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International students and scholars must
file Form 8843 to report their
presence in the United States. If you were a nonresident who had no
source income in 2007, you still must file, but you only have to file Form 8843; you do not need to file Form 1040NR or Form 1040NR-EZ if you had no
U.S. source income (you also file only Form
8843 if your only U.S. income was interest earned by your U.S.
bank account; this is not considered U.S. source income for
nonresidents).
If you have no taxable income, then 2007 Form 8843 is the only form you file.
If you were an international student in United States for more than 5
years you are considered a resident for federal income tax purposes and
you are not required to file Form 8843.
In the past, U.S. tax regulations required
all nonresident F-1 and J-1 students and scholars, without exception,
to file a federal income tax return. In past years students and
scholars with no U.S. source income were required to file both a
complete Form 1040 NR-EZ
and a
special tax statement, Form 8843.
However, currently IRS requires students and scholars with no U.S.
source income to file only Form 8843.
Form 8843
must be filed by all individuals on F-1 visa, or J-1 visa, and their
dependents, even if you have not earned any income in the U.S. If you
have not earned any income complete Parts I and III of Form 8843, sign on the back and mail
it to the IRS, Austin, TX 73301-0215, U.S.A. Keep a copy for your
records.
J-1 Scholars should complete Parts I and II,
and sign the back of Form 8843.
If you have not earned any income then just send in the form. If you
have earned some income in the U.S., then the 8843 should be attached to your
Form 1040 NR-EZ or
Form 1040 NR. Keep a copy of your 8843 for your records.
The deadline to file Form 8843 is April 15, 2008 if
accompanied by your tax return. If you do not need to file a tax
return, the deadline to file Form 8843
is June 15, 2008. If you need to file federal returns then you can mail
the Form 8843 with the federal
forms.
The space for the taxpayer identification
number on Form 8843 should be
filled in if the alien has either a Social Security number or an
Individual tax identification number (ITIN). If you have neither a SSN
nor ITIN, this can be left blank. If you do not have to file an income
tax return, send Form 8843 to the Internal Revenue Service Center,
Austin, TX 73301-0215, U.S.A., by the due date for filing a tax return.
There is no monetary penalty for failure to
file Form 8843. However, in
order to be compliant with federal regulations you must file Form 8843. If you do not timely file
Form 8843,
you cannot exclude the days you were present in the United States as a
professional athlete or because of a medical condition that arose while
you were in the United States. This does not apply if you can
show, by clear and convincing evidence that you took reasonable actions
to become aware of the filing requirements and significant steps to
comply with those requirements including the filing of Form 8843.
Note: If you have received interest income
from a U.S. bank account and have no other U.S. source income in 2007,
you may still use Form 8843.
(U.S. bank interest received by nonresidents is considered foreign
source of income.)
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