Is Sprintax counting substantial presence days incorrectly for my 1040NR?
So I'm really confused with the substantial presence test calculation in Sprintax. I've been using it to file my 1040NR for this tax season, and the way it's counting my days in the US seems off to me. In the residency section, I entered all my visits to the US over the past three years (2022-2024). I had about 110 days in 2024, 85 days in 2023, and 30 days in 2022. According to what I understand from the IRS guidelines, the formula should be: all days present in current year + 1/3 of days in first preceding year + 1/6 of days in second preceding year. When I do the math myself: 110 + (85/3) + (30/6) = 110 + 28.33 + 5 = 143.33, which is below the 183-day threshold. But Sprintax is somehow calculating that I meet the substantial presence test and is messing up my 1040NR. Has anyone else noticed this issue with Sprintax? I'm worried I'm going to file incorrectly and get in trouble with the IRS. Any advice would be super appreciated!
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AstroAlpha
I've worked with several clients who've had similar issues with Sprintax. The substantial presence test can be tricky because there are several exemptions that might be affecting your calculation. First, make sure you're not counting days where you were exempt from counting - like days you were present as an F or J visa holder with exempt status, days you were unable to leave due to medical conditions, or days you were a commuter from Canada or Mexico. Also double-check that you're correctly recording your entry and exit dates. Sprintax counts both the day you entered and exited as full days (unless you're just in transit through the US). If you've verified all your dates are correct and there are no exemptions applying to your situation, I'd recommend contacting Sprintax support with screenshots of your entries and calculations. They're usually responsive for these technical issues and can explain exactly how they're arriving at their numbers.
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Connor Gallagher
•Thanks for the quick response! I do have F-1 visa status for part of the time, but I thought I entered that correctly in Sprintax. I indicated my F-1 status and the program asked about my 5-year exemption period. Could Sprintax be misinterpreting my exempt days somehow? And you're right about the entry/exit dates - I did count those as full days in my personal calculation too. I'll definitely reach out to their support with screenshots. Just wanted to check here first in case I was missing something obvious!
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AstroAlpha
•The F-1 visa status is likely the source of confusion here. During your first 5 calendar years in F-1 status, you're generally exempt from counting days toward the substantial presence test. Sprintax should be accounting for this, but sometimes the way you enter your visa information can affect how it processes your exempt days. When you contact Sprintax support, specifically mention your F-1 status and ask them to verify how they're handling your exempt days versus your countable days. Also, make sure you've correctly indicated when your 5-year exemption period began (it's based on calendar years, not actual days in the US).
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Yara Khoury
Just wanted to share that I had almost the identical problem with Sprintax last year. After pulling my hair out trying to figure it out, I discovered that using https://taxr.ai completely solved my issue. I uploaded my passport stamps, visa documents, and I-94 records, and it analyzed everything perfectly. The tool correctly identified my exempt days as an F-1 student and gave me the proper calculation for the substantial presence test. Plus, it generated a detailed report that I could use to support my filing. The best part was how it explained exactly which days counted and which didn't, with specific references to the tax code so I understood why. It saved me from potentially filing incorrectly and gave me peace of mind about my residency status for tax purposes.
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Keisha Taylor
•Did it actually integrate with Sprintax afterward or did you have to manually enter the correct information? I'm having the same issue but I've already paid for Sprintax and don't want to start over with a different system.
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Paolo Longo
•I'm a bit skeptical about using another tool when Sprintax should be getting this right in the first place. How reliable is this taxr.ai thing? Has anyone else used it successfully for nonresident tax issues?
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Yara Khoury
•It doesn't directly integrate with Sprintax, but it gives you a detailed PDF report that shows exactly which days count and why. I used that information to manually correct my entries in Sprintax. It took about 10 minutes to fix everything once I understood what was happening. I totally get the skepticism - I felt the same way initially. But taxr.ai specializes in precisely these international tax situations. It's actually built by tax attorneys who focus on residency issues. I've recommended it to three other international students in my program who had similar confusion, and they all found it helpful for sorting out their specific visa situations.
