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Am I eligible for Article 21(2) deduction if I work full-time at a Tech company on OPT and STEM OPT?

Am I eligible for Article 21(2) deduction if I work full-time at a tech company on OPT and STEM OPT on an F1 visa?

The article mentions the word "training", and OPT & STEM OPT are both training, so I'm on the fence about whether a job outside the scope of research will be covered under this Article. Please help me with the same. Thank you!

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3 Replies
pk
Level 15
Level 15

Am I eligible for Article 21(2) deduction if I work full-time at a Tech company on OPT and STEM OPT?

@vishwasjain2008 ,  Namaste

 

(a)  When did you enter the US with F-1 ?  Was this your first or only entry  ?

(b) Which country are you a citizen of  ( India?) ?  And you are therefore talking about  US --XX country   tax treaty  --yes ?

 

I will circle back once I hear from you --yes ?

 

Namaste ji

 

pk

Am I eligible for Article 21(2) deduction if I work full-time at a Tech company on OPT and STEM OPT?

Thank you for your message @pk 
Yes, I'm a citizen of India and I entered the USA for the first time in August 2021. Graduated in June 2022. 

My OPT was from July 2022 - July 2023

My STEM OPT is from July 2023 - July 2025

 

Yes, I'm talking about the USA-India Tax treaty under Article 21(2).

 

If I'm eligible for this deduction I'm planning to file revised taxes for 2022 and 2023.

I'm yet to file taxes for 2024, which I'll do once I'm 100% sure that I'm eligible for it.

 

 

pk
Level 15
Level 15

Am I eligible for Article 21(2) deduction if I work full-time at a Tech company on OPT and STEM OPT?

@vishwasjain2008  so you are talking about monies received by you for work under EAD .

My reading and understanding of the article  21 of US-India Tax treaty  concerns  / covers ONLKY monies received from outside of the US while an Indian citizen is resident in the US for the sole purpose of training/ education etc.  ( on F, Q or J visa ).

 This is meant to protect an eligible   ( as defined above )  person from being taxed by US for  receiving  funds    for living expenses  or otherwise  ( say a stipend , scholarship  etc. )  while the person's  tax status changes from  NRA to Resident for tax purposes  or is Resident for Tax purposes  ( because  he/she is outside the  "Exempt "  rules.

 

I quote the  article  below   ( I have made appropriate  changes  to match your situation ---

    1. A student or business apprentice who is or was a resident of one of the Contracting States India
immediately before visiting the other Contracting State  USA`  and who is present in that other State USA principally
for the purpose of his education or training shall be exempt from tax in that other State  USA, on payments
which arise outside that other State   USA  for the purposes of his maintenance, education or training.
2. In respect of grants, scholarships and remuneration from employment not covered by paragraph
1, a student or business apprentice described in paragraph 1 shall, in addition, be entitled during such
education or training to the same exemptions, reliefs or reductions in respect of taxes available to
residents of the State which he is visiting.
3. The benefits of this Article shall extend only for such period of time as may be reasonable or
customarily required to complete the education or training undertaken.

 

Note that  except for  this  treaty  relief   and in  general,  EAD  based   incomes are treated as US sourced income and taxed as such..

 The only other relief is that  you are not subject to  FICA  taxes   ( Social Security & Medicare  ).

You use the term employed   by " private  employer ".   However,   generally  OPT  and/or  STEM OPT etc.  require the "employer" to meet certain eligibility requirements  ( generally called out on the EAD ) -- please make sure that your "private" employer is an eligible  employer / training entity.

 

Thus I see no need for you to amend your earlier returns to assert  US-India  Tax treaty article 21 benefits.

 

Is there more I can do for you ?   ( You can add to this thread or PM me --  no PII , Personally Identifiable Information.

 

Namaste ji

 

pk

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