Tax Help Guide for Foreign Students

No. Remember to take everything with you after you leave the tax site.

No, but you should complete the IRS Form IRS Form 8843 (PDF)< in order to establish your non-residency with the IRS by telling the IRS how many days you were present in the US as a non-resident, your visa / immigration status, etc.

It depends on the complexity of your specific tax situation. On average, it will take 1-1.5 hours to prepare a tax return.

Yes. To complete your tax return, please come prepared with all the information on the IRS Form 13614-NR intake sheet(PDF), including date first entered the U.S., visa status, the exact number of days present in the U.S. each year, and school information.

Yes, international students can e-file their federal and state tax returns. However, if you need to mail it, it will generally take the IRS and CA Franchise Tax Board 4 to 6 weeks to process your tax return from the time you mail it. If you opted for direct deposit of your refund, it will be another week after that to see it appear in your bank account.

You’ll have to prepare an amendment (IRS Form 1040X)(PDF) of your original tax return! The tax sites generally only process amendments AFTER the tax deadline of April 15th though and tax sites don’t generally do amended returns if you didn’t do the original return with them. Amendments in general are by appointment only since they often take several hours to prepare. The site would will need to see a copy of your incorrect return and all of your tax documents. Note that you may end up owing some money back to the IRS if you took erroneously took education credits on the IRS 1040 federal return AND/OR the renters credit on the CA 540 state return. The amendment must be mailed and only after the incorrect return has been processed. Note that it generally takes the IRS roughly 8-12 weeks to process an amendment.

IF YOU HAD SOCIAL SECURITY OR MEDICARE TAXES WITHHELD from your paycheck (this should be easy to tell by looking at Boxes 3, 4, 5 and 6 of your W-2’s), first try to contact your employer to get your money back (before you get your taxes done) so that by the time you get to your tax site, they will know if you need to file an IRS Form 843(PDF).

If you’re unsuccessful in getting your employer to get you a reimbursement, you can use our 843 PACKET GUIDE (which highlights the instructions in IRS PUB. 4011 – PDF PAGE 18 and IRS PUB. 519 – CHAPTER 8). To summarize:

Wait 6 weeks after filing your tax return.

Attach the following documents:

• Form W-2
• Copy of your Form 1040NR (or Form 1040NR-EZ)
• Copy of visa
• Completed IRS FORM 8316 (statement that refund could not be obtained)
• Other documents as needed (e.g. pay stubs, I-797, I-94, I-20, DS-2019, EAD, etc.).

Mail the Form 843 along with supporting documentation to the IRS, per the “REFUND OF TAXES WITHHELD IN ERROR” SECTION IN PUB. 519 Internal Revenue Service, Department of the Treasury, Ogden, UT 84201-0038

No unfortunately -- you can’t do non-resident tax returns using the IRS Direct File tool this year (2024). The IRS is only piloting their new tool with a limited population. It’s possible they will continue to expand the tool’s capabilities in future years. The tool looks promising!