International Student Taxes

All international students and their dependents (including spouses and children of all ages) are required to file their federal and state tax returns if they were in the US during the previous calendar year. All international students MUST file at least Form 8843 in order to remain legal under F and J visas, even if they didn't earn any money in the US.

The deadline to file federal and state tax returns is typically April 15 each year. 

  • Every international student, along with their dependents, will need to file Form 8843 separately.

    • The completed form should be mailed to: 

      Department of the Treasury
      Internal Revenue Service Center
      Austin, TX 73301-0215

  • Federal Tax Return: If you have received income in the last calendar year, then you will need to file Form 8843 and most likely Form 1040-NR.

    • The IRS does not allow electronic filing (efile) for nonresident aliens, so all international students will need to send in your tax return by mail. You will need to send your forms to:

      Department of the Treasury
      Internal Revenue Service Center
      Austin, TX 73301-0215
  • Kansas State Tax Return: If you have received income in the last calendar year in Kansas, go to the Kansas WebFile to electronically file your Kansas tax return. You must prepare your federal return before you can file your state return. 

    Other States: If you have income from another state, you need to know if that state has income tax requirements. Go to www.taxadmin.org/state-tax-forms.

IMPORTANT: International Students should not file Form 1098-T (for education expenses) and are not eligible for this education tax credit. 

 

VITA Tax Prep Service at PSU

The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program offers free tax help to PSU international students. Federal and state tax returns will be prepared by volunteers who are certified and trained using IRS materials through the VITA program. This service is only available to those students who were employed in the US and have taxable income from the previous year. 

Students should bring the following: 

  1. Passport
  2. I20 or DS2019
  3. I-94
  4. Social Security Card (if you have one)
  5. Copy of last year's tax return (if you have one)
  6. Form W-2 (from your employer)
  7. Any other tax documents received 

For more information about VITA, please contact Dr. Mary Jo Goedeke.

 

Tax Prep Services

The following services specialize in international student taxes: 

Sprintax

Glacier Tax Prep

 

Resources

IRS - International Taxpayers

Student Tax Return

Learn About Filing Taxes