Taxes and the IRS

All resident and non-residents are required to complete a tax return if you were present in the U.S. during the tax year, whether or not you earned income.  The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the U.S. government agency that collects taxes. As a nonresident F-1 student, you may need to file forms each year with the IRS, even if you earned no income. It is your individual responsibility to understand and meet your tax obligations. Generally, tax returns are due every April 15th based on earnings from the previous year, though there are exceptions to this deadline. The deadline this year is April 15, 2024.

In addition to filing federal taxes with the IRS, you must also file an Oregon tax return, Form OR-40-N, for non-resident aliens. The deadline to file your Oregon taxes is also April 15, 2024.

While employers do deduct money from your paycheck throughout the year and send it to the IRS, it may not equal the exact amount owed at the end of the year. If too much was deducted, you may be eligible for a refund. Or, perhaps not enough was deducted, and you will owe more. Salary from a job is not the only kind of earning taxed; many other types of income are taxable, such as interest and dividend earnings.

U.S. tax laws can be complex and confusing–we all get headaches during tax season–and the laws that apply to non-resident aliens/international students are not the same as those that apply to U.S. citizens. These resources should help you to better understand your tax obligation, to learn what and where to research, and to successfully submit your tax forms.

This page is meant to be a general introduction. We in ISS are not tax professionals, so this cannot be considered legal tax advice. You are advised to review the information from the IRS specifically addressed to foreign students and scholars.

Please note: Advisers in International Student Services Office and the Multicultural Center are not able to give tax advice about individual cases as we are not tax professionals.  We encourage you to seek advice from the Internal Revenue Service, the Oregon Department of Revenue, a qualified tax professional, or use third-party tax services from companies like Sprintax.

Though the International Student Services office cannot endorse any products, Sprintax comes highly recommended by other international student services office around the country. Approved by the IRS for federal e-filing, Sprintax is an online for-fee service that specializes in non-resident tax preparation and is also a great resource for international students. They charge a fee for their services, but the information and resource they offer are free, accessible, and easy to understand on Sprintax.com blog.

Before You File: Documents to Gather

Before you begin the filing process, be sure you have all the necessary information with you. These documents are sometimes referred to as ‘income statements.’ If you did not have any U.S. source income, then you will not receive the following documents and will only need to file Form 8843. If you had U.S. source income, you will receive one or more forms indicating the type, source, and amount of income received.

• Form W-2 Wage and Tax Statement: W-2 forms are mailed to current and former employees. This form shows how much you earned last year and how much was taken out for taxes. You will only receive this form if you have been employed. If you were employed by EOU, you can also find this form in your Mountie Hub. The form is issued no later than January 31 each year for the prior tax year.
• Form 1042-S: The 1042-S form will only be given to nonresident alien students who have received scholarship or fellowship money that exceeds tuition and related fee charges. You will not receive a copy of the 1042-S form if you only have a tuition waiver on your account and do not receive any checks. 1042-S forms will be issued by EOU Payroll Office no later than March 15. If you expect to receive a 1042-S form, wait until it is issued before filing your tax return.
• Valid Passport
• I-20 (F-1 status)
• Social Security Number (SSN) or Individual Tax Identification Number (ITIN). The ITIN is issued by the IRS to individuals not eligible for a SSN who have tax filing requirements or who wish to file for a tax refund.
• Address information (current U.S. address and foreign address)
• U.S. entry and exit dates for current and past visits to U.S. (you can find this information on your I-94; to access & download your most recent I-94, visit the U.S. Customs and Border Protection I-94 website)
• Academic institution or host sponsor information (name, address, phone)
  • Eastern Oregon University, One University Blvd., La Grande OR 97850
  • (541) 962-3672
• Scholarship/fellowship grant letter (if any)
• A copy of last year’s federal income tax return, if one was filed for the previous year

Determine if you’ll be filing as a Resident or Nonresident for Tax Purposes

In legal terms, noncitizens of the U.S. are called “aliens.” You may be in F-1 nonimmigrant status and still be considered a resident for tax purposes. There are three types of aliens for tax purposes only and are not related to your immigration status:

• Resident for tax purposes: To be considered a resident for tax purposes, you must meet the substantial presence test or green card test for the calendar year.
• Non-resident for tax purposes: You are considered a non-resident for tax purposes if you have not passed the substantial presence or green card test and are not a U.S. citizen or national
• Dual residency: A dual-status alien is any individual who is treated as a non-resident for part of the year and resident for the remainder of the year. It usually arises in the first or last years of residency.

Generally speaking, if you are not a U.S. citizen, you are considered a nonresident of the United States for tax purposes unless you meet one of two tests: green card test or the substantial presence test. International students who are in the U.S. on an F-1 visa are considered nonresident alien for tax purposes for the first five calendar years of their stay in the United States.

