Form 8615 US citizen with Non resident alien parents who have SSNs

Forum|Forum|3 months ago
April 5, 2026
2 replies
130 views

I am an US citizen. I am currently a full time student and have scholarships and grants.

My parents are NOT US citizens. They have SSNs from the time they lived and worked in the USA. They do not have green cards.

Since I have college scholarships that pay more than 80% of my college fees, I am guessing that I cannot claim to be an independent student?

How should I report my parent's entries on 8615. They did not file US taxes and their US income is $0 for 2025. Should I input their SSNs?

Also, if they paid a part of my tuition fees in 2025 (under $5000 for the year), do I need to report that in a separate form as a gift? They have also ordered food for me from time to time using doordash and amazon USA. Is that reportable too? They have also booked flight tickets for me. sum total of all they paid for in 2025 would be around $10,000.

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Best answer by SusanY1

Expert Reviewed

I am assuming because you mentioned that they have SSNs from the "time they lived in the USA", that they no longer live in the USA. Since they also are not citizens nor permanent residents (green card holders) then they do not have an obligation to file a US tax return, so you are not their tax dependent.

While you are likely not "independent" in the eyes of your school for things like financial aid, you are likely independent for tax purposes and can state on your tax return that you are not a dependent of another.

If you do file Form 8615 then you do list their SSNs and their income would be 0. There is a slight chance that their SSNs would not be active in the system causing a rejection and then the tax return would need to be filed by mail.

However, if my assumption above is correct (and your parents were not in the US for more than 183 days in 2025) then you can file your US taxes as an "independent" individual.

You do not need to report funds that your parents paid for your tuition, occasional meals or Amazon orders, or flight tickets as gifts or income. You will only file Form 3520 (the form to report gifts from noncitizens) when you receive more than $100,000 in gifts in a year.

N

NCperson

Level 15

@Cvam a little confusing.

Where did they live in 2025? can they pass the substantial presence test?

if they can't: CAN your parents claim you? If they are not US citizens and did not earn any income in the US, then they have no obligation to file a tax return and therefore cannot claim you.

if they can: then maybe. it gets complicated.

SusanY1Answer

Level 15

Expert Reviewed

I am assuming because you mentioned that they have SSNs from the "time they lived in the USA", that they no longer live in the USA. Since they also are not citizens nor permanent residents (green card holders) then they do not have an obligation to file a US tax return, so you are not their tax dependent.

While you are likely not "independent" in the eyes of your school for things like financial aid, you are likely independent for tax purposes and can state on your tax return that you are not a dependent of another.

If you do file Form 8615 then you do list their SSNs and their income would be 0. There is a slight chance that their SSNs would not be active in the system causing a rejection and then the tax return would need to be filed by mail.

However, if my assumption above is correct (and your parents were not in the US for more than 183 days in 2025) then you can file your US taxes as an "independent" individual.

You do not need to report funds that your parents paid for your tuition, occasional meals or Amazon orders, or flight tickets as gifts or income. You will only file Form 3520 (the form to report gifts from noncitizens) when you receive more than $100,000 in gifts in a year.

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