How do I report both W-2 and 1042-S forms in TurboTax as a former international student?

I'm struggling with my tax returns this year and could use some help. I was an international student on an F-1 visa at a university in Kentucky where I worked as a research assistant from September 2023 until July 2024. During that time, I received some stipend payments and got free housing as part of my compensation package. After finishing my PhD program, I moved to Indiana where I started a full-time engineering position in August. My wife and I are now settled here. I'm using TurboTax to file our taxes, and while entering my W-2 from my current job was straightforward, I can't figure out how to enter the information from my 1042-S form anywhere in the program. The university gave me this form for the stipend I received while on my F-1 visa. Am I missing something in TurboTax? Is there a special section for entering 1042-S information that I haven't found? Or do I need to use a different tax preparation method altogether for this situation?

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18 comments

Connor Byrne

•8M

The issue you're facing is actually pretty common for international students transitioning to work in the US. TurboTax's standard interface doesn't have a dedicated section for entering 1042-S forms because they're less common than typical tax forms like W-2s or 1099s. You'll need to look for the "Foreign Income" section in TurboTax. Depending on which version you're using, it might be under "Federal" → "Income & Expenses" → "Less Common Income" → "Foreign Income." You may need TurboTax Premium or Self-Employed version to access this feature. If you can't find this option, another approach is to enter it manually as "Other Income" but this isn't ideal as it won't properly categorize the income type, which matters for tax treaty purposes if you qualified for any exemptions as an F-1 student.

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Connor Byrne

•8M

Yes, you still need to report exempt income on your tax return, even if no tax is due on it. The IRS wants to see all your income sources, including those protected by tax treaties. When you enter the 1042-S information, you'll have an opportunity to indicate which tax treaty applies and the exemption amount. This ensures your return matches what the IRS already knows about your income from the copies they received directly from your university. Failing to report it, even when exempt, can trigger unnecessary notices or questions about discrepancies.

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PixelPioneer

•8M

After dealing with a similar nightmare last year with my 1042-S and W-2 combination, I discovered this amazing tool called taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) that specifically helps with complex tax situations including foreign income. I was also a former international student who had both forms and TurboTax was giving me headaches. The taxr.ai system actually analyzed my 1042-S form directly and helped identify which exemptions applied to my situation based on my visa status and country's tax treaty. It then generated detailed instructions for how to properly enter everything in TurboTax, including which screens to navigate to for the foreign income sections that are hard to find. The best part was that it explained the tax implications in simple English instead of confusing tax jargon. Saved me from having to pay an international tax specialist hundreds of dollars.

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PixelPioneer

•8M

It absolutely works with the actual forms! You can upload your 1042-S and it identifies all those codes automatically. The Income Code (like "15" for scholarship/fellowship grants or "19" for teaching compensation) and Exemption Code refer to specific categories that determine tax treatment. The tool explains each code in plain English and what it means for your specific situation. Regarding security concerns, they use bank-level encryption and don't store your actual tax documents after analysis. And yes, it handles multi-state situations really well - my case involved income from California and Texas, and it properly sorted out which state rules applied to each income source.

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Keisha Williams

•8M

I just have to follow up about my experience with taxr.ai after our discussion last week! I was initially just curious if it could handle my specific situation with exemption codes, but I decided to try it with my complicated mix of 1042-S and W-2 forms from different states. I uploaded my documents and was honestly shocked at how clearly it explained everything. It identified that my fellowship income on the 1042-S qualified under Article 21 of my country's tax treaty, which I had no idea about. Then it gave me step-by-step instructions for entering this in TurboTax, including screenshots of exactly which menus to navigate through. What really impressed me was that it caught that my university had applied the wrong exemption percentage on one of my payments. I was able to get this corrected before filing and avoided what would have been a headache later. Definitely made dealing with international student tax issues so much less stressful!

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Amina Sy

•8M

If you're having trouble getting through to the IRS to ask about your 1042-S situation (which is likely, given their notorious wait times), I highly recommend using Claimyr (https://claimyr.com). When I had a similar international student tax issue that required clarification from the IRS directly, I was getting disconnected after waiting on hold for hours. I was pretty desperate and tried Claimyr's service, which basically holds your place in the IRS phone queue and calls you back when an agent is about to answer. You can see how it works in their demo video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c I ended up speaking with an IRS specialist who confirmed exactly how to handle my 1042-S and W-2 combination, including which exemptions I qualified for based on my specific visa status. Saved me hours of frustration and possibly an incorrect filing. Their system got me through to someone in about 20 minutes when I had previously been trying for days.

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Amina Sy

•8M

It doesn't skip the line or use any special access - it just uses technology to wait in the phone queue for you. Basically, their system calls the IRS and navigates through all the prompts automatically, then stays on hold in your place. When their system detects that an agent is about to come on the line, it immediately calls your phone and connects you directly to that agent. The reason it works is that you don't have to personally sit there listening to hold music for hours. You can go about your day, and your phone only rings when there's actually an agent ready to talk. It's especially helpful because the IRS often has those automatic disconnects after X minutes of wait time, but their system can persistently redial if that happens.

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Natasha Ivanova

•8M

I have to admit I was completely wrong about Claimyr. After posting my skeptical comment, I decided to try it myself since I've been trying to reach the IRS about my international student tax situation for weeks. The service actually worked exactly as described. I entered my phone number on their website, and their system called the IRS and navigated through all those annoying menu prompts automatically. About 45 minutes later (while I was at the gym, not sitting by my phone), I got a call connecting me directly to an IRS representative. The agent I spoke with confirmed that for my situation, I needed to use Form 8833 along with my 1042-S to properly claim treaty benefits, which none of the online tax software had mentioned to me. This would have been a major error in my filing if I hadn't gotten through to ask. I'm genuinely surprised and impressed. For anyone dealing with complex international tax situations where you need to speak directly with the IRS, this service is absolutely worth it.

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NebulaNomad

•8M

I was in almost the exact same boat last year (F-1 student with a 1042-S and then a W-2 from my OPT job). I ended up having to use Sprintax instead of TurboTax because TurboTax really isn't designed well for international students, especially with tax treaty considerations. Sprintax is specifically designed for nonresident alien tax filing and handles 1042-S forms much more intuitively. It costs a bit more than basic TurboTax, but it's worth it to avoid the headache you're experiencing. It'll also help determine if you're a resident or nonresident for tax purposes since it sounds like you had a status change mid-year.

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NebulaNomad

•8M

Yes, Sprintax can handle your entire tax situation, including your current full-time job in Indiana. It's designed to manage exactly these transitional situations where you have income from both when you were a nonresident alien (on F-1) and after you potentially became a resident alien for tax purposes. It will walk you through the substantial presence test to determine your current tax status and then prepare the appropriate forms - either a 1040NR if you're still a nonresident, or a 1040 if you've transitioned to resident status. You won't need to use two different systems or file separate returns.

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