When you are here on a J-1 Student Visa, you cannot count the days present in the U.S. To satisfy the Substantial Presence Test. Before you can file using Form 1040 using TurboTax, you must be classified as resident alien for tax purposes. While on a J-1 Student Visa you cannot count the days for any part of five calendar years. If you are here on a J-1 non student visa, you are exempt from counting days for any part of two years in any six-year period.
You will be considered a United States resident for tax purposes if you meet the substantial presence test for the calendar year. To meet this test, you must be physically present in the United States (U.S.) on at least:
- 31 days during the current year, and
- 183 days during the 3-year period that includes the current year and the 2 years immediately before that, counting:
- All the days you were present in the current year, and
- 1/3 of the days you were present in the first year before the current year, and
- 1/6 of the days you were present in the second year before the current year.
If your friends entered the country after 2014 on a J-1 Student Visa or after 2016 they could not be considered a resident alien should have filed a Form 1040-NR for a nonresident. TurboTax does not support Form 1040-NR return. You will need to use Sprintax to file a Form 1040-NR return. If you have questions you can contact Sprintax Help for assistance.
They will need to have a Form 1040-NR prepared and then amend the return they filed through TurboTax. She might owe some taxes as the Form 1040-NR does not have the same deductions as the Form 1040.
They will need to File a Form 1040-X to amend the return. TurboTax does not support Amending a return going from a Form 1040 to a Form 1040-NR. If Sprintax is unable to do the amendment, they might need to consult a local tax professional in her area.
TurboTax does not ask what your Visa status is before you begin your return. It assumes you are a citizen or a resident alien and are allowed to file their return through TurboTax.
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