How should I file 8833 through turbotax and where should I send it along with my tax return?

[lukeskyfall217]

I am a Resident Alien from China on OPT - F-1 visa. I have known that turbotax will not prepare 8833 for me. Therefore, where should I ask help for this 8833(I would prefer online software service)? And also what is the mailing address for my federal tax return in this case? Should it be in TX? And I know I have to e-file NY state return, do I still need to attach the 8833 along with it? Does turbotax support attaching 8833?

[JeffreyR77]

TurboTax does not include Form 8833.

We recommend Sprintax to address you specific filing situation requirements.

[lukeskyfall217]

I have tried the sprintax and use the presence test to prove that I am a resident alien. Since I'm not a Non-Resident Alien, sprintax is not suitable for me. Any other suggestions?

[DaveF1006]

Form 8833 is not supported by Turbo Tax. You will need to manually download this form and mail in with your tax return. The IRS mailing addresses are listed in this link. Also the mailing addresses for your federal and state returns will be printed out on the cover sheet when you print your return after indicating that you mail in your returns in the Turbo Tax program

[lukeskyfall217]

Thanks for the link to the mailing address! However, I have heard only the office in TX knows how to handle the 1040 form along with treaty like form 8833 and sending to other office may incur explanation ask from IRS and send you to TX office. I don't actually want to risk sending the form to a non-TX office unless you have better data points showing that it's worth to do so.

[LinaJ2020]

Per Form 8833 instructions, you would send it with your Form 1040 to the normal IRS Service Center.  See DaveF1006 response.  

To verify, click here: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f8833.pdf, page 4 under "When and Where To File"

@lukeskyfall217

[lukeskyfall217]

Thanks for bring out the message and I copied it here: 

When and Where To File
Attach Form 8833 to your tax return
(Form 1040-NR, Form 1120-F, etc.). If
you would not otherwise be required to
file a tax return, you must file one at the
IRS Service Center where you would
normally file a return to make the treaty based return position disclosure under
section 6114 (see Regulations section
301.6114-1(a)(1)(ii)) or under Regulations
section 301.7701(b)-7.

As you can see, they normally consider that 8833 comes with 1040-NR not 1040.  And what you said that I should send the form to a normal service center does not really align with what they stated in the document. Treaty based return is quite tricky.

[ReneeM7122]

TurboTax does not support Form 8833, Treaty-Based Return Position Disclosure Under Section 6114 or 7701(b).  You can print the form and mail it with your return.  The form must be filed together with the return; you cannot e-file and send it separately.

[freegator]

By filing the form 8833 "Return Position Disclosure," does that mean disclosure of your tax return information to the US government, the foreign government, or both?

[DaveF1006]

Yes, taxpayers use this form to make the treaty-based return position disclosure required by Internal Revenue Code section 6114. Dual-resident taxpayers use this form to make the treaty-based return position disclosure required by Regulations section 301.7701(b)-7. 

This form is used by the IRS to determine if some of your foreign income is taxable or not. While some income may be exempt, there may be income that you wanted to claim certain tax treaty benefits specific to your country of residence. It provides an explanation to the IRS as to why certain income is receiving beneficial treatment because of the treaty. This is disclosed to the IRS but not to the foreign government. The IRS uses this from to allow or disallow certain income items.

[freegator]

Thanks DaveF1006 for the detailed explanation. I really appreciate it. If I am filing my federal 1040 with a Form 8833, when it comes to the state tax return and in case it asks to attach my federal return, is Form 8833 considered as a part of my "federal return" by the state? Or the state tax return only wants Form 1040 when it refers to "federal return"? Is it required to mail a copy of my Form 8833 to the state tax office? 

[DaveF1006]

It depends.  Based on what you just told me, it only wants form 1040 and no other forms in the return. Leave the 8833 out of the mailing.

[habsfan514]

From someone who has had to file 8833 every year, here is some mailing advice: 

Mail to Austin regardless of where in the U.S. you are, and do so using a courier service (UPS, FedEx, DHL, etc) NOT USPS. The physical mailing address is:

Austin - Internal Revenue Submission Processing Center
3651 S IH35,
Austin TX 78741

FWIW, I followed TurboTax/IRS mailing suggestions based on state of residence twice and both times it was a disaster...months and months without any news, a "missing return" yet the cheque was cashed by the IRS, etc. I had to get the Taxpayer Advocate involved one year. My advocate was the one who recommended in the future to send any return with an international component by courier to Austin, and ever since, my return has constantly been processed in a matter of weeks, even during COVID-19. 

[TANGOBABY]

WHY IS IT A PROBLEM FOR TURBOTAX TO INCLUDE FORM 8833?

[RalphH1 · Accepted solution]

Unfortunately, with the tax code being as big and complex as it is, difficult ongoing choices have to be made about how much of it a software program can handle and still work efficiently for everyone. And our TurboTax decision-makers have thus far included certain foreign-related forms (such as the 1116, 2555, and even the 8938), and have not included (or not yet included) others.

Also, you can generally skip Form 8833 (and thus e-file your return) if you’re only excluding W-2 income (which is the main treaty benefit our users claim). The IRS tells us about this here, in the instructions for the form, in the third column on page 3.

@TANGOBABY, TurboTax gives you the opportunity to take a survey after filing, and I suggest mentioning the 8833 there. Our company does read those surveys and act upon them, as things are constantly evolving. In the meantime, we hope you still value the overall quality of our software and support!