Non-resident alien tax return

[jintonic5]

I'm a South Korean studying in the US on a F1 visa. I had income in 2016 and am trying to file a tax return. I purchased TurboTax downloadable version and was filling out the forms on the application. Then I realized that this may not be how I should be doing my tax return because I'm a non-resident alien. Can you tell me if I can just keep using your software to file my return? If not, can you advise what I should do?

[GeoffreyG]

Hello jintonic5:

Thank you for your message and your inquiry.

While TurboTax can complete most any type of tax return for United States citizens and resident aliens, at the present time we do not support the nonresident Form 1040NR series of tax returns.

It is Form 1040NR (or 1040NR-EZ) that you will need to file as a nonresident alien on a student F1 visa, along with Form 8843, and perhaps a state tax return as well.  Thus, you are correct in your conclusion that TurboTax software will be unable to fulfill your needs.

However the good news is that TurboTax has partnered with a company called "Sprintax.com" to offer certain nonresident tax preparation services.  They can definitely help you with filing a Form 1040NR, as well other necessary tax forms; and we think that you will be pleased with their services.  If you decide to use them, then you won't need to find a specialized tax preparer or accountant.  In short, they are a cost-effective way to take care of nonresident alien tax compliance needs (especially for international students).

For further information you can visit them on the internet at:

https://www.sprintax.com/non-resident-alien-tax-1040nr-turbotax.html

In addition to referring you over to Sprintax.com, if you would like a full refund on a TurboTax software download that you purchased directly from us, you may request such a refund by using the following link:

https://support.turbotax.intuit.com/forms/refund-request.jsp

If you instead bought TurboTax from a third-party vendor or retailer, then you would need to ask for a product refund directly through that vendor.

We hope this information will be useful to you, and thank you for thinking of TurboTax.

[jintonic5]

Thanks for the feedback. Two more questions. 1) Can you then tell me if I can use TurboTax for my CA state return? 2) Is your partnership with Sprintax allows me to use their service for free?

[GeoffreyG]

Hello again, jintonic5:

The answers to your additional questions are as follows:

1) Unfortunately, not really or at least not very well.  While you can certainly use TurboTax to create the necessary California state tax return (as the nonresident version of the California state return does come with the TurboTax state software package), in order to complete it correctly, you will first need accurate numbers from your Federal income tax return, Form 1040NR (or 1040NR-EZ).  As was explained previously, TurboTax cannot complete these nonresident Federal tax returns.  However, Sprintax.com can complete a state tax return for you (including California), as part of their tax-preparation package.

2) Sprintax.com is not free.  This also applies to those customers referred to them by TurboTax.  But their charges are still relatively low, especially compared with the alternatives and their tax-preparation competitors.  Their base rate charges (as of March, 2016) are $35.95 for Federal tax preparation and $25.95 for State tax preparation.  You can also visit this page to see their current, advertised, fee schedule:  <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://www.sprintax.com">https://www.sprintax.com</a>

Thank you.