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F1 student, resident alien, no income

Forum|Forum|6 years ago
April 16, 2020
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I am an F1 student and I am staying in the US for more than 6 years (my case considered as a resident). However, I didn't receive any income in the US. I filed my 8843 form. Do I need to file any tax return, since I am considered as a resident?

Also, I would like to ask. What is the difference between a 1040 and tax return? can I file a 1040 without tax return? beside 1040 do I need to file any other form?

Best answer by pk12_2

@hbnguyen26 , as a resident ( I am assuming that you have passed the substantial presence test in 2019) you file your return on form 1040 which is supported by TurboTax. You will also need to enter the form 1098-T that you got from your educational institution -- this should show both the fees/tuition paid to the institution and also the scholarship amount given to you. Note that TurboTax will automatically deduct the educational expenses ( tuition, fees, charged by the university ) from the total scholarship amount and the rest ( if any would be treated as your income --- this is then subject to tax. Generally this will not result in any tax liability, but because you have received a scholarship and a 1098-T, you have to file

I do not understand why you filed a form 8843 --- because you are not exempt from counting days; you would have used form 8833 to assert treaty based exclusion of student income ( valid for some countries only ).

Does this answer your query? Which country are you from ?, When did you enter USA with F-1 ( 2014 ? )

P

pk12_2

Employee

@hbnguyen26 , as F-1 visa holder you are exempt from counting days present for five calendar years starting with the year of admission. Once you have completed the five years and you have been here long enough ( 183 days present ), you are a resident for tax purposes. This implies that you are taxed by the USA on your world income. Thus if you receive scholarship from your home country, it would be subject to taxation just like when a US citizen student receives a scholarship from the local university / foundation. Some nations limit the taxability of the foreign scholarships under tax treaty executed between US and that country. So which country are you from ? Did you receive scholarship from abroad? Or money from your family abroad ? In any case you would need a 1098-T from your school to offset any educational expenses ( because these are not taxable ).

H

hbnguyen26Author

I did not receive any scholarships from abroad. My scholarship is from a US school as a merit scholarship. However, I did receive money from my family overseas. I didn't earn any income (I don't have a job) and still under an F1 visa. Please advise me if I have to fill out any form.

Can I also fill out the form 1040 even when I don't have any income?

Thank you so much for your help. @pk12_2

P

pk12_2Answer

Employee

@hbnguyen26 , as a resident ( I am assuming that you have passed the substantial presence test in 2019) you file your return on form 1040 which is supported by TurboTax. You will also need to enter the form 1098-T that you got from your educational institution -- this should show both the fees/tuition paid to the institution and also the scholarship amount given to you. Note that TurboTax will automatically deduct the educational expenses ( tuition, fees, charged by the university ) from the total scholarship amount and the rest ( if any would be treated as your income --- this is then subject to tax. Generally this will not result in any tax liability, but because you have received a scholarship and a 1098-T, you have to file

I do not understand why you filed a form 8843 --- because you are not exempt from counting days; you would have used form 8833 to assert treaty based exclusion of student income ( valid for some countries only ).

Does this answer your query? Which country are you from ?, When did you enter USA with F-1 ( 2014 ? )