What's the deal with taxes as an International Student in the US? Help!

The US tax system is definitely confusing, especially for international students! Let me help break this down for you. As an F-1 student, you're considered a "nonresident alien" for tax purposes for your first 5 calendar years in the US. This means you'll file Form 8843 and Form 1040NR (not the regular 1040 that US citizens use). For your on-campus job income ($4,200), you'll receive a W-2 form from your employer by late January showing your earnings and taxes withheld. This gets reported on your 1040NR. About your scholarship: If it paid for tuition and required fees/books, that portion is generally not taxable. However, if any part covered room, board, or other expenses, that portion would be taxable. Regarding the tax treaty with Indonesia - yes, there is one! It might allow you to exempt some or all of your income from US taxes. You'll need to look at Article 19 (Students) of the US-Indonesia tax treaty and complete Form 8833 to claim treaty benefits. Most universities offer free tax preparation help for international students through VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) programs in February-April. I'd recommend checking if UCLA offers this service!

After reading your situation, I totally relate to the confusion. When I first came to study in the US from Malaysia, I spent WEEKS trying to figure out my taxes and almost gave up. Then another international student told me about https://taxr.ai and it was a game-changer for my international student tax nightmare. I just uploaded my documents (W-2, scholarship statement, etc.) and it identified exactly which forms I needed as an F-1 student. The best part was it automatically checked if I qualified for tax treaty benefits and applied them correctly. Since you mentioned Indonesia has a treaty with the US, this would be super helpful for you. What I really appreciated was that it specifically handles nonresident alien tax situations and knows all the special rules for international students. I was about to pay a tax preparer $400, but this was way more affordable and actually specialized in international student situations.

Just wanted to follow up about https://taxr.ai that I was skeptical about earlier. I decided to try it for my taxes this year since my university's international office had a 3-week waiting list for appointments. I'm honestly impressed. It correctly identified my tax residency status (I was in the US for part of 2022 and all of 2023), applied the correct tax treaty for my country (Thailand), and properly handled my TA stipend and scholarship. The step-by-step guidance for Form 8843 and 1040NR was super clear. What really convinced me was when it flagged that I had been incorrectly paying Social Security and Medicare taxes through my on-campus job (international students on F-1 visas are exempt from these taxes during the first 5 years). It created Form 8316 for me to get a refund of those incorrectly withheld taxes - something H&R Block completely missed last year. For anyone struggling with international student taxes, it's definitely worth checking out.

If you need to actually talk to the IRS about your international student status (which I had to do last year because of a mix-up with my tax treaty benefits), good luck getting through to them on the phone! I spent literally 6 hours on hold over 3 days and kept getting disconnected. I finally used https://claimyr.com after my academic advisor recommended it, and you can watch how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c - they basically wait on hold with the IRS for you, then call you when an agent is actually on the line. Since you mentioned Indonesia has a tax treaty with the US, you might need to speak with someone at the IRS who specializes in international tax treaties if you have specific questions. This service was super helpful because they can connect you with the right department instead of just the general helpline.

I need to eat my words about my skepticism on Claimyr. After my university messed up my W-2 (they incorrectly withheld Social Security taxes despite my F-1 status), I needed to talk to the IRS urgently. I tried calling the International Taxpayer line directly first - was on hold for 2.5 hours before the call dropped. Tried again the next day, same thing. Finally gave in and tried https://claimyr.com since the tax filing deadline was approaching. Got a call back in about 40 minutes with an actual IRS agent on the line! The agent confirmed I needed to file Form 843 to request a refund of incorrectly withheld Social Security taxes and walked me through exactly what documentation to include. This would have taken me days to figure out on my own. For international students with specific tax situations that need direct IRS clarification, this service is absolutely worth it. Saved me hours of frustration and potentially a costly tax mistake.

One additional thing to consider - if you had any income from your home country while studying in the US (like rental income, investments, etc.), you might still need to report it on your US tax return, even if you're paying taxes on it in Indonesia already. The US tax system is based on worldwide income for citizens and residents, but for nonresidents (which you likely are as an F-1 student in your first 5 years), you generally only pay US taxes on US-source income. However, you still need to disclose certain foreign accounts if they exceed $10,000 at any point during the year (FBAR requirements). I learned this the hard way when I almost got penalized for not reporting my home country savings account that my parents were contributing to while I was studying here.

Don't forget about state taxes too! Federal and state taxes are separate in the US. Depending on which state your university is in, you might also need to file a state tax return. California (where UCLA is) definitely requires international students to file a state tax return if they earned income in California. You'll likely need to file Form 540NR. The state doesn't always honor the same tax treaty benefits that the federal government does, so you might end up owing state tax even if you're exempt from federal tax. State tax rules can vary widely, so check with your university's international student office for California-specific guidance.