FAQ

If you did not work during a tax year (Jan 1 - Dec 31) but were in the U.S., you only need to file IRS Form 8843. If you didn't work last year, but plan to work this year, take a quick look at what follows.
Using Sprintax to prepare your federal and state personal income tax forms
- PSU makes arrangements to use Sprintax to prepare your personal income tax forms.
- See below "Can I use another tax preparation services?"
TurboTax can NOT prepare the 1040-NR federal tax form
- See why nonresident aliens should NOT use TurboTax!
Organizing your documents: Use a file folder to collect all paper-version tax-related documents. Place digital versions in a secure location. (On your harddrive with no backups is not secure.) See "TAX DOCUMENTS THAT YOU MAY RECEIVE"
Items received by mail: If you receive an envelope that says on the outside "Important Tax Information," open it immediately and check to make sure your SSN is correct, and the spelling of your name matches what is on your SSN card. If not, contact the sender of the document for a corrected copy. Then put the document into your tax file.
Join the Facebook group "Tax Info for PDX ISS" at https://www.facebook.com/groups/isstaxinfo4pdx to receive announcements and information about this tax season and alerts about help sessions.

Throughout the Year (if you are employed)

If you are employed, see this slide presentation for suggestions about what you should do throughout the year to avoid tax-related problems when it is time to complete your tax forms. http://bit.ly/isstaxtimeline-s

November

If you have previously filed a federal or state income tax return and you have moved since you filed the return, submit a change of address to the IRS and the state revenue service to which you filed your return. See "Update Your Address."

December

Some tax documents are sent by USPS (mail) in January. Make sure that all the employers for whom you have worked during the year have your current address.

Don't procrastinate! If you will work for Portland State University the following year, update their CO-NRA form (see January for more details).

January

Must submit CO-NRA no later than Jan 10: If you have been working for Portland State University, complete and submit a new CO-NRA form by Jan 10. Search for "CO-NRA" at https://www.pdx.edu/human-resources/non-resident-alien-guidelines-tax-treaties

By Jan 31 you should receive: You should have received tax documents by the end of January.

W-2: from each of your employers either by USPS or through your employer's website.
1099-NEC: sent by USPS if you worked last year as an independent contractor
1098-T: Issued by your school. The 1098-T is not needed to file your return, but keep in your tax folder.
1099-G: If you filed a state return the previous year and you received a refund of some of your state tax, the state who issued you a refund will send you a small card. Inspect and then keep in your tax folder.
see "Documents you may receive" for more information forms you MAY receive.

February

Look for important tax-related emails from PSU's International Office. These emails will contain discount codes that will allow you to use Sprintax to prepare your federal return for free. (There is an additional Sprintax fee for any state income tax forms prepared by Sprintax.)

March

After you finish winter finals and submissions, take a nap and then get started on your tax forms. A good place to start is "Getting Help"

By March 15: If you received amounts for scholarship/grants/awards that are taxable, the source/payer of the funds should send you IRS Form 1042-S stating the amounts that must be included on your tax forms.

April

By April 15: submit your federal and state tax return forms. In some years, the tax return due date may be on Apr 16, 17, 18

May - June

Under normal circumstances, you should receive any refund due to you within 4-6 weeks. If it has been more than 8 weeks, check "Where's My Refund."

Questions about my Return

Will I get a refund?
Why did my friend get a larger refund?
Last year, all my money was refunded. Why not this year?
Why do I owe money?
How can I get the most money back?

See NRA Taxes 101(F&J Visa only) - Will I Get a Refund?, a Google Slide presentation to help you understand how to answer these questions.

Federal Tax Return

Which Federal Return?

QUESTION: I am a nonresident alien. Which federal tax return should I file if I have taxable income?

ANSWER: You will file IRS Form1040-NR (and any required schedules).

If you were married to a resident alien at the end of the tax year, see the following exception.

Exception: a nonresident alien married to a resident alien or U.S. citizen at the end of tax year.

If, at the end of your tax year, you are married and one spouse is a U.S. citizen or a resident alien and the other spouse is a nonresident alien, the resident filer can choose to treat the nonresident spouse as a U.S. resident. This includes situations in which one spouse is a nonresident alien at the beginning of the tax year but is a resident alien at the end of the year, and the other spouse is a nonresident alien at the end of the year. See "Nonresident Spouse Treated as a Resident" in IRS Pub 519 for more information and Nonresident Spouse | Internal Revenue Service (irs.gov) .

Overview of how the federal nonresident tax return works

QUESTION: Can you give me an overview of how the nonresident federal tax return works?

ANSWER: The IRS has a nice summary of how the nonresident federal tax return works. See Nonresident Alien Figuring Your Tax.

What are the ways that I can pay the tax due on my federal return?

See Paying Your Taxes at the IRS website.

I received a federal refund in error. What should I do?

If the error is because you filed the wrong form or you filed the correct form but made a mistake, you will need to amend your federal form. See "Correcting a Tax Form."

For any other reason, see how to return the money paid to you in error at IRS Topic No. 161Returning an Erroneous Refund – Paper Check or Direct Deposit.

Can I use another tax preparation services?

