Tax year 2026Checked October 22, 2026

Form 1040 vs Form 1040-NR: which one F-1 students file for 2026

Which federal return you file depends on your tax residency for 2026. A decision chart, the two forms side by side with 2026 draft line numbers, and what changes in an H-1B year.

5 calendar years in which most F-1 and J-1 students are nonresident aliens; any part of a calendar year counts as a whole one

By F1TaxReturn Tax Team. Published October 22, 2026. Facts checked against the sources below on October 22, 2026. 6 minute read.

In short

Your tax residency for 2026 decides the form, not your visa: a nonresident alien for all of 2026 files Form 1040-NR, and a resident alien for all of 2026 files Form 1040.
F-1, J-1, M-1 and Q students are generally nonresident aliens for their first 5 calendar years in student status, OPT years included, and those with taxable US income file Form 1040-NR with Form 8843.
Form 1040 gives a single filer the $16,100 standard deduction for 2026; Form 1040-NR gives none, except to students and business apprentices from India.
A year in which your residency starts after January 1, for example with 183 or more days in the US on H-1B within your five exempt years, generally needs a dual-status return, which gets no standard deduction.
A single nonresident F-1 student cannot choose to file a full-year Form 1040. The main way a nonresident files Form 1040 for the whole year is a joint return with a US citizen or resident spouse.

Contents, 9 sections

F-1 students who are nonresident aliens for all of tax year 2026, as most are in their first five calendar years, file Form 1040-NR if they had taxable US income. Those who are resident aliens for all of 2026 file Form 1040, and a year in which their residency changes needs a dual-status return.

Your tax residency decides the form, not your visa. The guide to US taxes for international students covers the rest of the return.

The return and standard deduction for each residency status in 2026.

Am I a nonresident or a resident alien for 2026?

F, J, M and Q students are generally nonresident aliens in their first five calendar years in student status, because those days do not count toward the substantial presence test. From the sixth year, 183 days in the US in that year generally make you a resident alien who files Form 1040.

20221 of 5: exempt, days do not count
20232 of 5: exempt, days do not count
20243 of 5: exempt, days do not count
20254 of 5: exempt, days do not count
20265 of 5: exempt, days do not count
20276th: days count

2026 is your 5th exempt year: you are a nonresident alien.

File Form 8843, and Form 1040-NR as well if you had taxable US income. No Social Security or Medicare tax on campus, CPT or OPT pay. Your days start to count in 2027.

The five exempt calendar years of an F-1 student who first came to the US in 2022, and what they mean for the 2026 return. Any part of a calendar year counts as a whole one, and years on F, J, M or Q visas before this one count toward the five (IRC 7701(b)(5)(E)).

Any part of a year counts as a whole year (IRS), and OPT, STEM OPT and CPT are part of F-1 status. To count your days, use the substantial presence test guide; your sixth year on F-1 explains the exception that can keep you a nonresident.

Worked example: Three F-1 students in 2026

All three are single, were in the US all of 2026 and were in student status every year since arriving.

Student	First F-1 year	Days that count in 2026	2026 return
Lin, on STEM OPT	2022	0	Form 1040-NR with Form 8843
Omar, on OPT	2021	365	Form 1040
Sofia, H-1B from June 1	2023	214	Dual-status return

Lin's five calendar years are 2022 to 2026, so none of her 2026 days count. For Omar, 2026 is year six, and 365 days is more than 183, so he is a resident from January 1. Sofia's H-1B days count (a cap-exempt employer let her start in June): June 1 to December 31 is 214 days, more than 183, so she is a resident from June 1 (IRS).

Lin, not from India, gets no standard deduction; Omar gets $16,100; Sofia's dual-status return gets none.

Key facts

Nonresident alien for all of 2026: Form 1040-NR with Schedule OI and Form 8843, or Form 8843 alone if you had no taxable US income
Resident alien for all of 2026: Form 1040, without Form 8843
Residency changed during 2026: Dual-status return: Form 1040 or Form 1040-NR, plus a statement for the other part of the year
2026 standard deduction, single filer: $16,100 on Form 1040; none on Form 1040-NR, except for students and business apprentices from India
Due date if you had wages subject to withholding: Thursday, April 15, 2027, for either form

For: F-1, J-1, M-1 and Q students, including students on OPT, who are deciding which federal return to file for tax year 2026.
Not for: J-1 researchers and scholars, who usually have 2 exempt years rather than 5; green card holders; and anyone who needs line-by-line help with Form 1040 or a dual-status return.

What is different on Form 1040 and Form 1040-NR?

Form 1040-NR taxes only your US income, gives most filers no standard deduction and allows no joint return. Form 1040 taxes worldwide income and gives a single filer a $16,100 standard deduction for 2026.

The two 2026 returns compared, with 2026 draft line numbers
	Form 1040-NR (nonresident alien all year)	Form 1040 (resident alien all year)
Income it taxes	US income only; line 9 is "total effectively connected income"	Income from anywhere in the world; line 9 is "total income"
Standard deduction	None on line 12a, except $16,100 for students and business apprentices from India (IRS)	$16,100 for a single filer, line 12e (Rev. Proc. 2025-32)
Filing status	Single, married filing separately or qualifying surviving spouse; no joint return (instructions)	Also married filing jointly and head of household
Education credits and earned income credit	Generally not allowed (Publication 519)	Allowed if you meet each credit's rules
Tax treaty exemption	Schedule OI (item L on the 2025 edition), with the total on line 1k	Most benefits end; some student articles continue

Both drafts (Form 1040-NR and Form 1040) were created August 19, 2026, so check the line numbers on the final forms. See also who gets the standard deduction and which tax credits F-1 students can claim.

