS Form 1042-S, although you may not have yet received your Form 1042-S, since tax law does not require grantors to issue Form 1042-S before March 15, 2008.

• wages from any U.S. job, on-campus or off-campus, including a teaching assistantship or a research assistantship, that you had in 2007. (Included in this category is all income that your employer(s) reported to you on Form W-2. You should have received a Form W-2 from your 2007 employer(s) by January 31, 2008. Please note that any amount reported on Form W-2 cannot be considered non-service scholarship or fellowship income. If you believe that income reported on Form W-2 was non-service scholarship income you should raise the matter with your department and request a corrected Form W-2 and Form 1042-S.)

• consulting fees from work done in the U.S.

• dividends or capital gains from ownership of U.S. mutual funds or individual stocks or bonds

• any other income (such as rent, royalties, copyright earnings) from U.S. sources EXCEPT interest that you earned on a savings account or certificate of deposit in a U.S. bank. (Strangely enough, federal tax law considers bank interest earned by nonresidents to be foreign source, not U.S. source, income and therefore non-taxable.) If you had income from dividends, capital gains, rent, royalties, or other such U.S. sources you should seek professional advice about your federal income taxes. back to top

5. What about my F-2 and J-2 dependents?
All F-2 and J-2 dependents, whether or not they are students, must file Form 8843 even if they had no U.S. income of any kind for 2007, or if the only income they had was from bank interest. If there was any other U.S. income, they will also need to file a 1040NR EZ or 1040NR. back to top

6. I'm a new student for the Spring 2008 semester but arrived in the U.S. in late December 2007. Do I need to file a tax form?
Yes! If you are in F-1 or J-1 status, or a F-2 or J-2 dependent, and were in the U.S. for any part of 2007, even if it was just a few days, or a few hours of one day, you will need to file a tax form. If you had no U.S. income in 2007, you will only need to file Form 8843. back to top

7. If I have U.S. income other than bank interest, which form should I use, 1040NR EZ or 1040NR?
Most students will find that they can use the 1040NR EZ, which is much simpler to complete than the 1040NR. Whichever form you use, you must also complete Form 8843. However, there are some rules and limits for the 1040NR EZ. You may use the 1040NR EZ if:

• Your only U.S. income was from wages, salaries, tips, taxable refunds of state and local income taxes, and scholarship or fellowship grants. (If you had dividend income from stocks or bonds, or taxable interest from mutual funds, you must use 1040NR.)

• You do not claim any dependents (only citizens of Canada , Mexico , India , Korea and Japan can claim spouses and/or children as dependents, and they can only do so by filing form 1040NR. Please note that there are special rules related to Indian dependents - not all are eligible).

• You cannot be claimed as a dependent on another person's U.S. tax return.

• Your taxable income was less than $100,000.

• The only itemized deductions you claim is for state and local taxes (if you wish to claim charitable or other deductions, you must use 1040NR). back to top

8. What is the deadline for filing 2007 tax forms?
Filing means “mailing” the completed tax forms to the IRS. If you are an employee and received salary or wages subject to U.S. income tax withholding, you must file your tax forms by April 15, 2008. Individuals who did not receive any U.S. income must only file Form 8843 by June 15, 2008. These deadlines refer to the date the envelope must be postmarked by the post office. They do not refer to date the Internal Revenue Service receives the envelope. back to top

9. What if I can't get my tax return finished by the deadline?
If you need more time, you can file Form 4868 to request an automatic extension of time until August 15th. As long as this form is postmarked by the deadline, you are not subject to any late fees or penalty charges. You will not receive any notification from the I.R.S. that you have been granted the extension; it is automatic. Like any other form mailed to the I.R.S., make copies of this form for your records before sending it to the I.R.S. back to top

10. Both form 1040NR EZ and 1040NR ask for social security numbers or taxpayer identification numbers. Is this the same as the number I was issued by the university when I was admitted? It has the same number of digits. NO! All F-1 and J-1 who have been authorized to work in the United States should have a Social Security number (SSN), issued by the Social Security Administration. Students in F-1 and J-1 status (and their dependents in F-2 or J-2 status) who may not be eligible for a SSN yet need an identification number to file their income tax form must obtain an Individual Tax Identification Number (ITIN.). A student can apply for an ITIN by completing form W-7. back to top

11. International students from India, click here back to top

13. If my country has a tax treaty with the U.S. , does that mean I don't have to file any tax forms?
No! In order to claim tax treaty benefits, you must file federal income tax forms 8843 and, if you earned any income, you must file either 1040NR EZ or 1040NR. back to top

14. I have received a form 1042-S. Where do I write this income on my 1040 NR or 1040 NR EZ form?
It all depends upon the TYPE of income being reported on the 1042-S. Look at the income code in column (a) of the form. An income code of 15 is for a scholarship or fellowship grant, and would be reported on line 5 of form 1040NR EZ or line 12 of form 1040NR. You would not include this amount as part of your wages on line 3 of form 1040NR EZ or line 8 of form 1040NR. An income code of 19 refers to a tax treaty amount withheld from wages, and would be reported on line 6 of form 1040NR EZ or line 22 of form 1040NR. You would not include this amount as part of your wages on line 3 of form 1040NR EZ or line 8 of form 1040NR. back to top

15. Can I at least deduct my travel and living expenses from my income to reduce or eliminate my federal taxes? Once again, alas, the answer is "no" in most cases. But the answer is yes for a few students: if you are a federal tax nonresident and your entire educational program in the U.S. lasts less than one year (that's 365 days), you can treat your stay in the U.S. as a "business trip" and deduct your airfare, rent, local transportation expenses and part of a $46 per day allowance for food from your income. back to top

Disclaimer: This information was posted for informational purposes only and should not be considered as tax advice. It does not substitute for advice from the Internal Revenue Services or a tax professional. If your visa status has changed in the past year, or you believe you have complicated tax issues, please consult the Internal Revenue Service or a qualified tax professional.

Frequently Asked Tax Questions