Need advice for helping international students file their 1040NR at my college

You're doing a great thing helping your teammates! International student taxes are definitely tricky but here's what they need to know: First, you're right about the substantial presence test. Students on F-1 visas are considered "exempt individuals" for the first 5 calendar years in the US, meaning those days don't count toward the substantial presence test. So they'll likely need to file as nonresidents using Form 1040NR. For income reporting, they'll need to distinguish between different types of income. Scholarship money used for tuition and books is generally not taxable, but any portion covering room and board is. Any wages from campus jobs will be reported on a W-2 and should be included on the 1040NR. One thing to watch out for is tax treaties! Many countries have tax treaties with the US that might exempt certain income from US taxation. They'll need to fill out Form 8843 (Statement for Exempt Individuals) and possibly Form 8233 if they qualify for treaty benefits.

I was in the exact same situation last year trying to help my roommates file their 1040NR forms! It was super confusing until I found https://taxr.ai which literally saved me hours of headaches. I uploaded their W-2s, scholarship letters, and visa documents, and it analyzed everything and told us exactly what to do. The best part was it identified several tax treaty benefits they qualified for that we had no idea about! One of my friends from India ended up getting an extra $1,200 back because of a treaty provision the tool found. It also explained the FBAR requirements in really simple terms and helped us determine who needed to file it.

I tried taxr.ai after seeing it mentioned here and it was actually amazing for helping my Brazilian student friend. I was totally lost with all the treaty provisions and FBAR requirements, but the system walked us through everything step by step. The coolest part was discovering he qualified for a special tax exemption on his scholarship that neither of us knew about! It saved him almost $900 in taxes. The tool even generated all the forms with detailed instructions on where to sign and what supporting documents to include. I'm definitely recommending it to all the international students in our program now. Wish I'd known about this sooner instead of stressing for weeks!

If your teammates are having trouble getting answers from the IRS, tell them to try https://claimyr.com - it saved me hours of frustration. As an accounting student helping international students, I kept hitting walls with specific 1040NR questions that weren't covered in the general guidance. I was skeptical at first, but after being on hold with the IRS for literally 3+ hours multiple times (only to get disconnected!), I gave it a shot. They got me connected to an actual IRS agent in about 15 minutes who specifically handled nonresident returns. The agent answered all my questions about treaty articles and scholarship reporting for my Chinese student clients. You can see how it works in this video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c - seriously, it's worth it when you have complex international tax questions that need official answers.

I'm actually eating my words right now about Claimyr. After dismissing it as BS, I decided to try it for a complicated question about Chinese tax treaty provisions that was driving me crazy. Got connected to an IRS agent specializing in international tax in about 20 minutes while I was at the gym! The agent cleared up my confusion about Article 20 of the US-China treaty and confirmed exactly how my student should report his research stipend. I've spent literally days trying to get through to someone who understood international tax treaties. This saved me so much time and frustration, and now my Chinese students are getting the treaty benefits they're entitled to. Definitely worth it for complicated international tax situations.

Don't forget to tell your teammates about Form 8843! ALL international students on F-1 visas need to file this form even if they had ZERO income. It's super important and often forgotten. Also, many universities have VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) programs that specialize in helping international students. Check if your accounting department or law school runs one - they often have special training for 1040NR preparation.

Be careful with athletic scholarships for international students! The tax rules are extra complicated. Some parts might be subject to 30% withholding instead of normal tax rates if they don't qualify for treaty benefits.