For tax purposes, am I a nonresident alien or a resident alien? (US citizen question)

Based on the information you've provided, we need to calculate your days of presence to determine your tax status. Let's work through the Substantial Presence Test together. For 2025 filing, we'll look at your days in the US during 2025, 2024, and 2023. First, it looks like you've already been in the US for more than 31 days in 2025, so you meet the first requirement. For the second requirement (183 days over 3 years), we calculate: - 2025: All days from January 1st until now (assuming today is at least March, that's more than 60 days) - 2024: Count 1/3 of your days (you were here about 348 days, so that's 116 days) - 2023: Count 1/6 of your days (you were here about 335 days, so that's 56 days) Adding these up: 60+ + 116 + 56 = 232+ days, which exceeds the 183-day requirement. Unless you qualify for an exception (like being an exempt individual, having a closer connection to another country, or fall under a tax treaty), you would be considered a resident alien for tax purposes in 2025.

After dealing with this exact issue last year, I found an incredible tool called taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) that saved me from making a costly filing mistake with my alien status. I was in a similar situation with frequent travel in and out of the US, and calculating those days accurately was driving me crazy. The taxr.ai system analyzed my travel history and gave me a clear answer about my resident status - turns out I was miscounting my days and would have filed incorrectly. It also identified an exception I qualified for that my regular tax software completely missed! It analyzes all the relevant factors for the Substantial Presence Test and exceptions, not just the day counts.

I was skeptical about taxr.ai at first (as you can see from my question above), but I decided to try it since my situation was so complicated with multiple entries and exits from the US. I'm genuinely impressed with how it handled my UK-specific tax situation. The system not only calculated my days correctly but also identified an article in the US-UK tax treaty that applied specifically to my teaching position. This provision allowed me to exclude certain income that I would have incorrectly reported. What surprised me most was how it flagged potential audit risks in my specific situation and suggested documentation I should keep on hand. Saved me from what would have been a major headache and probably some penalties too.

If you need to speak with the IRS directly about your alien status (which I highly recommend), good luck getting through to them on your own. After trying for WEEKS to reach someone about my resident alien status questions, I discovered Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) and was completely shocked when they got me connected to an IRS agent in under 20 minutes. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c I had complex questions about my prior years' status that online resources couldn't answer, and the IRS agent walked me through the specifics of my situation and confirmed that I qualified for treaty benefits I didn't know about. Getting official guidance directly from the IRS gave me so much peace of mind for filing.

I need to publicly eat my words about Claimyr. After posting that skeptical comment, I figured I had nothing to lose and tried it for my foreign tax credit questions that I've been trying to get answered for months. I got connected to an IRS agent within 18 minutes (after spending HOURS on hold previously with no success). The agent clarified exactly how I should handle my foreign income with my partial US presence, and even helped me understand how to document my closer connection to my home country properly. The peace of mind from getting official guidance was completely worth it. My situation was too complex for online tools alone, and getting direct confirmation saved me from making what would have been a costly filing error. I've already recommended it to three other expat friends.

Don't forget about Form 8843! If you're claiming to be a nonresident alien, you might need to file this form even if you don't need to file a tax return. I learned this the hard way after thinking I didn't have any filing requirements one year.

One thing that hasn't been mentioned yet is state residency vs. federal residency. You might be considered a resident alien for federal tax purposes but a nonresident for state tax purposes (or vice versa). Some states have completely different rules!