“The hardest thing in the world to understand is the income tax.” — Albert Einstein, physicist.
But not the Non-Resident Alien tax code of the US. It’s more of ignorance and irrationality that’s making the immigrant tax code much difficult for the students studying/working in the United States. We shall see the DIY tax filing for dummies as a Q&A session in this post.
Q: What is a tax year?
A: A tax year is usually a calendar year from Jan 1 to Dec 31.
Q: What is a W2 Form?
A: A W2 is a document that you receive from your employer which helps you in filing taxes and let you know the amount of taxes that are withheld from you paycheck in the previous tax year.
Q: Can i file Tax on Tax Filing Software Like TurboTax & H&R Block?
A: No. Tax Software like those only file 1040/1040 EZ forms electronically but not 1040 NR/1040 NR EZ forms where the NR represents ‘Non-Resident’ and EZ is the catchy word for Easy(Yes!! Even IRS uses fancy phrases for us ;-)). You need to file either of 1040 NR/1040 NR EZ forms and physically mail them to IRS as you can’t submit them electronically. There are a few software like Sprintax and Glacier which will fill out this form for you to download and mail to IRS. Check with your international student services if they will offer those services for free.
TL,DR: Traditional tax filing software are not built for Non-Resident Aliens.
“Where there is an income tax, the just man will pay more and the unjust less on the same amount of income.” — Plato
Q: Do i need to file tax even if i earned no income in the past year?
A: Yes. You don’t need to file forms 1040 NR/1040 NR EZ in this situation but have to fill out a form 8843 and send it physically to IRS to have a responsible foot print with the IRS and DHS.
Q: Can i make any deductions while filing for taxes as a F1 Visa holder?
A: Yes. As a non-resident alien you are not allowed to deduct everything that the resident students can do, but you are allowed to make few deductions like moving expenses and other expenses according to your personal situation. It is to be noted here that you are not allowed to claim a deduction on the tuition fees and expenses on books as many of the international students do unknowingly.
TL;DR: It depends on your personal filing situation and i recommend you do some further research or file a simple EZ form without any deductions.
Q: Can i get any more extra refunds?
A: Yes(huahhh). You can claim for the FICA taxes that are withheld from your paycheck. You can do this by simply asking your employer regarding the same. If you don’t receive any convincing response or if your employer is not sure of that, you can file a 843 form with the IRS for the same. But remember that this form should be mailed separately to that of your general tax forms to a different office. You can follow up on the instructions from IRS here.
“Like mothers, taxes are often misunderstood, but seldom forgotten.’’ — Lord Bramwell, 19th Century English jurist
Q: Can i get many more refunds?
A: Heck Yeahh!! Only if you want to spend more time researching the tax code or more $$ hiring a CPA who specializes in immigrant and non-resident taxes.
Q: What are the 1098/99 forms that i received from schools and banking institutions?
A: These are the forms like W2 to let you know the information on the with-holdings. 1098 -T is the form given by your school to let you know the tuition and scholarship information. 1099INT is the form by banking institutions on the interests that are accumulated that tax year. 1099DIV is the interest/capital accumulations on your investments(BTW, you can invest in stocks while as a non-resident; that’s off the topic right now) that tax year.
Q: Does this tax code apply for CPT/OPT status?
A: Yes. You are still considered as a non-resident alien even if you are working on CPT/OPT.
Q: Is this post intended to all the F1 Visa Holders out there?
A: No. This post is intended to majority(90%) of the F1 visa holders. Although there are many limitations on deciding who falls under non-resident alien; for instance if you are staying in US for more than 5 year period(intermittently as well), you are considered a resident alien and the same tax code will not apply. So if you are in a special situation other than the majority of the F1 visa holders out there, you got to do your own research or you can leave a response with your details down here and I’ll try to help you as soon as possible.
“Next to being shot at and missed, nothing is really quite as satisfying as an income tax refund.” — F. J. Raymond, humorist
**This post is solely intended for educational purposes and the content of this post cannot be used legally against certain firm tax situations. It is recommended to use your common sense or hire a CPA before you file your taxes.
