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Tax year 2026Checked

How much of a campus job or TA paycheck do F-1 students keep?

Estimated 2026 tax on $10,000 to $25,000 of campus job or TA pay, what a China, India or South Korea treaty saves, and what California, New York, Illinois and Massachusetts take.

By F1TaxReturn Tax Team. Published . Facts checked against the sources below on . 7 minute read.

In short

  1. Example estimate: a nonresident F-1 student with no tax treaty who earns $20,000 from a campus job or TA position in Texas owes $2,152 of federal income tax for 2026 and keeps $17,848.
  2. Nonresident F-1 and J-1 students pay no Social Security or Medicare tax on campus pay; a US worker paid $15,000 would pay $1,148 of it.
  3. On $20,000 of 2026 campus pay in Texas, a tax treaty cuts federal tax by $240 with South Korea's $2,000 exemption, $600 with China's $5,000 and $1,762 with India's $16,100 standard deduction.
  4. At $20,000 with no treaty, estimated 2026 state income tax is $9 in California, $488 in New York (before its household credit), $780 in Massachusetts (using its 2025 exemption) and $845 in Illinois; California also taxes treaty-exempt pay.
  5. Federal tax withheld above what you owe comes back only on Form 1040-NR, filed with Form 8843; with wages, both are due Thursday, April 15, 2027.
Contents, 7 sections

A nonresident F-1 student with no tax treaty who earns $20,000 from a campus job or teaching assistantship in Texas in 2026 keeps an estimated $17,848. Federal income tax takes $2,152, and Social Security and Medicare tax takes nothing.

A tax treaty can lower the federal tax, and most states add their own income tax. For the whole return, see the guide to US taxes for international students. For what your pay stub should show, see on-campus job taxes.

How much tax comes out of a $15-an-hour campus job?

A campus job at $15 an hour, 20 hours a week for 50 weeks, pays $15,000 in 2026. A nonresident F-1 student in Texas with no tax treaty owes an estimated $1,552 of federal income tax on that pay and keeps $13,448.

$15,000
Federal income tax
$1,552
Texas income tax
$0
Left after these taxes
$13,448

Social Security and Medicare: $0. A US worker earning the same would pay $1,148.

Where $15,000 of 2026 campus job pay goes for a nonresident F-1 student in Texas. From the Texas tax calculator: 2026 federal brackets for a nonresident alien, first in the US in 2025. No state income tax on wages.

Social Security and Medicare tax is $0 while you are a nonresident alien in F-1 or J-1 status (IRS). A US worker paid $15,000 would pay $1,148, although a US student who works for their own school is usually exempt too (IRS).

Estimated 2026 federal tax in Texas at 20 hours a week for 50 weeks, for a nonresident F-1 student with no tax treaty.
Hourly payPay for 2026Federal income taxYou keep
$10$10,000$1,000$9,000
$15$15,000$1,552$13,448
$20$20,000$2,152$17,848
$25$25,000$2,752$22,248

Worked example: Ana, $15 an hour at the campus library in Texas

Ana, an illustrative F-1 student, first came to the US in August 2025, so in 2026, her second calendar year in student status, she is a nonresident alien. She earns $15,000 for 1,000 hours of work. No treaty covers her pay, and Texas has no income tax (Texas Constitution, Article 8, Section 24-a).

Nonresident aliens generally get no standard deduction (IRS), so at the 2026 rates (Revenue Procedure 2025-32) her federal tax is 10% of $12,400 = $1,240, plus 12% of the other $2,600 = $312, for $1,552. She keeps $15,000 minus $1,552 = $13,448, about $13.45 an hour.

Estimates for tax year 2026 from the Texas tax calculator: wages only, single, all 2026 pay in one state, first in the US in 2025. The IRS's 2026 Tax Table, not yet published, may differ by a few dollars.

Key facts

Federal income tax on $15,000 of campus pay, Texas, no treaty (estimate)
$1,552, which leaves $13,448
Federal income tax on $20,000 of campus pay, Texas, no treaty (estimate)
$2,152, which leaves $17,848
Social Security and Medicare on campus pay (nonresident F-1 or J-1)
$0
2026 federal rates on a nonresident's wages
10% on the first $12,400 of taxable income, 12% up to $50,400; no standard deduction except for students and business apprentices from India
Form 1040-NR due date, with wages
Thursday, April 15, 2027
For
F-1 and J-1 students who were nonresident aliens for all of 2026 and were paid wages on a Form W-2 for a campus job, teaching assistantship or research assistantship.
Not for
Resident aliens (usually from your sixth calendar year), students paid a fellowship reported on Form 1042-S, and anyone who worked in two states in 2026.

