Non-resident student submitting Form 1042-S

[Melo_Shuai]

Hi everyone,

I am an international graduate student coming to US on Aug 26,2022. I used TurboTax to file my 2022 tax return. After I submitted my form, I realized that I forgot to submit my 1042-S form in this return, so I amended my return and file again. Now I have a few questions.

1. I heard from my friends that I should not use TurboTax since I am not a resident in US. So can I amend my return again and change my personal information as foreign resident? If so, should I wait for my first amend to be processed?

2. I have received two 1042-S forms from my universities. The first one records part of my scholarship income before I got my SSN, so 14% of that was withheld by the federal. The other one corresponds to my remaining scholarship after SSN application, so the tax withheld on this 1042-s is zero. Now I have filled in the withheld in the deduction section of TurboTax 2022 tax return form. Do I need to add these two parts of my income together when I report my miscellaneous taxable income or I only need to mention the first part (when I report my 1042-s income)?

3. How long does it take usually for an amended return to be processed? My amended tax return document (1040-X) has changed to be the latest amount, but the number on my TurboTax mainpage still remains as before. Is this normal?

I will appreciate it if anyone could give some help. Thank you!

[DanaB27]

1) Yes, if you are on an F-1 visa then you are not considered a resident until your 6th calendar year in the United States.  At that point, the Substantial Presence Test would need to be met to be considered a resident. Please see IRS Alien Residency Examples for additional information. 

You will need to file Form 1040-NR as a non-resident. TurboTax does not support Form 1040-NR for a non-resident.  Usually, you can prepare your return through a company we partner with called Sprintax. 

Once your filed return has been processed you will follow these steps to correct the return:

Do not use 1040-X in sprintax since you did not use them to file the original return. 

• Download Form 1040-X 
• Enter your name, current address, and social security number (SSN) or individual taxpayer identification number (ITIN) on the front of Form 1040-X.
• Don’t enter any other information on page 1. Also, don’t complete Parts I or II on page 2 of Form 1040-X.
• Enter in Part III the reason why you are filing Form 1040-X. 
• Complete a new or corrected return ( Form 1040-NR, etc. you can try to use sprintax for this). 
• Across the top of the new or corrected return, write “Amended.” 
• Attach the new or corrected return to the back of Form 1040-X.

Please see Form 1040-X Instructions for additional information.

2) Sprintax will help you enter your Form 1042-S.

3) According to the IRS processing of amended returns can take up to 16 weeks. Please see Where's My Amended Return? for details.

[Melo_Shuai]

Many thanks for your help!

Now my problem is that I have not used Sprintax before, so I must file an original return on Sprintax before I am able to file an amended return.

So do you mean that I can first file an original return on Sprintax, and then get my new tax return document Form 1042-NR, and then write "Amended" on the very top of its first page, and then attach it on my Form 1040-X?

Besides, the financial staff in my university suggested that I should not use Sprintax for 2022 tax return since I have already file a return via TurboTax. I know that both you and the university staff are right to some extent, but I am still not sure if I can use Sprintax. Can I just get my Form1040-NR but not submit it to IRS so that I can avoid confusing the tax officers? Or is it fine to simply complete everything on Sprintax?

I also remembered that I have filed my W-2 form for my wage on TT, and the federal has already correctly returned my tax for this part. So should I still mention it when I reporting my annual income in Sprintax?

My last question is do I need to wait for my current amended return to be processed?

I would greatly appreciate it if you could give me any help further

Best regards

[ErnieS0]

Yes. You cannot file a second original income tax return if IRS accepted your original return. Sprintax.com can help you file an amended return, which will include Form 1040X (the amendment form) and Form 1040NR (the non-resident return).

They’ll help you prepare and submit both forms. Both are needed for your amendment.

The amended return includes a place to enter the amount of refund you received. You probably will have to pay someone or all of that money back with your amended filing.

I do not understand what you mean by “do I need to wait for my current amended return to be processed?” If you’ve already filed an amendment by yourself, then yes, wait until that return is processed before filing a second amended return.

Amended returns take 16 weeks (4 months) to process.

You can track your amendment at Where’s My Amended Return?

[Melo_Shuai]

Thank you ! So must I mail these Form 1040-X and Form 1040-NR to the IRS? Personally I think I cannot simply efile them on Turbotax or Sprintax.

By the way, if I find that IRS return me with correct amount of my tax withheld (but with other wrong information, e.g. resident status), do I still need to file another amended return?

Best

[ErnieS0]

Yes. Mail your return to the IRS. We recommend sending it by certified mail with delivery confirmation.;

Attach a statement to your return to show the income for the part of the year you are a resident. You can use Form 1040 as the statement, but be sure to enter "Dual-Status Statement" across the top. Do not sign Form 1040. 

If no payment is enclosed, the return is filed with the Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Austin, TX 73301-0215. 

If a payment is enclosed, the return is mailed to Internal Revenue Service, P.O. Box 1303, Charlotte, NC 28201-1303.

See: Dual-status Aliens — Nonresidents (Out of Scope).

IRS will correct you return if they believe it is wrong. If you disagree, you can file another amended return.