Compliance

Who must file tax forms?

Even if you did not earn any income, if you were physically in the US on F or J status anytime in a calendar year (between 1 January – 31 December), you're obligated to file one tax Form 8843 with the IRS if you are a tax non-resident (the Internal Revenue Service, or ‘IRS’, are the US tax authorities). Tax residency is complicated, so students are invited to attend a tax workshop as well as seek help from our Non-Resident VITA site in the month of March each year.

Meanwhile, if you earned more than $0 of taxable US source income (outside of bank interest), you also will likely need to file a federal tax return with the IRS. If you worked in a state with income tax, you also will need to file a state tax return.

Tax Filing Deadline

The US income tax filing deadline is on or around April 15th each year for the prior tax year.