Has anyone used TurboTax to file with Form 8233 and treaty benefits? I'm about to file for last year and I had treaty benefits from an internship, but I'm not sure if the basic TurboTax can handle this or if I need some premium version.

Great point about using the right tax software! I made this mistake my first year and it was a nightmare to fix. Lucy is absolutely right - TurboTax will mess up your tax situation as a nonresident alien. I used Sprintax last year and it handled my Form 8233 treaty benefits perfectly. It walks you through all the nonresident alien forms (1040NR, 8843, etc.) and has specific sections for treaty benefits from different countries. Most universities have discount codes or sometimes even free access to Sprintax - check with your international student office first. Also, keep in mind that if you used Form 8233 during the year, you'll need to report those treaty benefits on your tax return even though taxes weren't withheld on that income. The software should guide you through this, but it's important to be consistent between what you claimed on Form 8233 and what you report on your 1040NR.

The IRS website is literally the most confusing thing ever created i stg

Thanks for asking this! I had the same confusion last year. To add to what others said - the key thing is that ALL your credits (766, 768, etc.) get combined into your total refund amount. You won't get separate checks or deposits. The IRS just uses these different codes to categorize where each part of your refund is coming from for their internal tracking. So if you see $2000 in 766 credits and $800 in 768 credits, your total refund would be $2800 (assuming no other adjustments). Hope that helps clarify!

According to the official IRS.gov appointment guidelines (https://www.irs.gov/help/contact-your-local-irs-office), you should bring: 1) Current year return, 2) Prior year return, 3) All supporting documents for current year (W-2s, 1099s), 4) Two forms of ID, and 5) Any IRS notices you've received. I was nervous about my appointment too, but having everything organized in separate folders really helped.

I went through this exact same process about 6 months ago and can confirm what others are saying - bring everything! The agent at my appointment specifically asked for my current year return (2023), the prior year (2022), and all supporting documents like W-2s and 1099s for the current year. They also wanted to see two forms of photo ID. The whole process took about 45 minutes, and they were very thorough in cross-referencing information between years. I'd recommend organizing everything in clearly labeled folders beforehand - it made the appointment go much smoother. With three kids, I totally understand wanting to get this right the first time. Better to over-prepare than have to reschedule!

One more thing to consider: if your wife becomes a resident alien through the substantial presence test in the future (basically by living in the US long enough), you won't need to make the special election anymore, but you'll still file jointly. And heads up that you'll need to continue making the election every year until she either becomes a resident alien or gets a green card!

This thread has been incredibly helpful! I'm in a similar situation but with a twist - my husband is from Canada and we got married in December. I'm curious about one thing that hasn't been mentioned yet: does the timing of when you got married during the tax year affect anything? Also, for anyone who went through this process, how long did it typically take to get the ITIN approved? I'm worried about filing delays since we're cutting it close to the deadline. And a quick question about that FBAR reporting - if my husband has a joint account with his parents back in Canada that he's technically on but doesn't really use, does that count toward the $10k threshold? The account has way more than $10k but it's not really "his" money.

Just to clarify something important - when you select "non-covered" in TurboTax for your crypto, make sure you're still entering accurate cost basis info on your 8949. Non-covered doesn't mean the IRS doesn't care about the details - it just means the exchange isn't reporting the cost basis directly to them. You're still 100% responsible for accurate reporting. I'd recommend double-checking the calculations from bitcoin.tax, especially if you've done any tax loss harvesting or have transactions across multiple exchanges.

Does anyone know how staking rewards should be reported? Are those also non-covered? I've been getting various amounts of crypto from staking throughout the year and I'm confused about how to report both the income portion and the capital gains when I eventually sold some.