All international students, faculty, and staff with F-1 or J-1 immigration statuses are required to complete some sort of non-resident tax forms each year they are in the United States. And since tax compliance requirements always refer to the previous year, even if you have completed your time in the US and returned to your country, you are still required to complete a US tax form for the last year you were in the US.

 

Sprintax Tax Software

On behalf of MICA, the Office of International Education has teamed with the company Sprintax to provide MICA’s F-1 and J-1 international students (including those on OPT and STEM OPT), as well as J-1 international faculty and staff access to software to complete their tax requirements.

You should receive information from the Office of International Education about how to access the Sprintax software. If you have not received information about completing your international taxes by the beginning of February 2024, contact the Office of International Education at internationaleducation@mica.edu.

 

Tax Season

The time to complete your tax forms is from February to mid-April each year. US tax compliance always refers back to the previous year. So, for 2024, the tax season begins in February and ends around mid April and covers the year January 1, 2024 – December 31, 2024. The tax filing deadline is April 15, 2025.

 

When Am I No Longer a Nonresident for Tax Purposes?

Please be aware that F-1 and J-1 students are nonresidents for the first 5 years they are in the US in F-1 or J-1 status. J-1 professors or researchers are nonresidents for the first 2 years they are in the US. H-1B and O-1 workers are nonresidents only for the first 183 days they are in the H-1B or O-1 status. If you are in F-1 or J-1 status and have been in the US long enough to become a RESIDENT for tax purposes, you will no longer use the tax forms for nonresidents (IRS form 1040NR, form 8843, etc.). You would then need to complete the tax forms for US residents, such as the IRS form 1040. Also, you would no longer be eligible to use the Sprintax software.

Below are some links from the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) website to further explain when international students or scholars are nonresidents or residents for tax purposes: