New apartment wants to give me a referral bonus but are asking to fill a w8. I am a non-resident alien (F1-OPT visa). Can I take it? How do I file for taxes for the same?

[Anonymous]

I referred a friend to live in the same apartment complex and the management company told me I would get a $1000 bonus 4 weeks after he moves in. When I checked with them after a month, they asked me to fill a w-8 form. I am not sure if I can submit the form. When I asked for an explanation, they mentioned, I would be included in their system as a vendor and get the amount as a service fee. 

It surely did sound ridiculous 

[SweetieJean]

This doesn't answer your question, but individuals on an F1 OPT visa who have been in the US for 5 years or less are considered nonresident aliens for tax purposes, and file Form 1040NR or 1040NR-EZ. Turbo Tax does not support Form 1040NR or any of its variants.

[bine22]

This is not really a tax question, but a visa question. Generally, on F1 you are not allowed to earn money with work not related to your field of study/OPT. But sine this is not really work, it might not violate your visa requirements. But I would make sure and ask the international office at your university (or whoever is in charge of foreign students) if you can take that money or not.

If they say it's okay, you would provide the W8 to the payer (assuming you are still a non-resident alien). They will issue you a 1099MISC next year for your tax return.