J-1 Research Scholar – Resident or Nonresident for 2025 after previous stay?

[resasa711]

Hello,

I am a J-1 Research Scholar and I have a residency determination question.

My travel history:

• First stay: Aug 26, 2018 – Jul 12, 2020 (J-1)

• Outside US: 2021–2022

• Second stay: Sep 8, 2023 – present (J-1)

I was treated as a resident for tax purposes in 2020 and 2024.
For 2025, Sprintax classifies me as a nonresident, but I believe the “2-out-of-6 year rule” for J-1 researchers may make me a resident under the Substantial Presence Test.

Should I file Form 1040 or Form 1040-NR for tax year 2025?

Thank you.

[pk · Accepted solution]

@resasa711 , since you say you were a Tax Resident for 2024,  and you were in the US for all of 2025, then there is every reason for you to meet the  SPT again in 2025.   The 3 out of six rule is as below .  For 2025, you had used the  exempt status during within the last six years -- at least for 2023.  Thus  you were a resident for 2024 and now for 2025."When a teacher or trainee is not exempt

From --> Exempt individuals: Teachers and trainees | Internal Revenue Service  

"You will not be an exempt individual as a teacher or trainee if you were exempt as a teacher, trainee, or student for any part of 2 of the 6 calendar years preceding the current year. However, you will be an exempt individual if you were exempt as a teacher, trainee, or student for any part of 3 (or fewer) of the 6 preceding calendar years and:

• A foreign employer paid all of your compensation during the current year.
• You were present in the United States as a teacher or trainee in any of the 6 prior years.
• A foreign employer paid all of your compensation during each of the preceding 6 years you were present in the United States as a teacher or trainee.

A foreign employer includes an office or place of business of an American entity in a foreign country or a U.S. possession."

For a Tax Resident  you file on form 1040.

[resasa711]

Thank you so much for your help!

[resasa711]

@pk Thank you again for your explanation.

I may be mistaken, but I believe I was treated as a nonresident in 2023, not because I was exempt, but because I did not meet the Substantial Presence Test. I was outside the U.S. in 2021 and 2022, so when I returned in September 2023, I did not accumulate enough days to meet the 183-day threshold.

If that is the case — meaning 2023 was nonresident solely due to not meeting the SPT and not due to exempt status — would that affect the residency determination for 2025 under the 2-out-of-6 rule?

Also, for completeness, I have not been paid by a foreign employer during my first and second J-1 stays.

I would appreciate your thoughts on this.

[DaveF1006]

In 2024 (Nonresident): Since 2023 was your first year back and you only had one previous "exempt" year in your 6-year lookback (2020), you were allowed to be an Exempt Individual in 2024 to complete the six-year look back period. Since you chose to file as a resident in 2024 you lost that exempt year. 

As a result, you will file a resident return in 2025.