Turbotax live expert told me they can't file for me because i wasn't in the states for more than 6 months

[Anonymous]

started with turbotax live full service , I don't have an ID , and the expert told me they can't help me , referred them to a community post and ask for the expert to call me , the expert on the phone asked me for how long I was in the states and told them since Nov , they said non of the turbotaxes can file for me as a non-resident . is that true ? 

[pk]

@Anonymous , (a) what visa do you hold; (b) when did you enter USA; (c) is this your first entry within the last three years and if you were present in the USA earlier then with what visa; (d) which country are you a citizen of; (d) how did you earn in the USA and with what tax id -- itin, ssn or what; (e) are you here by yourself  or with family; (f) are you married ?

While TurboTax does not support non-resident alien  filings ( form 1040-NR series and uses Sprintax as a partner  for such prep and filing) we need to make sure that you are indeed NOT eligible to as a resident and therefore cannot use TurboTax's services.  so your response to my questions is essential for a proper answer

pk

[pk]

@Anonymous , I thought I saw a notification showing that you had answered my questions  but now that I am back on, I don't see your answers --- looks like the site ate up your answers.  So Pplease can you answer my questions again ---    sorry for the mishap

pk

[Anonymous]

@pk not sure what happened 

a) what visa do you hold; H1b 

(b) when did you enter USA; oct 30th , 2021

(d) how did you earn in the USA and with what tax id -- itin, ssn or what;

 I have ssn 

(e) are you here by yourself  or with family; (f) are you married ?

by myself , and single 

[pk · Accepted solution]

@Anonymous , thankyou for the extra effort in answering the questions again.

1. To be treated as a Resident Alien  ( and being able to file form 1040 ), one has to pass the substantial Presence Test.    Counting all the days  present the current year ( 2021 ) plus 1/3 rd the days in the prior year ( 2020) plus  11/6th. the days in the second prior year ( 2019 ), you must meet or exceed 183 days. In your particular case  your total days present towards the test would be approx 100 days , far short of the 183 days required. Thus you would be filing as a Non-Resident Alien, paying US taxes  ONLY on the income earned in the USA from the date of entry i.e. for the months  of Nov and Dec of 2021.  You file your federal return using form 1040-NR (limited to Itemized deduction and a few other items).  Generally this tends to result in higher taxes  but protects you from any earnings  received overseas that was in addition to the  US sourced income.  Since TurboTax does not support the 1040-NR series  forms and schedules, you would have to use the services of something like SprinTax or a tax professional familiar with Non-Resident filing.   Another option is to download  the forms from IRS.gov  ( these fillable .pdf ) and fill them out  and file by mail.

2. Another option  possible is to file as a Resident for Tax purposes:  (a) you need  to have been in the USA in 2021 for at least 30 days; (b) you will pass the Substantial Presence  Test in 2022; (c)  request IRS to be considered as Resident for Tax purposes  via a letter signed by you.   In this case your world earnings  for the 2021 are taxed by the USA and any taxes paid   (on the Non-US sourced  income)  is eligible for  foreign tax credit since both your home country and the USA is taxing the same foreign income.   When you form 1040, you are taxed as a US person i.e. standard deduction and many of credits etc. are all available to you.  This also means that you can use TurboTax   to prepare the return even though you may have to file by mail because of the  attached & signed/dated request   ( mentioned  above ). 

Note #1  Option #2  above needs careful analysis because depending on the exact facts and circumstances , it may yield  a tax advantage as compared to filing a form 1040-NR  ( including the preparation fess  ).

Note #2   For option #2, even though you are asking to be considered a Resident for tax purposes for the year 2021, the start of the year ------ is the first day you were present in the tax year ( and so could be a short year ) ;  world earnings  for the  tax year therefore  includes all income  from this first day till the end of the year.

I hope this gives you enough information to work through the options and decide which way you want to proceed.

Is there more I can do for you ?

pk