Hi I am on a J1 visa does that qualify me for any tax exemptions?I heard a friend of mine claiming exception for international travel to India?

[JohnR1 · Accepted solution]

Please note that J-1 visa holders who substantially comply with the requirements of that visa are exempt from the Substantial Presence Test used to determine eligibility for being a resident alien for U.S. income tax purposes: this means that you are considered a nonresident alien.

As a nonresident alien you will need to file a Form 1040NR to report any U.S.-source income you have. TurboTax does not support Form 1040NR, so you will not be able to use TurboTax for your specific tax situation.

You may want to check out Sprintax, who are specifically geared towards international student nonresident aliens with 1040NR filing requirements.

You are able to claim, at a minimum, a single personal exemption for yourself on Form 1040NR, and possibly also additional exemptions for your spouse and dependents, if applicable; the personal exemption amount for 2016 is $4,050

For more information please see IRS Publication 519, US Tax Guide for Aliens:

https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p519.pdf

[Eth_88]

Hi. One of my friends is a J1 visa holder since june 2019, she used Turbotax for tax refound and She already got part of the refund with no problems. Why you keep saying we should only use sprintax as a J1?

[KurtL1 · Accepted solution]

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.

If you friend entered the country in 2019 she 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.

She will need to a Form 1040-NR prepared and then amend the return she filed through TurboTax.  She might owe some taxes as the Form 1040-NR does not have the same deductions as the Form 1040.  

She 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, she might need to consult a local tax professional in her area.