Filing Taxes for International Students

1. Filing Taxes for International Students

2. What forms do I need to fill out? • Non-resident aliens who earned wages that are less than the amount of one personal exemption ($3,650 for 2010) are no longer required to file a tax return but they must still file Form 8843 for themselves and any spouse and/or dependents in F-2 or J-2 status • You must file Form 1040NR-EZ or 1040NR in addition to Form 8843 if you had U.S. earned income in excess of $3,650, had wages or scholarship income exempt by treaty, had taxable scholarship income or are due a refund of taxes

3. Form 8843 Statement for Exempt Individuals and Individuals With a Medical Condition All International Students must file this form each year, regardless of earning status.

4. Form 8843

5. Your first name and initial Last name First Name Middle Initial Last Name (Not your Vassar 999 number) Your U.S. taxpayer identification number, if any Social Security Number

6. If you are filing the 8843 with the 1040 NR-EZ, you must leave the address sections blank.

7. Part 1 Lines 1a and b The date you first entered the US is stamped on your passport or I-20/DS-2019.

8. Line 2 Enter your country of citizenship.

9. Lines 3a and b 3a: Enter the name of the country that issued your passport. b: Enter your passport number here.

10. Lines 4a and b • Line 4a: Count as accurately as you can the days that you were in the U.S. in 2008, 2009, and 2010 and enter the numbers here. • Here are some numbers to help: • Dates and amounts of days that school was in session in 2008: Spring semester ‘08: January 24 – May 20 (118 days) Fall semester ‘08: September 2 – December 20 (110 days) • Dates and amounts of days that school was in session in 2009: Spring Semester’09: January 21 – May 20 (120 days) Fall semester ‘09: August 31 – December 18 (110 days) • Dates and amounts of days that school was in session in 2010: Spring Semester’10: January 20 – May 18 (118 days) Fall semester ‘10: August 30 – December 17 (110 days) Line 4b: Enter here the number of days that you were present in the U. S. in 2010 in F or J status. In most cases, this will be the same as the total number of days you were present in the U.S. in 2010.

11. Skip Part II

12. Part III

13. Line 9 Vassar College, 124 Raymond Ave, Poughkeepsie, NY 12604; (845) 437-7000 • Write: “Vassar College, 124 Raymond Ave, Poughkeepsie, NY 12604; (845) 437-7000”

14. Line 10 • Write here the name, address and phone number of either your department chairperson or your school dean. • If you are here as a student, write “D.B. Brown, Dean of Students, same as line 9.” • If you are a language fellow, write “Jon Chenette, Dean of Faculty, same as line 9.”

15. Line 11 Indicate the visa type(s) that you used in the U.S. for the years requested. Leave blank any years you were not here on an F or J visa.

16. Line 12 • If you can answer yes to this question and you wish to continue to be considered a nonresident alien for tax purposes, please see us. • Students in the US more than five years must, in most cases, be considered resident taxpayers. Students who are resident taxpayers usually pay less income tax but are subject to social security and Medicare taxes on most earned income.

17. Lines 13 and 14 2010 • Answer no, unless you or someone on your behalf filed a labor certification application, a petition for permanent residence, an immigrant visa application, or an application for adjustment of status during 2010. • If you entered the U.S. permanent residence (DV) lottery but did not win, you should also answer no. • Did you win the Megamillions Lottery in 2010? Still no 

18. Stop Here You do not have to sign the form if you will be completing Form 1040 NR-EZ. You do not have to fill out anything on Page 2 of Form 8843. Simply attach your Form 8843 to your Form 1040 NR-EZ. If you did not have to complete FORM 1040 NR-EZ, you do have to sign and date the form as well as add your address information on the first page. You mail the form to: Department of the Treasury Internal Revenue Service Center Austin, TX 73301-0215

19. Who fills out the 1040 NR EZ? You do … if: • You had wages or scholarship income exempt by treaty; and/or • You had U.S. earned income in 2010 in excess of $3,650; and/or • You had taxable scholarship income; and/or • You are due a refund of taxes

20. Form 1040 NR-EZ

21. What you will need: • A W-2 form. This is mailed out by Payroll to students at the beginning of February, and accessible online. • A 1042-S form. This is mailed out by the Controller’s Office to students by the end of March. • Not all students receive a 1042-S. Did you get one? • A 1099-R form. This form comes from Student Accounts. • Very few students receive a 1099-R.

22. Did you receive Form 1042-S? Don’t know/remember? Ask! I have copies of all forms received by Vassar students.

23. How to Complete the 1040 NR-EZ… You might want to use pencil to start.

24. Name, Address, etc.

25. Your first name and initial Last name First Name Middle Initial Last Name

26. Identification number (see page 4)‏ Social Security Number Do NOT put your Vassar ID Number

27. Present home address (number, street, and apt. no., or rural route). If a P.O. box, see page 4 124 Raymond Avenue Box **** City, town or post office, state, and ZIP code. If a foreign address, see page 4. Poughkeepsie, NY 12604 United States Country • Use your current U.S. address unless you plan to leave the U.S. shortly (use your foreign address in this case).

