Substantial presence test and residency status

[pitlob]

Hello,

I am trying to understand my residency status for 2024 and was wondering if someone could shed some light on the following.

I am a UK citizen. I first came to the US in 2017 and have been travelling mostly on ESTA. The only exceptions to these are as follows:

- in 2019, from August to September (2 months) I was on a J1 Student non-degree visa; during this time I received no US income, was fully funded by foreign grants, and was told to only file form 8843; I didn't have a SSN at the time so even though I mailed the form I now understand this was likely not recorded;

- since 10/23 I have been working in the US as a J1 Research Scholar, receiving US income; I first filed in 2023 and claimed exempt individual status and tax treaty benefits; 

- regarding my 2024 filing, strictly speaking I have spent enough days in the US to pass the substantial presence test; however, I am not sure if I am still able to claim exempt status given the 2 year rule for J visas.

Would 2019 count as one of my exempt years even though I received no US income, did not meet the substantial presence test then (so wouldn't have had to claim exemption), and didn’t even have a SSN? Or would 2023 and 2024 be my exempt years?

Thank you!

[DaveF1006]

Yes, in this case, the six-year lookback period is applied. This rule says that if you change visa status and were exempt for 2 out of the past 6 years, you cannot be exempt again. In this case, you were exempt in 2019 and then 2023. Since you were exempt in each of those two years, you are not exempt in 2024. If you pass the substantial presence test in 2024, you will apply as a Resident Alien

2019 is an exempt year for you even though you may not had taxable income to report that year.

Tax Residency Status Examples

[pitlob]

Thank you! So just to check, regarding my 2019 filling where I had no U.S. income and only mailed in form 8843 without a SSN (effectively not filling I’m guessing), does that mean I should resubmit that form now, 6 years later?

[DaveF1006]

It depends.  Since you were a Non-Resident Alien in 2019, you will need to check with Sprint Tax to see if the 8843 can be resubmitted after all this time. The Turbo Tax platform does not handle the preparation of 1040 NR returns.