Tax Information for International Students and Scholars:

Federal Taxation

For a comprehensive explanation of U.S. tax laws regarding federal taxation, please begin your research by downloading Publication 519, "The U.S. Tax Guide for Aliens," from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) website:

http://www.irs.ustreas.gov/formspubs/index.html

Publication 519 will help you determine if you are a Resident Alien or a Non-Resident Alien for federal tax purposes. In the simplest cases, F-1 and J-1 students and scholars can file the 1040 NR EZ form and the 8843 form. Some countries offer tax treaties with the United States which allow students and scholars to pay limited taxes while in the US to study or conduct research. Please be aware that if you are in F, or J status you should not file the 1040 EZ unless you have been in the US for more than 5 years and can pass the substantial presence test.

If you have not earned any income from a U.S. source, you may only need to file the 8843 form. Please file the 8843 form if this is the case. Although it may seem unimportant, should you decide to return to the United States in another visa category or should you decide to accept U.S.-source income at a later date, it is important to have already established your tax status (Resident or Non-Resident Alien). This may have bearing on your tax status at a later date.

Forms relevant to federal taxation are listed below:

    Publication 519, U.S. Tax Guide for Aliens (download publication here)
    Publication 901, U.S. Tax Treaties
    Publication 597, Information on the U.S. - Canada Income Tax Treaty 
    Form 1040 NR 
    Form 1040 NR instructions   
    Form 1040 NR-EZ   
    Form 1040 NR-EZ instructions  
    Form 8840  
    Form 8843  

Once the federal tax forms have been completed, they should be mailed to:

Internal Revenue Service, Philadelphia, PA 19255.

If you earned income from working in the United States in the calendar year 2007, your returns must be filed by April 15, 2005. If you did not earn U.S.-source income during 2007, your forms must be mailed by June 15, 2005.

If you have earned income while in the US, you may also be required to file Maryland State tax forms. These forms are available in the Albin O. Kuhn Library, as well as in most public libraries and post offices. They come in a package with all the forms you will need. If you have lived in the state of Maryland for more than 6 months you are considered a resident for tax purposes. If you have earned no US source income this past year you are not required to file Maryland state tax forms. No tax treaties with other countries apply to Maryland state taxes. Maryland state tax forms are due by April 15, 2005.

State of Maryland Taxation

Maryland State tax forms may be found here:

        http://www.comp.state.md.us/

    The most commonly needed Maryland state tax forms are as follows:

    Maryland Form 502 
    Maryland Tax Table

 

Other Resources

For more links and resources on international taxation, please see our Tax Resources page.

 

 

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last modified 3/19/2007