As an F-1 Visa holder for 2019 you will be exempt from the substantial
presence test and you will be considered a
Nonresident Alien for 5 years or part years.
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 in
preparing your nonresident alien tax return.
For 2018, you can file a resident return declaring your worldwide income for all of calendar year 2018 (you can use foreign tax credit to help offset any income earned after you left the US in 2018). Or, you can file a dual status return (part year resident and part year nonresident). This is a bit complex.
In order to prepare
a dual status return in TurboTax, you will need to print a copy of the
nonresident return (Form 1040NR from the IRS website) for your tax on US income
after you left the US. There will most likely be no US source income to enter for
that time. So your income on this form will be zero. Write at the top of
the 1st page, Dual Return. You will need to write in your name and address and
input zero as your US source income.
https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1040nr.pdf
Then for the
resident part of the return you prepare in TurboTax, you are not allowed to use the standard deduction, only itemized
deductions if you are filing a dual status return. Also, you can either file single (if you are single)
or married filing separately.
You must suppress
the standard deduction. Instructions for this are below.
When your resident
part of the return is finished in TurboTax, print the return and write on top
of the return,
Dual
Statement. Put the 1040NR on top of 1040 resident return and staple and
mail to the IRS. You must sign the 1040NR before mailing. You do
not need to sign the 1040 statement.
You will need to
staple your 1040NR and 1040 together and mail to the following address:
If you are not enclosing a payment then use this
address...
Department of the
Treasury
Internal Revenue
Service
Austin, TX
73301-0215
USA
If you are a Taxpayer or Paid Preparer preparing
your return and enclosing a payment then use this address...
Internal Revenue
Service
P. O. Box 1303
Charlotte, NC
28201-1303
USA
Please see more help
on dual status returns see page 7 of Pub 519.
Publication 519
You will need to sign your 1040NR return before mailing.
To change to itemized deductions in TurboTax:
