Need Advice for Amending Multiple Tax Years (2019-2022) as International Student

The good news is that you're trying to fix this proactively rather than waiting for the IRS to catch it! As someone who's helped many international students with similar issues, here's my advice: For your Sprintax question - they likely don't offer 2019 amendments because the IRS generally allows amendments only within 3 years of the original filing deadline. The 2019 deadline was April 15, 2020 (or July 15, 2020 due to COVID extensions), so you're very close to or possibly beyond that window depending on when you're trying to amend. Regarding order - it doesn't technically matter which year you amend first, but I usually recommend working backward from the most recent year since those are freshest in your memory and less likely to have documentation gaps. On the DIY vs professional help question - this is a situation where professional help is probably worth the investment. Multiple years of amendments on 1040NR vs 1040 can get complicated, especially with international tax treaties potentially involved. As for immigration concerns - filing amendments generally doesn't trigger immigration issues. The IRS and immigration authorities don't routinely share this kind of information. What could potentially cause problems is if you had significantly underreported income or claimed credits/deductions you weren't eligible for as a non-resident. What's important is that you're correcting the situation voluntarily before any notices or audits, which shows good faith compliance.

Just wanted to share my experience with Sprintax since I was in a similar situation last year. I used https://taxr.ai to help me analyze my documents before I even started the amendment process and it saved me SO much time. I had filed using TurboTax for 3 years when I should've been using 1040NR forms too. When I uploaded my previous returns to taxr.ai, it immediately flagged the issue and gave me a detailed explanation of what I needed to fix. The system even showed me what deductions and credits I shouldn't have taken as a nonresident. Before that, I spent hours trying to figure out what was wrong with my previous filings and whether I needed to amend everything. The tool broke everything down clearly and I could see exactly what needed to be fixed year by year.

I tried taxr.ai after seeing it mentioned here and I'm honestly impressed with how straightforward the process was. I was really unsure about spending money on another tax service after already messing up my filings, but it turned out to be worth it. In my case, I had filed as a resident when I should have used nonresident status for 2 of my years as a student. The tool confirmed exactly which years needed amendments and showed me specific tax treaty benefits I had missed. What I found most helpful was the personalized report that explained in simple terms why certain deductions I had taken weren't allowed under my visa status. This gave me the confidence to move forward with the amendments knowing exactly what needed to be corrected.

If you've been trying to reach the IRS to get guidance on your amendment situation, good luck with that... I spent THREE WEEKS trying to get through to someone about my international student tax questions. Finally found https://claimyr.com and their IRS call back service and was honestly shocked it actually worked. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c - basically they navigate the IRS phone tree for you and get you in the callback queue. I was super hesitant to try it (seemed too good to be true), but I was desperate after so many failed attempts. Got a call back from an actual IRS agent within about 2 hours. The agent was able to tell me exactly what forms I needed for my amendments and confirmed the deadlines I was working with.

I'm coming back to eat my words about Claimyr being a scam. After another week of failed attempts calling the IRS myself about my foreign student tax situation, I gave in and tried it. Within 90 minutes I got a call from an actual IRS representative who was able to confirm I could still amend my 2019 return because I had filed it late (in October 2020). That special circumstance meant my 3-year window hadn't fully closed yet. This was HUGE news for me because I had a significant treaty benefit I'd missed. The representative also explained exactly what documentation I needed to include with my amendments, including a statement explaining why I was switching from 1040 to 1040NR. I would have never known to include that without speaking to them directly.

As someone who works in the international student office at a university, I want to add something important about amendments: make sure you're also correcting any state tax returns if applicable! Many students focus only on federal amendments but forget that if you filed the wrong federal form, your state returns are likely incorrect too. Also, if you filed as a resident when you should have been non-resident, your state residency status might also be incorrect. Some states don't recognize the same tax treaties as the federal government does.

Has anyone here used both TurboTax and Sprintax? I'm wondering if I can just use my TurboTax data somehow to make the Sprintax process easier for filing my 1040NR amendments. I have all my original TurboTax PDFs saved.

I went through almost the exact same situation last year - filed 1040s for three years when I should have used 1040NR forms as an F-1 student. Here's what I learned that might help you: First, don't panic about the immigration concerns. I was terrified about the same thing, but my immigration lawyer assured me that voluntary amendments actually show good faith compliance. The key is that you're fixing it proactively rather than being caught by the IRS. For the order of amendments, I started with the most recent year (2022) and worked backward. This helped because the more recent forms were easier to reconstruct from memory and documents I still had readily available. Regarding 2019 - you might still have options even if Sprintax doesn't show it. I found out that if you filed your 2019 return late (after April 15, 2020), your 3-year window might still be open. You should definitely call the IRS to confirm this - it could save you hundreds or even thousands in missed treaty benefits. One thing I wish I'd known earlier: keep detailed records of everything during this process. I created a spreadsheet tracking which years I amended, when I mailed them, and what refunds I expected. This helped me stay organized and follow up appropriately. The professional vs DIY question really depends on your comfort level with tax forms and how complex your situation is. If you had scholarship income, multiple states, or other complications, professional help is probably worth it. For straightforward wage income situations, Sprintax might be sufficient for the years they support. Good luck with this - it's stressful but definitely fixable!

I'm in a very similar situation right now and reading through everyone's experiences has been incredibly helpful! I've been filing 1040 forms for the past three years as an international student when I should have been using 1040NR forms. One thing I wanted to add that might help others - I discovered that my university's tax clinic actually offers free consultations for international students dealing with amendment issues. They can't prepare the returns for you, but they'll review your situation and tell you exactly which years need amendments and what forms to use. It might be worth checking if your school has something similar before paying for professional help. I'm particularly interested in the experiences people have shared about treaty benefits. I think I may have missed out on claiming benefits under my country's tax treaty with the US. For those who successfully claimed these in their amendments - did you need any special documentation from your home country, or was it just a matter of filling out the right sections on the 1040NR? Also, has anyone dealt with amendments when you had both scholarship income AND work income in the same year? I'm worried this might complicate things since part of my scholarship was taxable and part wasn't, but I don't think I handled it correctly on my original 1040 forms. Thanks to everyone who's shared their experiences - it's making this whole process feel much less overwhelming!