Glacier Tax Prep state return: how do I file mine?

How do I file my state return after Glacier Tax Prep?

You can file it one of three ways: the state's own forms by hand, a Sprintax state return, or F1TaxReturn if you worked in California, New York, Illinois or Massachusetts. All three start after one question: did you work in a state that taxes wages?

If you did not, and you had no other income taxed there, you usually have no state return to file.

Sprintax suits a student who worked in a state F1TaxReturn does not cover. The same list shows "State tax preparation from $49.95", and its state-only guide says a state return "in general" costs $49.95, so read the price at checkout. Sprintax says an international student cannot e-file a state return with it.

F1TaxReturn also prepares the federal Form 1040-NR and Form 8843 for free, so a student there would not need Glacier Tax Prep at all. It does not import a Glacier Tax Prep return, and it does not take income reported on Form 1042-S. It prepares 2026 returns once the final 2026 forms are published.

Which number from my Form 1040-NR does each state start from?

New York and Illinois start from your federal adjusted gross income (AGI), which is line 11a of the 2025 Form 1040-NR. California and Massachusetts start from your W-2 wages instead.

The difference matters if a tax treaty exempts part of your pay. California does not follow federal treaties, so wages left off your federal return are added back. That holds even when your employer applied the treaty and reported the pay on Form 1042-S, not your W-2 (FTB Publication 1031; 540NR booklet). New York's IT-203 instructions and Illinois's IL-1040 instructions start from federal AGI, and Illinois has you attach your Form 1040-NR. Massachusetts subtracts treaty-exempt pay that is included in line 5 (2025 Form 1-NR/PY instructions; Directive 87-4).

California and New York work out your tax as if all your income were taxable there, then keep the in-state share. Illinois and Massachusetts tax only your in-state income and cut your exemption to the in-state share.

The California guide, the New York guide, the Illinois guide and the Massachusetts guide walk through each return.

Do I need a state return at all?

You usually need one if you earned wages in a state that taxes them and your income is above that state's filing threshold. Some states do not tax wages at all, and each state sets its own threshold; the state income tax guide lists both.

Filing can still pay when you are under the threshold. If the state withheld tax from your pay, a return is how you get it back; Massachusetts's Directive 87-4 says so for treaty-exempt pay. A taxable scholarship can also need a state return. A state can also treat you as its resident while you are a nonresident alien federally; the state guides cover both. If you worked in two states, read two state tax returns.

What to do next

1. Finish the federal return first. A 2026 Form 1040-NR is due Thursday, April 15, 2027 if you had wages with US tax withheld.
2. Check each W-2's state boxes to see which states withheld tax or reported wages.
3. Pick a route from the table above. The comparison of free tax filing options sets the federal choices side by side.
4. Mail the state return separately from the federal one, to the address in that state's instructions. California, Illinois and Massachusetts returns are expected to be due Thursday, April 15, 2027, and New York's too for a student whose federal return is due that day. No state has published its 2027 dates yet, and other states set their own.