Regarding tax returns for J1 scholar

[uma2307]

Hello Everyone, 

I am Uma from India. I came to Virginia, US as a research scholar with J1 visa in October,2017. I heard a lot about tax system and understood that I will not pay FICA and FUTA taxes for the first two years. Though my collegues from Italy told me that they are not paying any taxes due to their J1 status for the first two years including federal tax. But they are deducting federal and state tax from my pay check every month and its like 12%. I am just wondering if I will be able to claim any tax returns or is it normal to deduct 12 percentage of amount from every pay check (biweekly)? There are also small amount of state tax I am paying. 

Looking forward to hear. Thanks.

[KennethB]

For tax filing purposes, J1 visa holders are considered Nonresident Aliens for the first 2 (non-students) or 5 (students) calendar years. As a nonresident alien, you are only required to file a US tax return for income from US sources. If you are required to file a tax return, you will file a Form 1040NR. TurboTax does not support Form 1040NR.

Although TurboTax has never supported Form 1040NR: U.S. Nonresident Alien Income Tax Return, we have a partnership with Sprintax offering a nonresident tax filing solution to our TurboTax customers.

You may visit the TurboTax/Sprintax site for more information or to get started at the following link:  https://www.sprintax.com/

For more information also refer to the article "U.S Taxation of J-1 Exchange Visitors" at the link below for more information on taxation of J1 visa holders:

https://tax.thomsonreuters.com/wp-content/pdf/nra-tax/US_Taxation_of_J-1_Exchange_WP.pdf

[MicheleGab]

Dear KennethB,

I am in a similar situation. I am a scholar with a J1 and I come from Italy. According to this information, US income will be subjected to 1040NR for the first two years. What if in the meanwhile I still collaborate with italy and I get an income from this collaboration? Does it affect my tax return? How will I pay taxes considering the additional income?

Best,

Michele