If she is a non-resident alien with a student visa, then she should probably be filing Form 1040NR instead of Form 1040. She would not qualify to use the AOTC if she filed Form 1040NR.
She must help you decide if she qualifies as a resident alien (taxed on world-wide income reported) on the US return or a nonresident alien (taxed only on US sourced income on the US return due to having a "exempt" Visa not counting days of US physical presence).
If you're required to file a federal return for 2020, you can use Form 1040 (U.S. Individual Income Tax Return) if any of these are true:
- You're a US citizen
- You're a resident of the US or Puerto Rico
- You have a Permanent Resident Card ("green card")
- You're a nonresident alien married to a US citizen/resident alien with whom you'll file a joint return
- You meet the substantial presence test, which means you were physically present in the US for at least 31 days in 2020 and at least 183 days in 2018 through 2020,
Unlike the 1040, there's no minimum income threshold for filing a 1040-NR. In other words, nonresident aliens with US income, regardless of amount, are required to file a 1040-NR.
Please see the following link for additional information:
Should I file Form 1040NR or Form 1040
Also please refer to IRS Publication 519 for additional information:
IRS Publication 519
Unfortunately, if you determine your friend needs to file Form 1040NR:
TurboTax cannot prepare Form 1040NR or 1040NR-EZ for non-resident aliens. TurboTax can only prepare returns for US citizens and "resident aliens for tax purposes."