How much does my treaty save?

At campus-job pay levels, a treaty that exempts part of your wages saves 10% to 12% of the amount it exempts. On $20,000 in Texas, South Korea's $2,000 saves $240, China's $5,000 saves $600, and India's $16,100 standard deduction saves $1,762.

Estimated 2026 federal tax on campus pay in Texas for a nonresident F-1 student, by treaty: Korea exempts $2,000, China $5,000, and India gives a $16,100 deduction.
Pay for 2026No treatySouth KoreaChinaIndia
$10,000$1,000$800$500$0
$15,000$1,552$1,312$1,000$0
$20,000$2,152$1,912$1,552$390
$25,000$2,752$2,512$2,152$890

Korea's Article 21(1) lasts 5 tax years, counted from the year you arrived (South Korea guide). China's Article 20(c) lasts as long as you reasonably need to finish your studies (China guide). India's Article 21(2) works as a deduction, so your wages stay on the return in full (India guide).

Other countries' amounts are in the treaty table by country. To keep the exempt pay out of withholding, give payroll Form 8233 for each tax year (Form 8233 instructions). Otherwise, claim the treaty on Form 1040-NR.

Does my state tax campus pay?

A state taxes campus pay like any other wages, and Texas, Florida, Washington and the other states with no tax on wages charge no income tax on it. On $20,000 of 2026 pay, estimated state income tax is $9 in California, $488 in New York (before its household credit), $780 in Massachusetts (2025 exemption) and $845 in Illinois.

$20,000

$0 in the 9 states with no tax on wages: Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, Wyoming. Also $0 at this wage, though they tax wages: North Dakota, Ohio.

Lowest of the rest

  1. California$9
  2. Mississippi$68
  3. Arizona$98
  4. Connecticut$100
  5. South Carolina$100

Highest

  1. Maryland$1,016
  2. District of Columbia$1,000
  3. Montana$940
  4. Utah$890
  5. Colorado$880

State income tax on $20,000 of 2026 campus pay in each state, for a nonresident F-1 student with no tax treaty. State and local income tax from the tax calculator, for a nonresident alien first in the US in 2025, with no treaty. Local income tax is included at the calculator's default rate in Indiana and Maryland. Not included: city and local wage taxes in Alabama, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, New York, Ohio and Pennsylvania, which vary by place, and state payroll programs.
Estimated 2026 tax on $20,000 of campus pay for a nonresident F-1 student with no tax treaty, outside New York City, before state payroll programs.
Where you workState income taxFederal income taxYou keep
Texas$0$2,152$17,848
California$9$2,151$17,840
New York (before household credit)$488$2,093$17,419
Massachusetts (2025 exemption)$780$2,058$17,162
Illinois$845$2,051$17,104

Federal tax is a little lower where a state taxes your pay, because the state income tax withheld is deductible on Schedule A (Form 1040-NR).

The state figures

Calculator estimates with Ana's inputs (wages only, single, one state all year, first in the US in 2025); a state's tax table can differ by a few dollars. California: the 2026 rate schedule, $5,900 standard deduction and $158 credit (FTB Tax News, October 2026); its 2026 tax table is due in late December. New York: the rates in its 2026 estimated tax instructions and the $8,000 deduction for a filer no one can claim as a dependent, but not the household credit, $45 at $20,000 in the 2025 IT-203 instructions. Illinois: 4.95% (IL-700-T) after a $2,925 exemption (FY 2026-15). Massachusetts: 5% after the $4,400 exemption in its 2025 instructions; the 2026 amount is not yet published.

New York and Illinois start from the federal adjusted gross income on your Form 1040-NR, which leaves treaty-exempt pay out (IT-203, line 19). Illinois's 2025 Schedule M lists no addition for it. Massachusetts exempts pay that a treaty exempts from federal tax (Directive 87-4); California taxes it anyway (FTB). With China's $5,000 exemption, state tax on $20,000 falls to $273 in New York (before its household credit), $530 in Massachusetts (using its 2025 exemption) and $598 in Illinois. California's stays $9, because it taxes all $20,000.

Pay from the school where you are enrolled and regularly attending classes is not subject to California's State Disability Insurance (EDD DE 231TE). New York Paid Family Leave, Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave and Washington's Paid Leave and WA Cares premiums may also be withheld; check your pay stub. New York City residents also pay city income tax (New York City estimates).

Will I get some of it back?

You get back any federal income tax withheld above your tax, but only by filing Form 1040-NR (Publication 519). Withholding can be higher than the figures here if you worked only part of the year or payroll did not apply your treaty.

