Confused by FreeTaxUSA handling of F1 international student's state tax return residency status

Your confusion is completely understandable. FreeTaxUSA and many other tax preparation software aren't specifically designed with international students in mind, which creates these frustrating gaps. For F1 students, your tax residency status is actually separate from your immigration status. For federal tax purposes, most F1 students are considered "nonresident aliens" for the first 5 calendar years in the US. However, state tax residency rules vary significantly by state. The software should have asked about your visa status somewhere, usually in the personal information section. If it didn't, you might need to go back and look for a section about citizenship or immigration status. Sometimes it's hidden under "Special Filing Situations" or similar wording. For the state tax issue, you'll need to check your specific state's rules. Some states consider you a resident after just a few months, while others align with the federal nonresident alien definition. If FreeTaxUSA is incorrectly classifying you, you might need to manually override this or look for nonresident state tax forms.

I had similar issues with FreeTaxUSA last year as an international student. After struggling for hours, I finally found a much better solution using taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai). It's specifically designed to handle complex situations like international student status. I uploaded my documents and it immediately recognized my F1 visa status and asked all the right questions about how long I'd been in the US. The system automatically determined my correct residency status for both federal and state taxes. It knew exactly which forms I needed as a nonresident alien. The best part was that it explained everything in simple terms - like why I qualified as a nonresident for tax purposes despite living here, and how the tax treaty with my home country affected my return. It saved me over $800 that FreeTaxUSA would have had me overpay.

Just wanted to update that I tried taxr.ai after seeing it mentioned here. Completely solved my J1 visa tax confusion! The system immediately asked about my visa type and entry date to the US, then walked me through everything step by step. It correctly identified that I should be filing as a nonresident alien for federal taxes and showed me exactly how to handle my state taxes in New York. The tax treaty section was super helpful too - showed me exactly which income was exempt based on the agreement with my home country. Ended up getting a $1,740 refund instead of owing $230 like FreeTaxUSA had calculated. The difference was mainly because FreeTaxUSA had me filing the wrong forms and didn't apply the tax treaty benefits I was entitled to. Really grateful for the recommendation!

If you're still struggling with getting answers from the IRS about your international student status, I found a service called Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) that was literally a lifesaver for me. I had spent WEEKS trying to get through to the IRS's international taxpayer line with no luck. Claimyr somehow got me connected to an actual IRS agent in about 45 minutes instead of the endless hold I was experiencing before. I was able to ask specifically about my F1 visa tax status and got clear answers about which forms I needed. They have a demo video that shows how it works: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c The IRS agent confirmed that FreeTaxUSA wasn't asking the right questions for my situation and recommended I either use specialized international student tax software or file Form 1040-NR manually. She also helped clear up my confusion about state residency requirements.

I have to come back and apologize for my skepticism about Claimyr. After continuing to fail getting through to the IRS for another week, I broke down and tried it yesterday. Within about 35 minutes, I was actually talking to an IRS agent - first time in months of trying. The agent was super helpful about my international student status questions. She confirmed that as an F1 student in my second year, I should be filing as a nonresident alien using Form 1040-NR for federal taxes. For my state (Illinois), she recommended I check with the state tax department directly but suggested I would likely be a nonresident there too based on my time in the country. She also explained that most tax software isn't optimized for international students and recommended either using specialized international student tax services or getting help from my university's international student office. Definitely worth the service fee to finally get clear answers!

Your university's international student office might have free tax help specifically for students like you. Most schools with significant international populations offer VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) programs that are trained on handling F1 visa tax situations. I work at a university international office and we help hundreds of students with exactly this issue every year. FreeTaxUSA and similar mainstream software just aren't designed with the complexity of nonresident alien taxation in mind. They're built for US citizens and residents. One specific thing to check: you mentioned being here for 11 months. The IRS uses the "substantial presence test" to determine residency. Most F1 students are exempt from this test for their first 5 calendar years in the US, meaning you're almost certainly a nonresident alien for tax purposes regardless of how many days you've been physically present.

One specific thing to check in FreeTaxUSA: go to the federal section and look for "Filing Status" or "Personal Information." There should be a citizenship question somewhere. If you can indicate you're not a US citizen, it might then ask about your visa status. For state residency, each state has different rules. California (which you mentioned) considers you a resident if you're in the state for other than a temporary purpose. As a student on F1, you might qualify as a nonresident if you can show your presence is temporary. The key form for federal taxes should be 1040-NR, not the regular 1040 that most tax software defaults to. Without the right form, you could be missing tax treaty benefits and paying too much!

I went through this exact same frustration last year! As an F1 student, you're absolutely right to be confused - FreeTaxUSA really isn't designed for our situation. Here's what I learned after making the same mistakes: You should definitely be filing as a nonresident alien using Form 1040-NR for federal taxes if you've been in the US for less than 5 calendar years on F1 status. The "substantial presence test" doesn't apply to F1 students during this period. For California state taxes, since you've only been here 11 months as a student, you should likely file as a nonresident there too. California generally follows federal residency determination for tax purposes. My suggestion: Don't waste more time fighting with FreeTaxUSA's limitations. Either check if your university has a VITA program for international students (many do and it's free!), or consider using software specifically designed for international students. The tax difference you mentioned ($1,100) is significant enough that it's worth getting this right the first time. If you've already filed incorrectly, you can amend your return, but it's easier to just do it right from the start. Your university's international student office should have resources or recommendations for this exact situation.