How to report 1042-S

[malmukhtar]

As a J-1 visa holder in the U.S., I received a stipend from a U.S. scholarship. Initially, I filed my taxes as a Non-Resident. This year, I became a Resident for tax purposes after meeting the Substantial Presence Test (SPT), prompting me to switch from Sprintax to TurboTax for filing my taxes.

I received a Form 1042-S, which reports my gross income and the federal tax withheld. TurboTax doesn't offer a direct option to upload Form 1042-S. Following advice from the TurboTax community, I manually entered the information under "Less Common Income > Miscellaneous Income, 1099-A, 1099-C" and reported the withheld federal tax as an Estimated Tax Payment.

However, I received a notice from the IRS stating that the Estimated Tax Payment wasn't applied. Previously, when filing as a Non-Resident, the withheld tax from Form 1042-S was listed under section 25 of the 1040NR. This year, using TurboTax as a Resident, I entered the withheld tax manually, and it appeared in section 26 of the 1040.

My Social Security Number (SSN) is correctly listed on the Form 1042-S.

My question is about how to correctly report the Form 1042-S information in my tax filing, given the switch to TurboTax and my new status as a Resident.

[DaveF1006 · Accepted solution]

Here is the complete procedure to report, which includes the income tax withheld.

1. Open your return in TurboTax 
2. Click on Wages & Income 
3. Scroll down to All Income
4. Scroll down to Less Common Income 
5. Scroll down to Miscellaneous Income, 1099-A, 1099-C 
6. Click start 
7. Scroll down to Other reportable income 
8. Answer yes and record this as 1042S income and then the amount.

Now to report the tax withheld.

1. With your return open
2. Click on Deductions & Credits
3. Scroll down to Estimates and Other Taxes Paid\
4. Click on Other Income Taxes
5. Scroll down Other Income Taxes
6. Click on Withholding not already entered on a W-2 or 1099