Deadline to file taxes without extension - April 15th, 2009

The following information and link are specific to "non-residents", the term used by the IRS to identify people who are not citizens or permanent residents of the United States (i.e. - visa holders). For more information, forms and publications please visit the IRS website at www.irs.gov and the California Franchise Tax Board website at www.ftb.ca.gov.

For a Federal tax return, the answer is usually yes. The exception to condition one in the “Who Must File” section of the 1040NR instructions applies to most non-resident international students attending UCLA on F-1 or J-1 visas. If you received any money that appears on a W-2, 1042s, or other income form, you would have to file a 1040NR or 1040NR-EZ.

Note: All non-resident students and scholars should file a Form 8843, even if they did not receive any other U.S. income from employment, fellowship/scholarship or other U.S. sources.

For a California state tax return, the answer is maybe. California follows a system based on your filing status and income. See below for more details.

In any case, you should file income tax returns if you have a refund due (i.e.- if federal and/or state tax was withheld from your pay or other income you received and your tax liability was less than that amount). To know if this is the case, you will need to complete the respective tax forms.

For more information regarding Federal Forms, click here
For more information regarding State Forms, click here

• You do not claim any dependents (someone you support like a spouse, child, or elderly parent). This generally means you are currently unmarried and only supporting yourself.
   
• You cannot be claimed as a dependent on another person's U.S. tax return (such as your parent's return).
   
• Your only U.S. source income was from wages, salaries, tips, taxable refunds of state and local income taxes, and scholarship or fellowship grants.
   
• taxable income (line 14 of Form 1040NR-EZ) was less than $50,000.
   
• The only adjustments to income you can claim are the student loan interest deduction or the exclusion for scholarship or fellowship grants.
   
• You do not claim any tax credits (ex.- Education, Earned Income, Child, etc).
   
• If you were married, you do not claim an exemption for your spouse.
   
• The only itemized deduction you can claim is for state and local income taxes (you may still take the "standard deduction" offered on the 1040NR-EZ form).

The deadline to file the 1040NR, 1040NR-EZ, and 540NR forms is April 15th, 2006. However, if for some reason you are not able to prepare your return by this time, you can file the following form 4868(federal) and 3519(state) for an extension. You must file these forms by the deadline.

• How do I know if I should pay taxes as a non-resident?
  Most UCLA international students and scholars who are non-immigrants complete and file "non-resident" tax forms. However, "tax residency" is not the same as "immigration status" - the workshops will cover this in detail, but this IRS link also explains how it is determined.
   
• What forms should I be receiving from UCLA about my income?
  A great reference from UCLA Payroll: in short, W-2s cover employment, while other forms relate to income from other sources. A person CAN receive more than one kind of form if they have more than one type of income for the tax year.
   
• Useful information for international students from the IRS
   
• Useful information for international graduate students from the Graduate Division
   
• Finding a tax treaty for your country
   
• Claiming Tax Treaty Benefits and Additional Note
   
• Getting a Tax Identification Number
   

• Professional Tax Preparers (as listed by UCLA Tax Services)