Yes, you can, but if your status is nonresident alien, the tax preparation service must be able to prepare a IRS Form 1040-NR. IRS Forms 1040 and 1040A are incorrect forms for nonresident aliens.

How can I tell if another tax preparation service is safe to use?

Any two competent tax preparers who are given the same set of information will produce identical tax returns. BEWARE of those prepares who claim they can give bigger refunds.

There are several ways to verify that a remote tax preparer is legitimate.
- Ask where they are located (get zip code)
- Ask for their Preparer Tax Identification Number (PTIN). Anyone who is paid to prepare federal tax returns is required to have a PTIN.
- Verify that the tax preparer is listed on the IRS website: https://irs.treasury.gov/rpo/rpo.jsf
  - Enter the country (United States), Zip Code of Preparer, and last name of preparer
- See also https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/find-a-qualified-tax-professional-using-irs-website-resources

Tips for evaluating a tax preparer.

It's important to choose a trusted preparer. Taxpayers entrust important personal data with the person who is preparing their tax return, including Social Security numbers and information on income and investments.
Ask about service fees. Make sure they are reasonable. Avoid preparers who base fees on a percentage of their client's refund or boast bigger refunds than their competition.
Ask if they will represent you in case of an audit or other tax-related matter.
Review the tax return carefully before signing. Taxpayers are legally responsible for what's on their tax return, regardless of whether someone else prepared it. If something does not look right, don't hesitate to ask questions.
Ensure they will sign your return as a paid preparer and that they include their Preparer Tax Identification Number (PTIN) in the signature section of the tax return. See image below.
Never sign a blank tax return. Consider it a red flag when a taxpayer is asked to sign a blank tax return.

Employment Related

My employer withheld Social Security and Medicare taxes from my paycheck. How do I get that back?

See FICA.

My employer reimbursed me for some expenses. Is it taxable? Do I need to report it on my income tax return?

See Topic No. 514 Employee Business Expenses https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc514

If the reimbursement is for the purchase of items related to the business, it is not considered taxable income to the employee. If any portion of the reimbursement is considered taxable, the employer will report that to you in January.

Am I an employee or an independent contractor?

Occasionally, companies hire nonresident alien students on CPT, OPT or H1B as independent contractors rather than as employees.

This can affect how you are paid, whether taxes are withheld (to later be applied to your tax returns), benefits, and other issues.

See these two pages at irs.gov regarding employee vs. independent contractor:

See this IRS video regarding Hiring people who live in the U.S. but who aren't U.S. citizens

Investing, Trading, Stocks, Bonds, Mutual Funds

I have been using an app to buy and sell stocks. Do I need to report this on my personal income tax returns?

You are not taxed for purchasing stocks and bonds. But during a year in which you sell stocks and bonds, you will pay tax on any profits.

If you purchased your investment through a broker (for example Edward Jones or Robinhood), they will send you a document in January reporting on the previous year (Jan 1 - Dec 31). The document will have three sections:

1099-B - a report of all your trades and gains and losses
1099-DIV - a report of all your dividend payments
1099-INT - a report of all you interest earnings that are related to your investments or account with the broker

You will enter the information from these forms onto your tax forms. If you are using a service like Sprintax, you will use their entry screens.

See Sprintax's blog entry on trading tax requirements for more information.

Where can I learn more about investing the stock market?

If you are interested to learn more about investing in the stock market, see wikiHow's How to Buy Stocks.

If you find more helpful articles, send them to me and I will add the links.

Oregon Kicker Tax Refund

The "kicker" is an additional Oregon state tax refund that may happen when filing tax forms for odd-numbered tax years (such as 2023, 2025, etc.).

NOTE: There will be a kicker tax refund as part of the 2023 Oregon personal income tax returns.

By Oregon law, any excess funds (above a designated amount) collected by the state of Oregon for the state budget must be returned to taxpayers. This is known as the "kicker" refund. If there is a refund, it is made a part of the Oregon income tax return on odd numbered years.

The Oregon state budget covers two fiscal years, which is a biennium. The biennium begins on July 1 of odd-numbered years and ends on June 30 of the next odd-numbered year. For example, July 1, 2021 - June 30, 2023.

Current biennium: July 1, 2023 - June 30, 2025
If there are excess funds to refund the Oregon state taxpayer, it will be a part of the 2023 state income tax return.

After the close of the biennium on June 30, on odd number years, the state determines if there are any excess taxes collected that should be distributed back to the taxpayers.
If there are excess tax funds, the state will determine the percentage to be used to calculate the amount of the individual's refund based upon the tax returns of the even-numbered tax year of the biennium.
The "kicker refund" will be calculated and claimed when the individual prepares and files the Oregon Income Tax return for the tax year that includes the ending date of the biennium.

Retirement

Social Security: Will I get Social Security benefits later in life?

QUESTION: Now that I am a resident alien, I am having Social Security taxes withheld from my paycheck. Will I get Social Security benefits later in life?

ANSWER: According to current regulations, an individual that has worked during ten calendar years in which s/he earned at least $5,880 or more (2021 amounts) is eligible for social security benefits. See more details at https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/retirement/planner/credits.html.

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