J-1 visiting scientist, have a W-2

[aussieaaron]

Just wondering if the 1040NR form applies to my situation. I am here as a post-doctoral fellow (officially 'visiting scientist') and arrived late 2016.
My employer has supplied a W-2 for income but no 1040NR. Am I right in understanding that the 1040NR is only applicable to students (holding a J-1 visa)? Most of the FAQ about J-1 here on TurboTax mention students and not post-graduate academics.
Cheers

[bine22 · Accepted solution]

The 1040NR is the tax return that you need to file, not a form given to you by your employer.

On J1 you are a nonresident alien for 2 calendar years (so 2016 and 2017) and need to file form 1040NR (or 1040NR-EZ) plus form 8843 (plus state retrun). These are not supported by Turbotax. Ask your institution, if they provide access to tax preparation software for their foreign students/postdocs.

And have a look at publication 519: https://www.irs.gov/publications/p519/

And have a look here for a short guide: https://bcmp.med.harvard.edu/sites/bcmp.med.harvard.edu/files/documents/2014v1a.pdf

[aussieaaron]

Thank you! Tax returns here a little crazy. Thanks for the clarification and the links 🙂

[bine22]

yes, definitely takes some getting used to. Good luck with your postdoc