Even if you did not earn income during your time in the U.S. as a non-resident, you must still file Form 8843 before the tax deadline.

Substantial Presence Test

The IRS uses the substantial presence test to determine whether an individual who is not a U.S. citizen or a U.S. permanent resident should be taxed as a resident or nonresident alien for a specific year. The main difference is that U.S. residents are taxed on their worldwide income while nonresident aliens have to report only their U.S.-sourced income. Nonresident aliens generally meet the substantial presence test if they have spent more than 183 days in the U.S. within the last three years. Having substantial presence in the U.S. generally means you will be considered a resident alien for tax purposes.

Exempt Individual

Any person who is temporarily exempt from the substantial presence test. Time spent in this category does not count toward the 183 days in the U.S. that normally will convert a nonresident alien into resident alien for tax purposes. F-1 students maintaining status are exempt from the substantial presence test for 5 years.

Even if you pass the substantial presence test, you might still be considered a nonresident for tax purposes if you qualify for the The Closer Connection Exception to the Substantial Presence Test for Foreign Students.

Tax Year

The tax year is from January 1 to December 31 of any given year. You file your tax return in April of the following year. This year’s deadline to file taxes is April 15, 2024.

TAX Forms

As a non-resident, there are a number of key tax forms and documents you’ll need to know about in order to file your taxes. Your individual situation determines which form(s) to file. This year, all forms come with instructions and are due by April 15, 2024. Please note: if you did not receive any income you are only required to file Form 8843 to declare your exempt status for the previous year. The deadline to submit Form 8843 this year is June 17, 2024.

When you’re filling out any IRS form, please make sure you fill in the form using your name exactly as it appears in your passport.

• Form 8843: This form is not a U.S. income tax return. It’s an informational statement required by the IRS for non-residents for tax purposes. This form is used by nonresidents who wish to exclude days present in the United States for the purposes of the substantial presence test, either because they were an exempt individual or they were unable to leave the U.S. due to illness. If you are a non-resident for tax purposes, and have NO U.S. source income in 2023 you only need to complete Form 8843 to fulfill your federal tax obligation.
  • Instructions on completing the Form 8843 can be found here
  • Form 8843 can be found here
• Form 1040-NR: This is the federal tax return that nonresidents should file to account for the income earned in the previous tax year. One of the more common mistakes non-residents make is filing their taxes as a resident using Form 1040 or Form 1040EZ.
  • More information and instructions can be found here
  • Form 1040-NR can be found here
• Form W-8BEN: This form is used if you are claiming a tax treaty. The U.S. has tax treaties with a number of foreign countries. Under these treaties, residents (not necessarily citizens) of foreign countries are taxed at a reduced rate, or are exempt from U.S. taxes on certain items of income they receive from sources within the United States. These reduced rates and exemptions vary among countries and specific items of income. To find out if you are eligible to claim a tax treaty, please review the information provided on the IRS website, “United States income tax treaties – A to Z”.
  • Instructions on completing Form W-8BEN can be found here
  • Form W-8BEN can be found here
• Form 8233: This form is used if you are a non-resident alien for U.S. tax purposes and are eligible for a tax treaty benefit. When filing Form 8233, you must also submit the proper treaty attachment letter to claim the tax exemption benefit.
  • Instructions on completing Form 8233 can be found here
  • Form 8233 can be found here
• Form OR-40-N: All Oregon non-residents who earned income in 2023, regardless of the amount, must file Form OR-40-N. Even if you had no income or received a W-2 with federal income tax withheld, you might need to file to claim a refund for state taxes withheld. The deadline to file your Oregon taxes is also April 15, 2024.
  • Instructions on completing Form OR-40-N can be found here
  • Form OR-40-N can be found here

Submitting your return(s)

E-file: There are many different third-party companies that offer free or for-fee tax preparation services. If you use an online tax preparation service such as Sprintax, you will be able to file your tax return(s) digitally.

Print, Sign, and Mail: If you are preparing your forms or fill out the online forms yourself, you must print, sign, and date all the forms, attach the appropriate copies of your income statements and carefully follow the instructions given to mail them to the IRS. If you owe money, make your check payable to the United States Treasury.

Filing Tips

• Make photocopies of your documents for your records. Always keep a copy of your annual tax filing, just in case our return gets reviewed and there is a problem or if the IRS audits you in the future.
• Be careful to complete the correct form; it is easy to mix up 1040-NR with the 1040, for instance.
• Sign and date all forms, and be sure to mail them before the stated deadline.
• IRS.gov has a list of tax companies that you can use to assist you in filing. 
• If it’s determined that you are due a refund for federal and state income tax purposes, it will likely take some time for agencies to process your refund. It is not uncommon to have to wait several weeks (sometimes 16 to 20 weeks) before receiving your refund or a notice. You can check the status of your return at the IRS’s website.

Last updated March 26, 2024