Hi there, I am an international student from China who just graduated in May 2017. After graduation, I started working under my F1-OPT status. Can I choose NOT to file form 8843 and DO count days I stay in U.S so that qualify myself as a resident alien when file tax return? Thank you for your help!
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No - you cannot choose to claim the days you are exempt from the substantial presence test under the F-1 visa class in order to file as a resident alien.
However, if you are a Nonresident Alien who will become a Resident Alien under the Substantial Presence test in the year following this taxable year, you may elect to be treated as a Dual Status Alien for this taxable year and a Resident Alien for the next taxable year if you meet certain tests. Refer to the First Year Choice area, under Dual-Status Aliens, of Chapter 1 in Publication 519, U.S. Tax Guide for Aliens.
No - you cannot choose to claim the days you are exempt from the substantial presence test under the F-1 visa class in order to file as a resident alien.
However, if you are a Nonresident Alien who will become a Resident Alien under the Substantial Presence test in the year following this taxable year, you may elect to be treated as a Dual Status Alien for this taxable year and a Resident Alien for the next taxable year if you meet certain tests. Refer to the First Year Choice area, under Dual-Status Aliens, of Chapter 1 in Publication 519, U.S. Tax Guide for Aliens.
@sambhav-jain, were you able to resolve this? We are in the same situation and wondering about paying Social Security and Medicare for the non-resident period Jan 1 to Sept 30. Can you please help.
TurboTax does not handle refunding you the paid FICA taxes.
Since you made the election to claim from a non-resident to resident, you are a dual-status in that tax year. A nonresident from January to September and a resident from October to December. If your employer has withheld FICA taxes from January to September, you would need to contact your employer to get the money back. They might need to issue you a corrected Form W-2 to refund you the excess FICA you have paid.
If you cannot obtain the FICA from your employer, you can file a Form 843 "Claim for Refund and Request for Abatement" to request a refund from IRS.
To file a Form 843, click here https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-form-843
@Rajshree7
Pub 519 says:
"as a student temporarily in the United
States on an F visa, you do not have
to count the days you were present
in the United States as a student
during the first 5 years in determining
if you are a resident alien under
the substantial presence test."
It appears to me that you can still choose to count those days to meet with the substantial presence requirement, even though you don't have to.
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