As a resident alien on J1 Visa what should I do with 1042 S form?

[Anonymous]

I am a resident alien, living the US for the past 2.5 years. I filled out the 1040EZ form using turbotax this year to file my federal returns, but my bank just mailed me a 1042-S form. I haven't filed my federal returns yet, what do I do with the 1042 form? 

I am a J1 scholar from India working with a university in the US. My status changed from F1 to J1 in Apr 2015. Thanks!

[DS30 · Accepted solution]

If you are an J-1 or F-1 visa holder, you are considered a non-resident alien for the first 2 (non-students) or 5 (students) calendar years because you will be exempt for the Substantial Presence Test (SPT) .

Please refer to this US Tax Guide for Aliens for additional information about visa exemptions and the various filing requirements.

As a nonresident alien, you are only required to file a US tax return for income from US sources. If you are required to file a tax return, you will file a Form 1040NR. TurboTax does not support Form 1040NR but you can go to the following website https://www.sprintax.com/ which is specifically designed to help international visa holders file 1040NRs. 

Here is a link to the IRS website for Form 1040NR:

https://www.irs.gov/uac/Form-1040NR,-U.S.-Nonresident-Alien-Income-Tax-Return

For your 1042-S, if this is for bank interest, you would report this interest income as if you received a 1099-INT.

You can include this under the 1099-INT section. Just make sure that you include this amount in USD. Also, if you paid any foreign taxes on this interest income, you will be able to take a Foreign Tax Credit for taxes paid on income that is also taxed in the US.

The Internal Revenue Service has no official exchange rate. In general, use the exchange rate prevailing (i.e., the spot rate) when you received the income. Please refer to the following IRS links for more information about Foreign Currency and Currency Exchange Rates and Yearly Average Currency Exchange Rates

To enter this transaction in TurboTax Online or Desktop, please follow these steps:

1. Once you are in your tax return, click on the “Federal Taxes” tab ("Personal" tab in TurboTax Home & Business)
2. Next click on “Wages & Income” ("Personal Income" in TurboTax Home & Business)
3. Next click on “I’ll choose what I work on” (jump to full list)
4. Scroll down the screen until to come to the section “Interest and Dividends”
5. Choose “ Interest on 1099-INT” and select “start’
6. Select "I'll type it in myself"
7. Enter the name of the foreign bank, the amount (in USD) in box 1
8. Check the box "My form has info in more than just box 1 (this is uncommon)".
9. Enter any foreign taxes paid in box 6 (screenshot)