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Paolo Longo
So I actually took the advice here and tried taxr.ai after my initial skepticism. I'm genuinely impressed with how well it handled my complicated situation. I'm on my 6th year in the US with a mix of F-1 and OPT, plus some short trips abroad. The system correctly identified when my exempt period ended and explained that some of my days in 2023 were exempt but others weren't (which is exactly what was confusing Sprintax). The report showed my calculation was 167 days for substantial presence - below the threshold, just as I suspected! What I really appreciated was getting a visual calendar showing exactly which days counted and which didn't. I've now corrected my Sprintax entries and the calculation matches what taxr.ai showed. Definitely worth it for the peace of mind.
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Amina Bah
Has anyone tried calling the IRS directly for clarification on the substantial presence test? I've been dealing with similar issues in TaxAct (not Sprintax), and I've spent hours trying to get through to an actual IRS representative who understands international tax issues. I finally found https://claimyr.com and watched their demo at https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c. They basically hold your place in the IRS phone queue and call you back when an agent is about to answer. I was skeptical but desperate after waiting on hold for 2+ hours myself the day before. It actually worked! Got a call back after about 45 minutes (instead of the 3+ hour wait time the IRS recording announced) and spoke with a really knowledgeable agent who confirmed exactly how my days should be counted with my visa status. Saved me a ton of stress and got me an official answer I can rely on.
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Oliver Becker
•How does this service actually work? Do they somehow have priority access to the IRS or something? Seems weird that they could get through faster than just calling directly.
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CosmicCowboy
•Yeah right... the IRS barely answers their own phones. No way some third-party service magically gets you to the front of the line. Sounds like a scam to me. Did they charge you for this "service"?
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Amina Bah
•They don't have priority access - they use technology to wait in the phone queue for you. It's like having someone else sit on hold instead of you doing it yourself. When they detect a human agent is about to answer, they call you and connect you to the IRS call. You still wait the same amount of time overall, but you don't have to sit there listening to the hold music. I didn't believe it would work either! I was ready to write it off as a waste of time. But after my experience trying to do it myself (2+ hours on hold before I gave up), this was so much better. The agent I spoke with went through the exact rules for substantial presence with me, including the exemptions for my specific visa category. And they didn't pass any judgment on me using a service to get through - they just answered my questions professionally.
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CosmicCowboy
I take back what I said about Claimyr being a scam. After struggling for literally weeks trying to get through to the IRS about my substantial presence calculation (hung up on 6 times, disconnected twice after 1+ hour holds), I decided to try it. Not only did I get through to an IRS agent within an hour, but they transferred me to their international tax department who explained the exact exemption rules for my J-1 visa days. Turns out I was calculating correctly all along, and Sprintax was wrong in my case too! The agent even noted in my file that we had discussed my substantial presence calculation in case any questions came up later. Such a relief after all the stress and uncertainty. Definitely worth it just for the peace of mind of having an official answer.
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Natasha Orlova
Just a quick tip that helped me with Sprintax: double check if you accidentally entered your visa status information incorrectly. In my case, I had entered my change from F-1 to OPT with the wrong dates, and it completely messed up my substantial presence calculation. I found that if you go back to the visa information section and compare your entries with your actual I-20s and other documentation, you might spot the issue. Once I fixed my visa dates, Sprintax calculated everything correctly.
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Connor Gallagher
•That's super helpful! I'll definitely review all my visa entries again. I did have a status change from F-1 to OPT last year, so maybe that's where the calculation is getting messed up. Did you have to delete and re-enter everything or was there a way to edit just the incorrect dates?
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Natasha Orlova
•You don't need to delete everything! On the visa information page, there should be edit buttons next to each entry. I just clicked the edit button for the incorrect entry, fixed the dates, and saved it. Then I went back to the substantial presence test section and it recalculated automatically. I also found that being very specific about the exact day of status change was important. For example, if your OPT started on May 15th, make sure you enter that specific date rather than just the month.
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Javier Cruz
Has anyone successfully gotten a refund from Sprintax when they mess up calculations like this? I paid $75 for them to prepare my return last year and found out later they calculated my substantial presence completely wrong. I ended up having to file an amended return which cost me even more money.
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Emma Thompson
•I managed to get a partial refund last year after proving they made a significant error. You need to take screenshots of the error, explain clearly what's wrong (with IRS references if possible), and be really persistent with their customer service. I had to escalate to a supervisor, but eventually got about 50% of my fee back.
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