All internationals claiming a tax status of “Nonresident Alien” are required to file Form 8843, it is for use of alien individuals only. Included in this group are most internationals in F-1 or J-1 status, and some scholars who began their H-1B previous year. In addition, all Nonresident Aliens who receive any sort of income—including tuition reductions, scholarships, fellowships, grants, stipends, salaries, wages, interest, dividends etc. from US sources are also required to file tax returns with federal, state, and local governments.

When filing tax returns a Nonresident Alien does all three of the following:

  1. Reports all US-source income for the entire previous year,
  2. Calculates how much tax is owed on that income,
  3. If necessary, pays difference in amount owed or requests a refund. (Most internationals are owed money.)

Form 1040NR (NR-EZ) must be filed on or before tax Filing Deadline of April 15th .  Supplemental Form 8843 must be attached. This form must be filed by all international students and scholars for tax purposes regardless of income.  If you are filing Form 8843 by itself, without 1042NR, it must be filed on or before June 15 th.

Filing federal income tax forms is the personal responsibility of each international student and a scholar. Staff members of Business Office and International Programs at Trinity University are not trained as IRS Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) volunteers and therefore are not able to provide assistance through seminars and individual appointments.

Resources to help you:

  1. Internal Revenue Service (IRS), United States Department of the Treasury:http://www.irs.gov/
  2. Guide for Nonresident Aliens preparing federal income tax returns, provided by the University of Texas at Austin, International Office www.utexas.edu/international/taxes/
  3. IS Taxes – International Student Taxes www.istaxes.com.  IS Taxes can help you with all the forms you may need to submit as an international student. Help on the shorter forms costs $9.99 while help with the 1040 NR (NR-EZ) costs $19.99.

 Other Helpful information:

  1. All Federal Income Tax forms, instructions and publications may be downloaded from the IRS website: www.irs.gov
  2. Most commonly used publications are: Publication 17, your Federal Income Tax, Publication 519, U.S. Tax Guide for Aliens, and Publication 901, U.S. Tax Treaties
  3. To check on a refund, call 210-516-2000 or toll free number 1-800-829-4477
  4. For Non-resident aliens tax purposes problem resolutions, call 1-215-516-2000
  5. To request a replacement Trinity tax forms, contact Payroll Office for W-2/1042-S/1098T.
  6. If you do not already have a SSN or ITIN (still pending), apply for one immediately. It can take six weeks or more to get a SSN or ITIN.
  7. If your visa status has changed in the past year, or you believe you have complicated tax issues, please consult the Internal Revenue Service or a qualified tax professional.
  8. Suggestions: Be sure to make a photocopy of your Form 8843 for your records before mailing it to the IRS.  It is often necessary to refer to a previous year's tax return or to produce evidence that you submitted a tax return for a previous year. You should keep copies of your tax returns for at least seven years.
  9. Mail your completed forms to: Internal Revenue Service Center, Philadelphia, PA 19255

If you have any questions about this notice, please contact Andrea Spanley, Business Office at ext. 7332, Inessa Stepanenko, International Programs at ext. 7505, Payroll office at ext. 7302, Student Accounts at ext. 7396.