29. We will now discuss, line by line, how to calculate your… Adjusted Gross Income

30. Line 3 3 Wages, salaries, tips, etc. Attach Form(s) W-2 (see page 4) . . . . . . . . . . AMOUNT FROM BOX 1 ON W-2 Write the total amount of your wages displayed in Box 1 on your W-2 form. Do not enter amounts exempted by tax treaties. (bank interest is NOT taxable income.)

31. Line 4 Leave this line blank unless you received a refund in 2010 of state or city income taxes you paid in 2009 or a previous year (reported on Form 1099-G). If you are a student from India and took the standard deduction last year, do not put anything here even if you received a refund of state taxes.

32. Line 5 If you received a non-service scholarship in 2010, enter the amount here. This information is provided in Box 2 on the 1042-S form, which not all students receive. Note: If the scholarship/fellowship is exempted by tax treaty, DO NOT enter the amount here. Enter treaty exempt amounts on line 6.

33. Line 5 If you are from a tax treaty country (see treaty lists), combine the amount of wages and scholarships shown on your W-2 & 1042-S, but not greater than the maximum limit shown on the treaty lists, and enter this amount on line 6.

34. Line 5 Example of what to do if there’s a treaty: You are from Pandora, and have wages of $6,000 and a 1042-S of $1,000. • Tax treaty is $5,000 for wages and no limit for scholarship. • Line 3 is “$1,000,” Line 5 is “0,” and Line 6 is $6,000.

35. Line 5 Be sure to attach a copy of your Form 1042-S when you submit the 1040 NR-EZ. IRS will sometimes send your tax returns back to you with a request for more detailed information about your scholarship. To avoid this possibility, you may want to attach a scholarship award letter from Vassar or another scholarship granting organization (in addition to Form 1042-S). If you are unclear whether you should have gotten a 1042-S form, ask us!

36. Line 6 Leave this line blank unless you are entitled to a tax treaty benefit. We have tax treaty country lists.

37. Line 7 LINE 3+LINE 4+LINE 5 Add the amounts on Lines 3, 4, and 5 and write the sum on Line 7.

38. Line 8 • Only fill this out if you have an amount in Line 5. • If you reported non-service scholarship on Line 5 you should enter here the portion of your scholarship that you spent on tuition, mandatory fees and “course-related materials.” * Course-related materials include books, photocopying, and stationery supplies that you purchased for courses that you took at Vassar. • If you deduct course-related materials it is a good idea to attach either your receipts or a statement to your tax return itemizing these expenses (e.g. Books: $740; Photocopying: $125; etc.).

39. Line 9 • If you paid any interest in 2010 on a student loan, you can check page 5 of the IRS instructions for the 1040 NR-EZ to determine if you can deduct a portion here. • Most students will leave this line blank.

40. Line 10 • Subtract any amount on lines 8 and 9 from the amount on Line 7 and write the remainder here. • This amount, your “adjusted gross income,” is your income before taking the tax-reducing exemptions and deductions that you are entitled to.

41. We will now discuss, line by line, how to calculate your… Taxable Income

42. Line 11 • On this line, you are adding together all of the state and city (or local) taxes you paid in 2010. • The state taxes you paid are reported in Box 17 on your W-2. The city taxes that you paid are reported in Box 19 on your W-2 • Add these amounts together and place the total on line 11 • This number may be 0.

43. Line 12 LINE 10 – LINE 11 • Subtract the amount of your state and city taxes on Line 11 from your adjusted gross income on Line 10 and write the remainder here.

44. Line 13 • Write $3650. This is the amount of the “personal exemption” for 2010. • Exception: Write $5700 if you are a citizen of India. This is the amount of your “personal exemption” for 2010. • You do not have to pay U.S. income tax on the portion of your income covered by the personal exemption.

45. Line 14 • Subtract the amount on Line 13 from the amount on Line 12. • Write “0” for any negative numbers. • This is your taxable income, the portion of your total income that is subject to U.S. income tax.

46. We will now discuss, line by line, how to calculate your... Total Tax and Total Payments

47. Line 15 • Consult the 2010 Tax Table to determine your U.S. income tax. • Find the row in the Tax Table that includes your taxable income (the amount on Line 14). • Read your tax from the “Single” column and write the amount on Line 15.

48. Line 16 • Line 16 should be left blank. It will not apply to students working at Vassar.

49. Line 17 • Repeat the amount on Line 17 that you wrote on Line 15.

50. Line 18 • Enter here the total amount of federal (U. S.) income tax that your employer(s) withheld from you in 2010. • These amounts are reported to you in Box 2 of Form W-2, and in Box (g) of Form 1042-S. • Do not include here the state and city income taxes withheld from you.