International Students

Many international students mistakenly believe that if they have no income, they don’t need to file taxes. This is a common misconception!  

• Even if you had no U.S. income, if you were physically present in the U.S. on an F-1 or J-1 visa and you were a non-resident alien for the tax year, you need to file Form 8843 (used to exempt you from counting days for the “Substantial Presence Test”). If you have family members on F-2/J-2 visas living with you in the U.S., you also need to file a separate Form 8843 for each family member. You can find Form 8843 online, print it, complete and sign it, and then mail it to the following address: Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service Center, Austin TX 73301-0215.  
• If you received any U.S. source income (e.g., scholarships, on-campus employment wages), you may need to file a tax return and may be eligible for a refund or required to pay taxes. Please refer to Section 2: What Documents Do You Need? to ensure you have all necessary paperwork prepared. 

This section is intended for international students who have U.S. source income. 

Before filing your taxes, be sure to gather your Passport, Form W-2, Form 1042-S, Form 1099 Series (bank interest only taxable for Resident Aliens), Form 1098-T (for Resident Aliens). You will then use these gathered documents to prepare your tax returns.  

Use the following detailed table to ensure you submit all the forms required for your filing status.

Your tax residency status determines which forms you need to file. To find out if you are a Nonresident Alien or a Resident Alien for tax purposes, you can use this quick screening tool: Tax Residency Status Wizard, or refer to the table and definitions provided below

* Substantial Presence Test is one of two tests used by the IRS to determine if a non-U.S. citizen is a resident alien for federal tax purposes. To meet this test for 2025, you must be physically present in the U.S. on at least: 1)31 days during 2025, and 2)183 days during the 3-year period (All the days you were present in 2025 + 1/3 of the days you were present in 2024 + 1/6 of the days you were present in 2023) 

** Most F-1 and J-1 visa holders are classified as exempt individuals. It means you are exempt from counting your days of presence for the Substantial Presence Test for a specific period of time. Even if you are physically present in the U.S. for many days, you remain a nonresident alien for tax purposes. 

*** For tax purposes, a calendar year is any year in which you are present in the U.S. for any portion of the year. It is used to measure your time as an exempt individual. For example, an F-1 student who arrived on December 31, 2024, would have used up two (2024 and 2025) of their five exempt years by the end of 2025, even though they were only physically present for a little over a year. 

Note: Please be aware that this table provides only a general overview and covers the most common and straightforward visa scenarios. If you previously held one of the visas listed above (F-1, J-1, H-1B) and now possess a different visa status, your tax situation may be more complex. In such cases, it is strongly recommended that you consult with a VITA volunteer or a tax professional, or refer to Publication 4011, pages 6–10, for detailed guidance.