I am a resident alien for tax purposes for the entire year of 2023. In the first part of 2023, I was an F-1 student and the stipend as a research assistant at my university was my only source of income. Then I started a full-time job at a company on CPT and I continued working on OPT after my graduation. Later in 2023, my status changed to H-1B.
I assume I would have been eligible to claim the benefit of US-China Tax Treaty according to its Article 20c and exclude $5,000 from my income as a research assistant at my university if I were an F-1 student for the entire 2023 and only worked as a research assistant. However, as I later worked full-time on CPT/OPT off-campus and then changed status to H-1B, will those facts make me ineligible to claim the $5,000 exemption? If I am eligible, how do I make it very clear that I am excluding the $5,000 only from the part of my income when I was a research assistant at my university, but not from my full-time job later?