To figure withholding, payroll adds $16,100 a year to a nonresident's wages, except for students from India (Publication 15-T). On steady, year-round pay, that brings withholding close to the tax in our tables. State tax withheld comes back only on that state's return. Why F-1 students get refunds explains each cause, and the Form W-4 guide shows how to set withholding.

If Social Security or Medicare tax was taken from your pay, ask your employer to repay it first (FICA refund guide). From your sixth calendar year the numbers change, as resident vs nonresident alien tax shows.

What to do next

  1. Check your pay stub: federal income tax is usually withheld, and Social Security and Medicare should be $0.
  2. If your country's treaty exempts part of your pay, give payroll a new Form 8233 for 2027. Claim on your 2026 return any treaty benefit that payroll did not apply.
  3. Put your own pay, state and treaty into the take-home calculator.
  4. File Form 1040-NR with Form 8843 by Thursday, April 15, 2027. California, New York, Illinois and Massachusetts returns are expected the same day; none has published its 2027 date yet.

Once the final 2026 forms are published, F1TaxReturn prepares Form 1040-NR and Form 8843 for W-2 wages for free. State forms for those four states cost one payment of $30 plus a $2 processing fee. It does not take Form 1042-S, so treaty-exempt pay your school reported there needs another route.

Questions students ask

Is a TA or RA stipend taxed like a campus job?

It is if your school pays it through payroll and reports it on Form W-2: it is wages, taxed at the same federal rates, with no Social Security or Medicare tax while you are a nonresident. A fellowship that requires no teaching or research is different. Your school usually reports it on Form 1042-S and withholds 14% of the taxable part.

Why is federal tax taken from my small campus paycheck?

A nonresident alien generally gets no standard deduction, so the 10% rate applies from the first dollar of 2026 pay. To figure withholding, payroll also adds $16,100 a year to your wages, unless you are a student from India (Publication 15-T, 2026). Withholding is only a prepayment: your Form 1040-NR settles the real tax.

Does a summer campus job at 40 hours a week change my tax?

Your tax depends on your total 2026 pay, not on when you earned it. Withholding can change: payroll may withhold summer paychecks as if you earned that much all year, so you can get some back on Form 1040-NR. The IRS lists on-campus work of up to 40 hours a week during summer vacation as exempt from Social Security and Medicare tax.

Do I start paying Social Security and Medicare tax in my sixth year?

On most jobs you do: the F-1 exemption ends in the year you become a resident alien, usually your sixth calendar year in student status. Pay from the school where you are enrolled and regularly attending classes can stay free of both taxes under the student exception. That exception does not apply if you normally work 40 hours or more a week, or if your public university's state Section 218 agreement covers student workers.

Sources

This guide is checked against these 23 documents, most recently on .

  1. Revenue Procedure 2025-32 (2026 inflation adjustments), IRS
  2. Nonresident: figuring your tax, IRS
  3. Foreign student liability for Social Security and Medicare taxes, IRS
  4. Student FICA exception, IRS
  5. Revenue Procedure 2005-11 (student FICA exception safe harbor), IRS
  6. Schedule A (Form 1040-NR) (2026 draft), Itemized Deductions, IRS
  7. Publication 15-T (2026), Federal Income Tax Withholding Methods, IRS
  8. Publication 519 (2025), U.S. Tax Guide for Aliens, IRS
  9. Instructions for Form 8233, IRS
  10. United States-China income tax treaty, IRS
  11. United States-India income tax treaty, IRS
  12. United States-Korea income tax treaty, IRS
  13. Tax News, October 2026 (2026 tax rate schedules, standard deduction and exemption credit), California Franchise Tax Board
  14. 2025 Instructions for Schedule CA (540NR), California Franchise Tax Board
  15. Information Sheet: Types of Employment (DE 231TE), California Employment Development Department
  16. Instructions for Form IT-2105 (2026), Estimated Tax Payment Voucher for Individuals, New York State Department of Taxation and Finance
  17. Instructions for Form IT-203 (2025), Nonresident and Part-Year Resident Income Tax Return, New York State Department of Taxation and Finance
  18. Informational Bulletin FY 2026-15, What's New for Illinois Income Taxes, Illinois Department of Revenue
  19. IL-700-T (2026), Illinois Withholding Tax Tables, Illinois Department of Revenue
  20. 2025 Schedule M (IL-1040), Other Additions and Subtractions, Illinois Department of Revenue
  21. 2025 Form 1-NR/PY instructions, Massachusetts Department of Revenue
  22. Directive 87-4, Non-residents from other countries: effect of tax treaty, Massachusetts Department of Revenue
  23. Texas Constitution, Article 8, Section 24-a (individual income tax prohibited), Texas Legislative Council