Dear Friends,
As an international student, which form do I need to file????
1. When I filed through 1040A ---I will get around 1700 refund
2. When I field through 1040NR---I have to pay around 450

1040NR is the one you should file as an international person.

Try 1040NR EZ which is easy one to fill and see what comes up with and compare with ur previous 450.

YES:
But some of my friends who are also either in F1 or OPT are filing using turbotax (1040A) and getting some refund. So does it make any problem in the immigration status if I file 1040A?

hey dimehot, when u don't know abut 1040 NR EZ don't give comment.

So if you file 1040NR EZ you can't file for greencard?? HA HA , Better check what it is and when you can file 1040 NR EZ !!

Hey Guys,
Do not write wrong comment if you are not sure about that
Look some facts about 1040 NR-EZ
Can I Use Form1040NR-EZ?

You can use Form 1040NR-EZ instead of Form 1040NR if all 11 of the following apply.

Note.

Residents of India who were students or business apprentices may be able to take the standard deduction instead of the itemized deduction for state and local income taxes. See the instructions for line 11 on page 6.

You do not claim any dependents.

You cannot be claimed as a dependent on another person's U.S. tax return (such as your parent's return).

Your only U.S. source income was from wages, salaries, tips, taxable refunds of state and local income taxes, and scholarship or fellowship grants.

Note.

If you had taxable interest or dividend income, you cannot use this form.

Your taxable income (line 14 of Form 1040NR-EZ) is less than $100,000.

The only adjustments to income you can claim are the exclusion for scholarship and fellowship grants or the student loan interest deduction.

You do not claim any tax credits.

If you were married, you do not claim an exemption for your spouse.

The only itemized deduction you can claim is for state and local income taxes.

This is not an “expatriation return.” See the Instructions for Form 1040NR for more information.

The only taxes you owe are:

The tax from the Tax Table on pages 12 through 20.

Unreported social security and Medicare tax from Forms 4137 or 8919.

You do not claim a credit for excess social security and tier 1 RRTA tax withheld.

I filed 1040 NR-EZ (international student with no dependents+ other crieteria)...I'm positive that this is the right form to file.

ani if you are a international student won't it apply to you??

do u have more than 100,000 as taxable income during ur college study

There is only one form that F1 (including OPT) should file for tax return that is 1040 NR EZ. After spending 5 years in the US, you can file 1040.

You can not claim a dependent (even if you are married) or take standard deduction in your tax return as a F1 student. All you can deduct is state tax and exemption. Anybody filing any other form would be in big time trouble if you are selected for tax audit. However, the chances of being selected for tax audit is negligible.

If you use Turbo Tax and online tax, you will generally be filing as a US resident that is not acceptable as per US tax regulation. However, the chances of getting caught is negligible. Therefore, many students opt to file as a US resident that result in more tax refunds.

Good luck guys but be safe. I just wanted to share all these just to let those individuals know who really wanted to comply with the tax regulation.

Purush,
I will not say the comments you posted is totally wrong, but it is mis leading to some extent about the residency. You said "after 5 years in the US, you can file 1040" that’s not right. There is a substantial presence test clause in Publication no 519, which goes like this. For more information refer Publication 519, or go to site www.irs.gov
if you want the direct link here it goes http://www.irs.gov/publications/p519/ch01.html

Substantial Present Test.

You will be considered a U.S. resident for tax purposes if you meet the substantial presence test for calendar year 2007. To meet this test, you must be physically present in the United States on at least:

31 days during 2007, and

183 days during the 3-year period that includes 2007, 2006, and 2005, counting:

All the days you were present in 2007, and

â…“ of the days you were present in 2006, and

â…™ of the days you were present in 2005.

Example.

You were physically present in the United States on 120 days in each of the years 2005, 2006, and 2007. To determine if you meet the substantial presence test for 2007, count the full 120 days of presence in 2007, 40 days in 2006 (â…“ of 120), and 20 days in 2005 (â…™ of 120). Because the total for the 3-year period is 180 days, you are not considered a resident under the substantial presence test for 2007.

The term United States includes the following areas.

All 50 states and the District of Columbia.

The territorial waters of the United States.

The seabed and subsoil of those submarine areas that are adjacent to U.S. territorial waters and over which the United States has exclusive rights under international law to explore and exploit natural resources.

The term does not include U.S. possessions and territories or U.S. airspace.

