Filed Form 8843 late as international student - penalties?

12 Don't panic! The Form 8843 is an informational form, not a tax return, and the good news is there's typically no penalty for filing it late. The IRS uses this form to determine your status as a nonresident alien for tax purposes. While it's always best to file on time, being late with Form 8843 when you had no income to report is generally not a serious issue. The most important thing is that you're filing it now rather than not filing at all. Make sure you complete it accurately and keep a copy for your records. For peace of mind, you might want to include a brief note explaining the reason for the late filing - simply noting that you weren't aware of the requirement as a first-time filer is reasonable.

19 When I was in a similar situation last year, I found this amazing service called taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) that saved me so much stress. I was also an international student who messed up my Form 8843 timing and was freaking out about potential penalties. The site actually analyzed my specific situation and explained exactly what I needed to do. They have this special tool that's designed for international students and non-residents - it reviews your documents and tells you what forms you need, what your status means, and walks you through the entire process. It even gave me a personalized explanation of why my situation wasn't likely to result in penalties.

14 Just wanted to follow up about my experience with taxr.ai that was mentioned earlier. I was skeptical but decided to try it since I was stressing about my late Form 8843 and some state filing confusion. The system actually walked me through everything step by step and explained exactly which rules applied to my specific situation. It even generated a clear explanation letter to include with my late filing. The best part was learning that my situation wasn't as dire as I thought - and finding out about some treaty benefits I had no idea I qualified for as a student from my country. Would definitely recommend to any international student confused about these weird US tax requirements!

8 Guys, if you're having trouble getting answers from the IRS about international student forms (which is like... always), I found this service called Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) that was a game-changer. After waiting on hold with the IRS for HOURS trying to confirm if my late 8843 would cause issues with my visa renewal, I was ready to give up. Claimyr somehow got me connected to an actual IRS agent in less than 20 minutes! They have this system that holds your place in line and calls you when an agent is ready. You can see how it works in this video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c. The agent I spoke with confirmed that late 8843 filing isn't a big deal when you don't have income and explained exactly what documentation I should keep in case questions ever come up.

11 I take back what I said about Claimyr. After my skeptical comment, I decided to try it when I needed to call about my own international student tax situation (I have a different visa type but similar Form 8843 issues). Got connected to an IRS agent in about 25 minutes when I had been trying for DAYS on my own. The agent confirmed that for late 8843 filings with no income, there's typically no penalty and it won't affect visa status. She even gave me an extension for my other paperwork because of some complications with my home country documentation. Seriously saved my semester from being consumed by tax stress.

16 I'm a tax advisor at my university's international student office. Here's what you should know: 1. Form 8843 is technically required, but in practice, there's virtually never any penalty for filing it late when you had no US income. 2. Include a brief cover letter explaining that you weren't aware of the requirement as a new student. 3. This will not affect your visa status or future applications. 4. Keep copies of everything you send. I see dozens of these cases every year and have never once seen a student face any consequences for late filing of Form 8843 alone.

4 One thing to watch out for - if you started in fall 2023 and stayed through 2024, make sure you're filing for the right tax year! I messed this up badly last year and had to refile everything.

Just to clarify the timeline confusion mentioned above - if you started your sophomore year "last fall" (which would be fall 2024), you would only need to file Form 8843 for the 2024 tax year, which isn't due until June 15, 2025. So you're actually not late at all! However, if you meant fall 2023, then yes, you would have needed to file for 2023 by June 15, 2024, and you'd still need to file for 2024 by June 2025. Either way, don't stress too much. As others have mentioned, late filing of Form 8843 with no income rarely results in penalties. The IRS is generally understanding of international students who weren't aware of the requirement, especially for informational forms like this one.

I went through this exact same situation two years ago as an F-1 student from Germany! Filed my Form 8843 about 6 weeks late and was absolutely terrified about potential consequences. Here's what actually happened: absolutely nothing. No penalties, no letters from the IRS, no impact on my visa status or OPT application. The form is purely informational when you have no income, and the IRS seems to understand that international students often aren't aware of this requirement initially. Just make sure to file it ASAP and keep a copy for your records. I'd also recommend reaching out to your international student services office - they usually have great resources about tax requirements and can help ensure you don't miss anything else. Most universities also offer free tax prep assistance specifically for international students during tax season. You're going to be fine! This is way more common than you think.