International student

[Emsh]

• Hi! I am international student and I mistakenly filed my tax in turbotax, and I just knew that I must use Sprintax instead because its for non-resident. I still didn’t get my refund, but when I tracked it on the refund status it only says that IRS received it and currently being processed but its been 5months already. What should I do, can I just file in sprintax?

[rjs]

The tax return that you filed with TurboTax is a Form 1040. If you are a nonresident alien you should have filed Form 1040-NR. You will have to file an amended return, Form 1040-X, and attach a Form 1040-NR tax return that you prepare with Sprintax. Follow the instructions under "Resident and nonresident aliens" on page 2 of the IRS Instructions for Form 1040-X. Do not file the amended return until the IRS has finished processing your original Form 1040 tax return and you have received the refund. You might have to proceed differently if you get a notice from the IRS about the Form 1040 that you filed.

Before you do anything, make sure you are really a nonresident alien. Even though you are not a U.S. citizen you could have become a resident alien, depending on what type of visa you have and how long you have been in the United States.