F1 to H1b change of status

[yashK]

Hello,

My status changed from f1 student to H1b on October 1 2019 . I came to India for H1b stamping. I am in India from November 1 2019 to Jan 2 2020. Out of three months of my H1b in 2019, 2 months I will be in India. Will this cause any change of status or any complications in tax filling. I plan to fill 1040 NR for 2019 because 9 months i was on student F1 visa. I am just confused due to my long stay in India if it will cause any tax complications

[joneska11 · Accepted solution]

No, the time you spend in India will not affect your 2019 filing as a nonresident alien (1040NR).

Assuming you were in the US on an F1 student visa for less than 5 years or part years in 2019, you were exempt from counting your days of presence in the US until October 1, 2019.  At that date, you would need to start counting your days of presence in the US to determine if you are a tax resident of the US.

You will be considered a United States resident for tax purposes if you meet the substantial presence test for the calendar year or you are a green card holder. To meet the substantial presence test, you must be physically present in the United States (U.S.) on at least:

1. 31 days during the current year, and
2. 183 days during the 3-year period that includes the current year and the 2 years immediately before that, counting:

• All the days you were present in the current year, and
• 1/3 of the days you were present in the first year before the current year, and
• 1/6 of the days you were present in the second year before the current year

As you will only have 31 days of presence in the US, you will be considered a nonresident for all of 2019.

You will need to include on your 2019 1040NR any US source income you earned in October 2019.  For 2020 (assuming you are in the US more than 183 days in 2020), you will be a US tax resident and will need to file a 1040 return.

TurboTax does not support nonresident returns however TurboTax has a partnership with Sprintax offering a nonresident tax filing solution to TurboTax customers. 

Visit the TurboTax/Sprintax site

For more information please see IRS Publication 519, US Tax Guide for Aliens:

https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p519.pdf