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If you have been in US for 5 years or more(does not matter which visa) you can file 1040. I did not went throught the whole document but when I called IRS at Philly they said in simple language "if you are here for 5 years or more you are consider US resident for tax purpose and thus you should file the same filing as US citizen." 

Sharp,

Substential precense test applies only if you are resident for a part of the year. For example, if you are in F1 from Jan to Sept and in H1 visa from October to December, you are a part year resident. In that case, substential presence test can be applied. You can wait until the first week of June to qualify for this to file the tax return so that you can file as a US resident. You have to worry about this if it happens before you are here for less then 5 yrs.

This thing is kind of tricky that is why I knowingly omitted from the conversation. After 5 years, you don't really have to worry about what visa you are at, you can file as a US resident. This is a right statement. Jonny is right in his posting. If you read through the publication 519, you will know it.

What if I file Turbo for couple of years and then start filing CYNTAX?

Some of my friends (F1 Status) filled through turbo and got refund back . So, what happens if I file through turbo (1040A). I am F1 in OPT.

Last year, my friend file his tax 1040A from turbotax and this year when he went to H&R blcok to file his tax, they told he should file his last year tax 1040NR and he is doing his last year tax too this year.

After reading all , it's more confused and making more clear indeed :) . I used one of the software and it directed me to 1040A where I used as "resident alien". Now I realized that I am not eligible for that and it is wrong filing. All is gone, past is past.

Now I need solution.

How do I know that my filing is on right track or on pending due to above mentioned error? Does IRS assess our tax or not? Do they calculate the tax no matter what we mentioned in the filing?

Thanks.

There is no confusion, as I said above, you file 1040 NR EZ. There is a software available to fill the tax form for F1 student too but it will create a filled out form 1040 NR EZ. You have to take a print out and mail the form. I forgot the name of the software. May be there are other softwares too.  If you are using any other software, you will probably using other forms that you are not supposed to use. No other form will work for F1 not even 1040 NR.

If you use a software, make sure that software is designed for F1 student and that should be able to generate form 1040 NR EZ. Form 1040 NR EZ can not be filed online. However, if you have already spent 5 yrs in the US even if as a student, you can use 1040. If you are transioning from OPT to H1, you can wait until the first week June of the follwoing year (to meet the substential precense test) to file the tax and file as a US resident. If you want to wait until June, you have to file a form for extension within the 15 th of April.

There are so many people who say, my friends did this and that. You can keep on saying that but that does not change the tax regulation. Usually, IRS is not after small money, that's is why usually no one is caught. One one can stop you the way you want to file your tax return.

Hope this helps.

THis is on the instructions for Form 1040 NR-EZ (www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i1040nre.pdf)

Substantial Present Test.

You will be considered a U.S. resident for tax purposes if you meet the substantial presence test for calendar year 2008. To meet this test, you must be physically present in the United States on at least:

1.) 31 days during 2008,

and

2.) 183 days during the 3-year period that includes 2008, 2007, and 2006, counting

All the days you were present in 2008, and

â…“ of the days you were present in 2007, and

â…™ of the days you were present in 2006

guys it is as simple as this...if you are in US for more than 5 years then you can file 1040...if not then as an international student you are suppose to file 1040NR-EZ. However I know some people file 1040 even though they have been in US for less than 5 yrs just to get more refund...well if u wanna take that risk it is your choice but if u get caught in Tax-audit then you will need to refile 1040NR-EZ and also pay some fine...

also if u wanna apply for greencard later then you should not take risk by filing 1040 if you don;t qualify for it.. ... instead you should file what you are suppose to file legally....my advice is to play it safe and not think about the money you will get now...but think about your future...prevention is better than cure..: -)

Intelligence Choice,

You don't know when to apply the substential presence test. It is applied if you are present in the US as a resident not as a student. Even if you are present in the US physically, you are not considered present as a resident. That is why you can not apply it if you are just in F1. That is why I have explained above that if you are in OPT and H1 in a year, then you can consider yourself for substential precense test. OR if you are a DV holder and present in the US for a part of a year, you can also be subject to substential presence test.

You are just reading and quoting a paragraph of a big document and interpreting in your favor. Read the publication 519 in its entirty and you will know. Go and talk to your international director, he/she will suggest you to file 1040 NR EZ too.

Anushka1 you are so right. But people here are so disoriented when it comes to tax.