U.S. Tax Information
International students & scholars in non-immigrant status (i.e. F-1, J-1, etc.) and their dependents ARE REQUIRED to file a tax form with the U.S. government for each tax year they are in the U.S. regardless of whether they earned any income.
We encourage you to complete your U.S. tax return as soon as possible. The quicker you begin — the quicker you will finish (and receive any tax refund due to you!). Don’t wait, finish your tax documents today! The tax filing deadline for nonresident aliens with income is typically in mid-April each year. If you file your tax documents late, you may have to pay a penalty.
All international students, scholars and their dependents present in the U.S. under F-1, F-2, J-1, or J-2 non-immigrant status must file IRS Form 8843 “Statement for Exempt Individuals and Individuals with a Medical Condition” even if they received no income in the previous year. Form 8843 is an informational statement required by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) that shows nonresident status for tax purposes. It basically says that you are a nonresident for tax purposes currently exempt from filing U.S. taxes.
If you are legally employed while in the United States, some taxes will probably be withheld from your wages and paid by your employer directly to the U.S. tax authorities. You may be entitled to a refund of some or all of this amount, but you must apply to have the money returned.
Filing tax forms correctly is very important; failure to do so can impact your future visa and/or status requests in the U.S. Filing federal income tax forms every year is the personal responsibility of each international student and visiting scholar. The School of Global Learning has provided this information as a service to help you meet your tax filing obligations. Please be aware that you are ultimately responsible for filing and the accuracy of your income tax returns. University staff members are not authorized to give individual tax advice.
We encourage you to complete your U.S. tax return as soon as possible. The quicker you begin — the quicker you will finish (and receive any tax refund due to you!). Don’t wait, finish your tax documents today! The tax filing deadline for nonresident aliens with income is typically in mid-April each year. If you file your tax documents late, you may have to pay a penalty.
Do I have to file taxes? Why?
All international students, scholars and their dependents present in the U.S. under F-1, F-2, J-1, or J-2 non-immigrant status must file IRS Form 8843 “Statement for Exempt Individuals and Individuals with a Medical Condition” even if they received no income in the previous year. Form 8843 is an informational statement required by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) that shows nonresident status for tax purposes. It basically says that you are a nonresident for tax purposes currently exempt from filing U.S. taxes.
If you are legally employed while in the United States, some taxes will probably be withheld from your wages and paid by your employer directly to the U.S. tax authorities. You may be entitled to a refund of some or all of this amount, but you must apply to have the money returned.
Important things you should know:
- International students in non-immigrant status (i.e. F-1, J-1, etc.) and their dependents ARE REQUIRED to file a tax form with the U.S. government for each tax year they are in the U.S. regardless of whether they earned any income;
- Nonresident aliens must file paper forms by mail with the IRS;
- Unless you are considered a resident for tax purposes, most international students and scholars should NOT use outside tax preparation services found in the community such as H&R Block, Liberty, and other companies (see resident for tax purposes section above for more information);
- US scholarships covering room and board, course fees, book reimbursements and medical insurance are taxable (applies to some athletic scholarships at EWU). Filing taxes requires an extra document called 1042-S.
Filing tax forms correctly is very important; failure to do so can impact your future visa and/or status requests in the U.S. Filing federal income tax forms every year is the personal responsibility of each international student and visiting scholar. The School of Global Learning has provided this information as a service to help you meet your tax filing obligations. Please be aware that you are ultimately responsible for filing and the accuracy of your income tax returns. University staff members are not authorized to give individual tax advice.