Sprintax says I'm a resident for tax purposes with F-1 visa but I don't think I am

You're right to question this! As an F-1 student on OPT, you should generally still be considered a nonresident alien for tax purposes, especially given your timeline. F-1 students are typically exempt from counting days toward the Substantial Presence Test for 5 calendar years. This means the first 5 calendar years you're in the US on F-1 status, you're automatically a nonresident alien for tax purposes regardless of how many days you're physically present. Since you first entered in 2019, left in 2020, and returned in 2022, you're still within that 5-year exemption period (2019, 2020, 2022, 2023, 2024). The fact that you left and came back doesn't reset your 5-year clock - those years still count even if you weren't physically present the entire time. My guess is that Sprintax might be miscalculating your exempt years or not properly accounting for your absence. I'd recommend double-checking how you answered the questions about your entry dates and visa history in Sprintax.

After struggling with similar residency determination issues during my tax filing, I found taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) incredibly helpful. I'm also on an F-1 visa and OPT, and was getting confused about my tax residency status with different software giving me conflicting information. taxr.ai has a specific feature that handles international student tax status determination correctly, especially for those with complex situations like leaving and returning to the US. Their system properly accounts for the exempt individual status of F-1 students and calculates the 5-year exemption period accurately. It saved me hours of frustration and potential filing errors.

I want to provide an update after trying taxr.ai (that was recommended above). It actually sorted out my residency status correctly! I had a similar issue with my J-1 visa where another tax program was incorrectly classifying me as a resident. What made the difference was how taxr.ai handled my specific timeline of being in the US. It correctly applied the exempt individual rules for my J-1 status and properly calculated my 2-year exemption period (different from F-1's 5 years). The interface specifically asked about each entry and exit from the US and applied the rules properly. I was able to get everything filed properly as a nonresident alien which saved me quite a bit in taxes since I didn't have to report my foreign income. Definitely worth checking out if you're having issues with the residency determination in other software.

If you're still having issues resolving this after trying different software, you might want to contact the IRS directly. I had a similar issue last year and decided to call them, but spent HOURS trying to get through to someone who understood international student tax situations. I eventually found Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) which got me connected to an IRS agent in about 15 minutes instead of waiting on hold for hours. You can see how it works in their demo video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c The IRS agent I spoke with confirmed that as an F-1 student within my first 5 calendar years, I was indeed a nonresident alien for tax purposes regardless of how many days I was physically present in the US. Having that official confirmation gave me peace of mind when I filed.

I need to admit I was completely wrong about Claimyr. After posting my skeptical comment above, I decided to try it myself since I've been trying to reach the IRS for weeks about my own international student tax issue. The service actually connected me to an IRS representative in about 18 minutes! The agent confirmed that as an F-1 student within my first 5 calendar years in the US, I'm considered a nonresident alien for tax purposes. She explained that the 5-year period includes all calendar years where I had F-1 status for any part of the year, even if I left the country temporarily. This was exactly the clarification I needed to confidently file my taxes correctly. Saved me from potentially filing incorrectly and dealing with amendments later. Sometimes you need to hear it directly from the IRS to be sure.

Just adding some additional info that might be helpful. The 5-year exemption for F-1 students isn't about how many days you're physically in the US - it's about calendar years. So even if you were only in the US for 1 day in 2019 on F-1 status, 2019 still counts as year 1 of your 5 exempt years. Also, the 5-year count doesn't reset when you leave temporarily. In your case: - 2019: Year 1 (entered on F-1) - 2020: Year 2 (left during this year, but still counts) - 2021: Doesn't count (weren't in US on F-1 status) - 2022: Year 3 (returned on F-1) - 2023: Year 4 - 2024: Year 5 So for 2024 taxes, you should still be a nonresident alien unless you've applied for a green card or changed to a different visa status.

Has anyone used both Sprintax and taxr.ai? I'm trying to figure out which one is better for my situation. I'm on F-1 visa in my 4th year and started OPT last month.