Hello! I am an F1 student on my 6th year. I need to file tax return.
1) Can I do it through TurboTax? My school directed me to Sprintax, Sprintax told I'm a resident for tax purposes and should use Turbotax.
2) I have W2 and 1042S forms. Which form should I fill out and send? (previous years it was 1040NR-EZ and 8843). Where can I add the 1042S form?
3) Also, I moved to US first time in august 2011, so the 6th year started in august 2016. How will it affect my forms? I am filing for 2016. Part of the year I was non-resident alien, part of it I was resident for tax purposes.
Thank you very much!
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You will be considered as a resident for tax purposes and can use TurboTax to file a Form 1040 for the tax year of 2016.
1. As a F-1 visa holder, you are considered as "exempt" meaning not counting days for five years starting from the date of your first arrival in the United States. After the five years period, you will start counting days by using the Substantial Presence Test to see if you qualify to be treated as a US resident for tax purposes.
In your situation, you are considered as a nonresident from 2011-2015 filing a Form 1040NR ( doesn't matter which month did you enter in 2011). Starting from 01/01/2016, you will start counting your days. If you meet the Substantial Presence Test in 2016, you will be considered a US resident for tax purposes and file a Form 1040 for your tax year of 2016.
For examples, see: https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/alien-residency-examples
2. Do you have the same amount of income and source being reported on both Form W-2 and Form 1042-S ? If yes, you only need to report the Form W-2. If they are for two different income, report both separately. For Form 1042-S, check the type of income received with IRS instructions : https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i1042s.pdf, under Income Codes and report accordingly. For example, if it's code 15 which is pension related income, you will enter under the pension section.
3. To submit the Form 8833 for tax treaty exemption, here are the instructions:
- Report your full income. Then enter the treaty exempt amount as negative amount under Federal Taxes / Less Common Income / Miscellaneous Income 1099A, 1099C / Other Reportable Income
- You will have to attach form 8833 from IRS to claim an exception. https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f8833.pdf
- You cannot e-file. You can still use the TurboTax program to prepare your tax forms, but you need to print them out and submit by mail along with the form 8833.
4. If you stay in US for at least 183 days in 2016, you are considered as resident for the whole year and report all your income earned in US on your Form 1040.
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