Reporting 1099-MISC income on Form 1040-NR with Schedule NEC as a nonresident alien

If the referral bonus was for referring a person to a job in the US, would that change how it's taxed even if OP was never physically in the US? Also, does it matter what the US company classified the payment as on the 1099-MISC?

The purpose of the referral generally doesn't change the source rules - what matters most is who paid you and what type of income it is. For personal services income, location matters (where you physically performed the service), but for other income types like royalties or dividends, the source is determined by where the payer is located or where the activity generating the payment occurred. What box the payment appears in on the 1099-MISC is very important. Different types of payments have different sourcing rules. If it's in Box 3 (Other Income), which is common for referral bonuses, it would typically be considered U.S. source income if paid by a U.S. company, regardless of your location when you earned it.

Does taxr.ai help determine if you're actually liable for filing the 1040-NR in the first place? I got a small 1099 for some online work but I'm not sure if I even need to file anything since I'm a nonresident and never visited the US.

I'm skeptical about these tax services for international situations. Did they actually provide specific advice on Schedule NEC filing? And how did they handle the treaty exemption documentation? Most services I've tried don't understand international tax issues well.

Yes, they actually have a specific assessment that determines if you're required to file a 1040-NR based on your specific situation and income type. They ask about your citizenship, residency, time spent in the US, and type of income to determine filing requirements. For your situation with online work, they'd analyze whether that creates a filing obligation. They definitely understand Schedule NEC issues - they have built-in expertise on different income types and tax treaty applications. They provided me with the exact treaty article that applied to my referral bonus and generated the proper documentation for claiming the treaty benefit, including Form 8833 which explains the treaty position to the IRS. They even explained which boxes to check and what explanations to provide.

How does this actually work? Do they just call the IRS for you? I'm confused why the IRS would answer their call but not mine when I've been trying for weeks.

This sounds like a scam. There's no way to "skip the line" with the IRS. And even if you do get through, the regular agents don't know anything about international tax issues like Schedule NEC for nonresidents. You'd need a tax specialist.

They don't call the IRS for you - they use technology to navigate the IRS phone system and secure your place in line. Then they call you when they're about to connect with an agent so you talk directly with the IRS yourself. It's completely legitimate and works because their system constantly monitors the optimal times to call and navigates the complex IRS phone tree more efficiently than we can manually. The IRS actually does have international tax specialists available through their main line, but you need to know how to request them. Once I got through, I asked specifically for help with nonresident alien tax questions, and they transferred me to someone who definitely knew about Schedule NEC and treaty considerations. The key is actually getting past the initial hold time, which is what Claimyr solved for me.

Thank you for mentioning this! I just checked the 1099-MISC more carefully and they actually did withhold some tax (about $405). So when I file the 1040-NR with Schedule NEC, do I just list that amount as already paid? Is there a specific line for this on the form?

Yes, you'll report the income on Schedule NEC, and then on Form 1040-NR, there's a line for "Federal income tax withheld" (typically line 25c or similar depending on the tax year). This is where you'll enter the $405 that was withheld. This is actually good news for two reasons: First, it shows the company properly classified you as a foreign person. Second, if you qualify for a lower tax rate under a treaty, you might get some of that withholding refunded back to you. Make sure you attach a copy of your 1099-MISC showing the withholding when you file your return. And remember that you'll likely need Form 8833 to claim any treaty benefits if you're eligible for a rate lower than 30%.

I tried TurboTax for my 1040-NR last year and it was a disaster. They don't really support all the international forms properly. I ended up using Sprintax which is specifically designed for nonresident returns. It handled Schedule NEC and treaty claims much better.