Hi !
I am not sure if anyone would have any answer to my question here, but I cannot seem to find any info about my tax situation, and I am honestly lost ! Here is the situation :
I am a French citizen, and has been an exchange student in the US during Academic year 2016/2017 for 10 months under the J1 "Student, Non-Degree" visa status. During year 2018, I was not in the US and only visited a 2 weeks on ESTA Visa waiver. And in 2019, I conducted an internship from January 2019 to June 2019.
My problem is as follow : my employer withhold social security and Medicare taxes, because according to them I was considered a tax Resident for 2019. When I enter my information on software (like the Sprintax one), they tell me I am still considered non-resident and should get a refund from those taxes. I am a bit lost.
I gathered those information about the resident/Non-resident situation, and I think this is what I understood:
F1 and J1 Student visa : 5 years tax exempt (considered "Non-Resident Alien") stating from the first year of entry (in my case, that would be 2016), not exempt anymore at the start of the sixth year and needs to file as a resident for tax purposes after that (if substantial test passed)
J1 Non-student, such as trainee or Intern : can claim the first 2 years from the date of entry as a non-resident, not exempt anymore at the start of the third year and needs to file as a resident for tax purposes after that (if substantial test passed).
Basically my question is as follow : was my first J1 "Student Non-Degree" considered as a "student" category, thus allowing 5 years of exemption (Until 2021 in my case)? If that is the case, are my previous 5 years of exemption still up to date, even if I had another visa type in the meantime?
Or my J1 "Intern", so Non-student, category from 2019 took over and "reset" it? Or my first J1 visa was considered "Non-student" and I only had 2 years of exemption, now expired, and need to file as a resident (because I pass the substantial presence test?)?
I am not a Native English speaker, an it is very hard for me to understand IRS documents and their nuances !
Thank you for your help !
