Important International Student Tax Information

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US Income Taxes? What are you talking about?  I'm an International Student...

Every nonresident in the US must file tax documents with the IRS.

 THIS MEANS: All International Students who were physically present for at least one day in 2023 must fill out a tax form.  

This rule applies to students who earned U.S. income and students who did not earn any U.S. income.

We (and all other college staff) are not qualified or allowed to provide individual tax advice, so this page is meant as a place to start to educate yourself.

Start Here:

The International Student  Tax Fact Sheet has some basic information about the rules that relate to international students and lots of helpful links.  (you have to log in to google with your MC email address to access any documents that are in my google drive)

This VIDEO I made has a quick overview of what your responsibilities are.  This was made for tax year 2020 - but for this year we are talking about the last calendar year January 1, 2023 - December 31, 2023.

Get Help:

If you did not work in the US in 2023, you can use this helpful Tax Wizard by internationalstudent.com to help you with the form you need to complete.

If you worked in the US in 2023 (in other words you made money  - U.S. income), you may want to get assistance filling out your tax forms.  Sprintax (a tax service for international students – like Turbotax - which you can not use) is a service to help you if you don't want to figure it out yourself.

They also have a lot of helpful videos: https://www.youtube.com/user/Sprintax/videos
& resources whether you use them or not: F-1 International Student Tax Returns - a full guide.(gives clear simple explanations)

Here is a good info graphic from Sprintax to help you understand the basic process if you choose to use their service. 



What Happens if I Don't File Tax Documents with the IRS?

You must file taxes this year by Monday, April 15, 2024  (Form 8843 by June 15)
Filing tax documents each year is an important part of maintaining your immigration status and is a federal requirement for international visitors and their dependents.  Not filing your required taxes could lead to penalties, such as fines, or even negatively impact your immigration status.

If you apply for future immigration benefits, such as H-1B, Permanent Residency, or other statuses, you will likely be asked to provide copies of tax filings for all previous years you were in the U.S. If you forgot or didn't file in previous years when you should have, the IRS recommends that you file now for previous years. You can find the relevant forms from past years on the IRS website.

The IRS expects you to file your taxes each year. Penalties for late filing may include fines, interest on taxes owed, or other consequences. Visit the IRS website for information on Filing Past Due Tax Returns. You can follow up with the IRS or a foreign tax expert if you have questions.


Some more helpful resources:
  • Tax Section on InternationalStudent.com - It is filled with information about who needs to file what forms, links to downloadable forms and other relevant tax documents, and even has an overview of the American tax system.
  • Tax Video - We have a step-by-step tax video to help guide international students through the process and address some of the most common questions we receive.
  • Glacier Tax Prep - an alternative to Sprintax