What goes with each return, and when is it due?

Form 1040-NR goes with Schedule OI and, for a student, Form 8843; Form 1040 needs neither. Form 1040 is due Thursday, April 15, 2027, as is Form 1040-NR if you had wages subject to withholding; otherwise it is due Tuesday, June 15, 2027.

What goes with each 2026 return
	Form 1040-NR	Form 1040
Form 8843	Attached, to leave out your days as a student (2026 draft)	Not filed by a resident for all of 2026
Schedule OI	Always included (instructions)	None
US dividends and similar income	Schedule NEC, at a flat 30% or a lower treaty rate (IRS)	Line 3b, part of your total income
Social Security and Medicare tax on pay	None on F-1 campus, CPT or OPT pay (IRS)	7.65% on most wages
Due date	Thursday, April 15, 2027 with wages subject to withholding; Tuesday, June 15, 2027 without	Thursday, April 15, 2027
E-file	Yes, with commercial tax software (instructions)	Yes (instructions)

Your state applies its own residency rules (state income tax guide). The 2027 deadlines guide gives your exact date.

Can I choose to file Form 1040 instead of Form 1040-NR?

A single F-1 student cannot choose a full-year Form 1040, because the residency rules decide your status and your status decides the form. Two choices can change your status, and only the joint return with a US citizen or resident spouse gives a full-year Form 1040.

Married to a US citizen or resident at the end of 2026? The two of you can choose to treat you as a resident for all of 2026 and file a joint Form 1040. Both of you are then taxed on worldwide income (IRS).

The other, the first-year choice, can make someone who will meet the substantial presence test in 2027 a resident from a date in 2026. The result is a dual-status return with no standard deduction (IRS).

Neither form always costs less, as the 2026 comparison of resident and nonresident tax shows.

What if I already filed the wrong form?

A nonresident alien who filed Form 1040 corrects it with Form 1040-X and a Form 1040-NR for the same year marked "Amended", with Form 8843 attached. A resident who filed Form 1040-NR uses Form 1040-X too (Publication 4011).

The guide to fixing a wrong Form 1040 gives the steps, and the TurboTax guide for F-1 students explains how it happens.

Which form do I file in the year I switch to H-1B?

Inside your five exempt years, 183 or more days in the US on H-1B in 2026 make it a dual-status year, and fewer keep you on Form 1040-NR. In your sixth year the switch date does not matter, because your F-1 days already count.

A cap-subject H-1B that starts on October 1, 2026, the first day it can, leaves 92 days in 2026. A student in years 1 to 5 who switches then files Form 1040-NR. What counts is the day H-1B status begins, not the day the petition was approved (F-1 to H-1B tax return guide).

A dual-status filer who is a resident on December 31 files Form 1040 marked "Dual-Status Return", with Form 1040-NR or a statement for the nonresident months (IRS).

What to do next

Count your calendar years in student status, including 2026, with the year chart above.
If 2026 is within your first five years and you kept student status all year, prepare Form 1040-NR with Schedule OI and Form 8843 (how to fill out Form 1040-NR), or Form 8843 alone if you had no taxable US income. File by Thursday, April 15, 2027 if you had wages subject to withholding, or by Tuesday, June 15, 2027 if not.
If you were a resident alien for all of 2026, file Form 1040 by Thursday, April 15, 2027, without Form 8843.
If your residency changed during 2026, find a preparer who handles dual-status returns.
If you filed the wrong form for an earlier year, file Form 1040-X.

F1TaxReturn prepares Form 1040-NR and Form 8843 for free, on paper, once the IRS publishes the final 2026 forms and instructions. It does not prepare Form 1040 or dual-status returns. Create an account.

Questions students ask

Can an F-1 student file Form 1040 instead of Form 1040-NR?

You can file a full-year Form 1040 only if you are a resident alien for all of 2026. For most students that first happens in their sixth calendar year in student status, if they were in the US on January 1 and spent at least 183 days in the US that year. A married student can also choose, together with a US citizen or resident spouse, to be treated as a resident and file a joint Form 1040. A single nonresident cannot pick Form 1040 because it looks simpler or gives a bigger refund.

Which form do I file if I was on OPT in 2026?

Form 1040-NR with Form 8843, if 2026 was within your first five calendar years in student status. OPT and STEM OPT are part of F-1 status, so they neither pause nor restart the count. If 2026 was your sixth year and you spent at least 183 days in the US, you generally file Form 1040: for the whole year if you were in the US on January 1, and otherwise a dual-status return.

Is it better to file Form 1040 or Form 1040-NR?

For most students it is not a choice, and neither form always costs less. A nonresident on Form 1040-NR gets no standard deduction unless they are a student or business apprentice from India, but pays no Social Security or Medicare tax on pay from a campus job, CPT or OPT. A resident on Form 1040 gets the $16,100 deduction but generally pays 7.65% Social Security and Medicare tax on wages.

Do I attach Form 8843 to Form 1040?

Not if you are a resident alien for all of 2026, because Form 8843 exists to leave your days as a student out of the substantial presence test. A dual-status filer whose residency starts late in 2026 because earlier days were exempt does file it.

Sources

This guide is checked against these 17 documents, most recently on October 22, 2026.