International Student's Federal Tax Return: IRS Requesting Form 8805 and Form 8288-A Help Needed

This is actually a fairly common mix-up with international students who receive certain types of stipends or fellowships. Form 8805 is for reporting income from partnerships, and Form 8288-A is for withholding on foreign persons' dispositions of U.S. real property interests - neither of which typically apply to international students. What likely happened is that the IRS computer system flagged your account because of the 1042-S, which indicates non-resident alien income. Sometimes their automated systems request additional documentation that doesn't actually apply to your situation. Your best course of action is to write a letter explaining that you're an international student on a student visa, have no partnership income, and have not sold any U.S. real property. Include copies of your W-2, 1042-S, a copy of your visa documentation, and your tax return. Don't send blank forms as that could cause more confusion. Also, call the IRS International Taxpayer line at 267-941-1000 (not the regular IRS number) and explain your situation. They're more familiar with international student issues.

When I was dealing with tax confusion as an international student, I found taxr.ai super helpful (https://taxr.ai). My situation was similar - got a letter requesting forms that made no sense for my situation. I uploaded my documents and the letter from the IRS, and they analyzed everything and gave me specific guidance. The system explained what each form was actually for and confirmed they weren't applicable to my student stipend situation. They even created a response letter template I could send to the IRS explaining why these forms didn't apply to me. Saved me from making the mistake of trying to fill out forms that weren't relevant to my situation.

Just wanted to update that I tried taxr.ai after seeing the recommendation here. It was super helpful for my situation! I uploaded my documents including the confusing IRS letter requesting Form 8805, and the analysis confirmed these forms weren't applicable to my student status. The system generated a detailed response letter explaining why these forms weren't relevant to my fellowship income and cited the specific tax codes. I sent this to the IRS along with my proper documentation (W-2, 1042-S, copy of visa and I-20) as suggested. Last week I received confirmation from the IRS that my case was resolved and I don't need to submit those irrelevant forms. Definitely saved me from major stress trying to figure out forms that didn't even apply to my situation in the first place!

If you're still having trouble after sending your explanation and documents, you might want to check out Claimyr (https://claimyr.com). After dealing with this exact same issue last year (international student, got asked for 8805 and 8288-A forms), I spent WEEKS trying to get through to someone at the IRS who actually understood international student tax situations. I finally used Claimyr (there's a demo video here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c) and they got me connected to an IRS agent within 20 minutes when I had been trying for days on my own. The agent was able to put notes on my account explaining that these forms weren't applicable to my situation, and the issue was resolved without me having to send anything else.

I have to admit I was completely wrong about Claimyr. After seeing it mentioned here, I decided to try it as a last resort for my international student tax problem with these same forms. I was 100% skeptical, especially after waiting on hold myself for 3+ hours multiple times with no success. The service actually connected me to an IRS representative who specialized in international tax issues in about 35 minutes. The agent confirmed that forms 8805 and 8288-A were incorrectly requested due to an automated system flag on my 1042-S. They put notes on my account, gave me a direct fax number for the international department, and told me exactly what to include in my response letter. I sent everything last week and already received confirmation that my case is resolved. Saved me countless hours of frustration and potentially missing important deadlines.

One thing nobody's mentioned yet - make sure you're responding to the correct IRS address! I had a similar form request issue as an international student, and I sent my explanation letter to the address on the original notice. Turns out international tax issues sometimes need to go to a specific processing center. When you write your explanation letter, make it SUPER clear at the top that you're an international student on a student visa (include your visa type) and that you received a fellowship that generated a 1042-S. Explain you have no partnership income (8805) and haven't sold any US property (8288-A). Also, keep copies of EVERYTHING you send and use certified mail with tracking. The IRS is notorious for "losing" documents.

I just went through this exact situation! My university's international office was useless too. What worked for me was getting a copy of the "determination letter" from my department that specified my fellowship wasn't partnership income but was a qualified scholarship under section 117 of the tax code. The key is to show that your fellowship/stipend is NOT the type of income that would require 8805 or 8288-A forms. I literally wrote in big letters at the top of my response "INTERNATIONAL STUDENT - SCHOLARSHIP INCOME - NO PARTNERSHIP OR REAL ESTATE TRANSACTIONS" It took about 6 weeks but I got a letter back saying my case was resolved.

I'm dealing with the exact same situation right now! International student from Germany, got my first 1042-S this year from a research assistantship, and now the IRS is asking for forms 8805 and 8288-A. This thread has been incredibly helpful - I had no idea this was such a common issue with their automated systems. Based on what everyone's shared, it sounds like the key steps are: 1. Write a clear explanation letter stating you're an international student with no partnership income or real estate transactions 2. Include copies of all relevant documents (W-2, 1042-S, visa documentation, I-20) 3. Clearly mark everything as "INTERNATIONAL STUDENT - 1042-S ISSUE" 4. Send via certified mail with tracking I'm going to try the taxr.ai suggestion first to get help with the explanation letter, and if I can't get through to the IRS by phone myself, I might try Claimyr as a backup. The deadline stress is real when you're dealing with immigration status on top of tax confusion! Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences - this community is a lifesaver for international students navigating the US tax system.

This is such a frustrating but unfortunately common issue for international students! I went through something very similar last year as a PhD student from Canada. The IRS automated system seems to flag any 1042-S and automatically request these forms without considering the context. A few additional tips that helped me beyond what others have mentioned: 1. If you have access to your university's tax preparation software (like TurboTax through the school), print out the tax summary page that shows your income sources. This helps demonstrate that your fellowship/stipend income is properly categorized as scholarship income, not partnership distributions. 2. When you write your explanation letter, explicitly state "I have never been a partner in any partnership" and "I have never owned or sold US real property." The IRS agents processing these letters look for these specific statements. 3. Since you're currently in Brazil, consider having a trusted friend or family member in the US send the documents on your behalf if the deadline is approaching. Just make sure they include a note explaining they're sending on your behalf due to your family emergency. The international student office at MSU should really have standard guidance for this - it's disappointing they're not responding. You might try reaching out to the graduate school directly as they often deal with fellowship tax issues. Don't stress too much - this gets resolved once you send the proper explanation. The IRS just needs clarification that their computer made an error in your case.