I am a non resident alien since 2019 and I just left the US. What should I do in terms of tax return for this year and next year

[bosso3]

More info needed.

Did you live in the USA in 2021 at any time and have income?  When did you leave?  Please give specific dates.  Do you continue to have USA based income after you left?  Do you plan to return?  If so, when?

[rodrigosuzanooli]

Yes I lived in the US in 2021 with incomes and I left the US last month. I already did this year the 2021 annual tax return. I do not intend to return and my last US based income will be deposited tomorrow.

[Opus 17]

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@rodrigosuzanooli wrote:

Yes I lived in the US in 2021 with incomes and I left the US last month. I already did this year the 2021 annual tax return. I do not intend to return and my last US based income will be deposited tomorrow.

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Your facts are still unclear, because you said you were a non-resident alien but you lived in the US.

If you lived in the US for all of 2021, you are normally considered a resident alien, unless you were here under certain visas or had diplomatic status which would make you a non-resident alien.

Assuming you are correct that you are an NRA even though you lived in the US all year, then you need to file a 2021 form 1040-NR (non-resident) that only reports and pays US income tax on US-source income.*  Note that Turbotax can't prepare a 1040-NR, if you filed a regular 1040, you need to file an amended return as a 1040-NR and you may want professional help.

Then for 2022, you are also an NRA, and you would file a 2022 form 1040-NR to report and pay US tax on your US source-income, if you had any.

*US source income is income earned from working in the US, or from selling certain property held in the US. US source income is not income paid to you by a US employer while you are physically living and working outside US boundaries.  See here for more.  https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/nonresident-aliens-source-of-income

So if you really have been an NRA all along, nothing really has changed.  You file form 1040-NR if you have US-source income. 

However, if you were a resident alien for 2021, then you may either be a dual-status alien for 2022, or an NRA for 2022, depending on the substantial presence test.  If you are a US resident alien, you owe a US tax return for 2021 to report all your world-wide income.   For 2022, if you are dual-status, you owe a US tax return that reports and pays tax on all your world-wide income up to the date of your departure, and then only on US-source income after that.  Turbotax can't handle dual-status tax returns, you would have to make a lot of manual adjustments and file by mail, or contact a tax professional.

Here's all the details.

https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-publication-519

[rodrigosuzanooli]

Based on your explanation, I think I am a alien resident for tax purposes. I only have US incomes. Considering that, could I do only a regular tax return next year using turbo tax?

There is nothing to report from outside the US, so I believe there is no need of dual status tax, correct?

[rodrigosuzanooli]

Based on your explanation, I think I am an alien resident for tax purposes. I only have US incomes. Considering that, could I do only a regular tax return next year using turbo tax?

There is nothing to report from outside the US, so I believe there is no need of dual status tax, correct?

I have already filed 2021 tax return this year as a resident and did the same last year regarding 2020.

[Opus 17]

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@rodrigosuzanooli wrote:

Based on your explanation, I think I am an alien resident for tax purposes. I only have US incomes. Considering that, could I do only a regular tax return next year using turbo tax?

There is nothing to report from outside the US, so I believe there is no need of dual status tax, correct?

I have already filed 2021 tax return this year as a resident and did the same last year regarding 2020.

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If you were a resident alien for 2021, you must file a 2021 return and report and pay US tax on all your world-wide income.  You say you already did this.  Then consider it finished. 

For 2022, the substantial presence test will consider you a US resident alien for tax purposes if you were in the US for more than 31 days.

https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/determining-an-individuals-tax-residency-sta...

https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/substantial-presence-test

However, if you moved away in 2022 and don't plan to come back, you are a dual-status alien for 2022.

https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/dual-status-individuals

As a dual-status alien, you will owe 2022 income tax in this way:

1. all your world-wide income you received while living in the US 

2. only US-source income you received after you moved overseas.

Turbotax can't prepare a dual-status tax return. You may want to check other companies or see professional help.

https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/taxation-of-dual-status-aliens