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Tax year 2026Checked

Do F-1 students pay US tax on income from their home country?

Rent from a flat at home, fixed deposit interest, a summer internship, remote work for a company back home: what the US taxes for 2026, and when that changes.

By F1TaxReturn Tax Team. Published . Facts checked against the sources below on . 5 minute read.

In short

  1. While you are a nonresident alien, rent, bank and fixed deposit interest, and pay for work done in your home country stay off your 2026 Form 1040-NR.
  2. Publication 519 (2025), Table 2-1, decides where income comes from: pay by where you did the work, rent and sales of land or buildings by where the property is, and interest by where the payer is.
  3. Remote work from the US for a company at home is US-source pay, but F, J, M and Q students can exclude pay from a foreign employer under IRC 872(b)(3).
  4. In your first year as a resident alien, usually your sixth calendar year in the US, income from every country goes on Form 1040 from the day your residency starts, and foreign accounts over $10,000 combined need an FBAR.
Contents, 6 sections

If you are an F-1 or J-1 student and a nonresident alien for 2026, the US generally does not tax income from your home country. Rent from a flat there, interest from a bank there and pay for work you did there all stay off your Form 1040-NR.

What decides it is the source of the income: where you did the work, where the property is or where the payer is (Publication 519). Where the money arrives does not change the source. All of this changes when you become a resident alien, usually in your sixth calendar year in the US (the full 2026 filing guide).

Which home-country income does the US tax while I am a nonresident?

A nonresident alien pays US tax only on US-source income and income connected with a US business, so most home-country income is not taxed (IRS).

Home-country income of a student who is a nonresident alien for 2026, by the source rules in Publication 519 (2025), Table 2-1.
Income in 2026 On your Form 1040-NR? What decides it
Pay for work done in your home country, such as a summer internship No Where you did the work
Pay from a company there for remote work you did from the US No, for F, J, M and Q students US-source, but pay from a foreign employer is excluded
Rent from a flat or house there No Where the property is
Gain on selling a flat or land there No Where the property is
Interest on a bank account or fixed deposit there No Where the payer (the bank) is
Scholarship from your home-country government Generally no Where the payer is, even if your university passes it on

Interest from a US bank is left off too, under a separate rule (bank interest for F-1 students). The FBAR guide covers NRE, NRO and fixed deposit accounts in India.

Selling shares or fund units at home is different. The source of that gain is your tax home, not the country where the shares are. It can be taxed in a year you spend 183 days or more here (stocks on an F-1 visa).

Key facts

Home-country rent, interest and pay for work done there
Not on Form 1040-NR while you are a nonresident alien
Remote work from the US for a company at home
US-source, but F, J, M and Q students exclude pay from a foreign employer
What decides where income comes from
Pay: where you did the work. Rent and sales of land or buildings: where the property is. Interest: where the payer is.
First year as a resident alien
Usually your sixth calendar year in the US: income from every country on Form 1040
FBAR, once you are a resident alien
Foreign accounts worth more than $10,000 combined at any time in the year
For
F-1, J-1, M-1 and Q students who are nonresident aliens for 2026 and have income, property or bank accounts in their home country.
Not for
Resident aliens for 2026, who report income from every country on Form 1040. This guide covers federal tax only, not state tax or your home country's tax.

I work remotely for a company back home. Is that US income?

Remote work you do from the US for a company at home is US-source pay. F, J, M and Q students can exclude it as pay from a foreign employer, so it stays off their Form 1040-NR (IRS; IRC 872(b)(3)).

A two by two grid of where you did the work and who paid you. Only work done in the US for a US employer is taxed on a nonresident student's Form 1040-NR.A two by two grid for an F-1, J-1, M-1 or Q student who is a nonresident alien. Rows: where you did the work, in the US or outside the US. Columns: who paid you, a US employer or a foreign employer such as a company at home. Work done in the US for a US employer is US income and is taxed on Form 1040-NR. Work done in the US for a foreign employer is US-source, but F, J, M and Q students exclude pay from a foreign employer, so it is not taxed. Work done outside the US is foreign income and is not taxed, whoever paid for it.Is your pay taxed on Form 1040-NR?For an F-1, J-1, M-1 or Q student who is a nonresident alienA US employerA foreign employerpaid you(a company at home)You did thework inthe USYou did thework outsidethe USTaxedUS income: reportit on Form 1040-NRNot taxedUS-source, but F, J,M and Q studentsexclude pay from aforeign employerNot taxedForeign income:you did the workoutside the USNot taxedForeign income:you did the workoutside the USA two by two grid of where you did the work and who paid you. Only work done in the US for a US employer is taxed on a nonresident student's Form 1040-NR.A two by two grid for an F-1, J-1, M-1 or Q student who is a nonresident alien. Rows: where you did the work, in the US or outside the US. Columns: who paid you, a US employer or a foreign employer such as a company at home. Work done in the US for a US employer is US income and is taxed on Form 1040-NR. Work done in the US for a foreign employer is US-source, but F, J, M and Q students exclude pay from a foreign employer, so it is not taxed. Work done outside the US is foreign income and is not taxed, whoever paid for it.Is your pay taxed on Form 1040-NR?F-1, J-1, M-1 or Q student, nonresident alienWork in the US, US employerTaxedUS income: report it on Form 1040-NRWork in the US, foreign employerNot taxedUS-source, but F, J, M and Q studentsexclude pay from a foreign employerWork outside the US, US employerNot taxedForeign incomeWork outside the US, foreign employerNot taxedForeign income
Only one of the four cases is taxed: work done in the US for a US employer.

A foreign employer is a foreign company or partnership, a nonresident alien individual, or an office that a US company keeps abroad (Publication 519, chapter 3). A company incorporated in the US is not one, even if a group at home owns it, and neither is a foreign government. Whether F-1 rules let you do this work at all is a question for the designated school official (DSO) at your school.

If pay from a foreign employer is your only income, you still file Form 8843. Ask a tax professional whether you also file Form 1040-NR. A separate rule for short visits (90 days or less, $3,000 or less) rarely fits a student who lives here. Contract work for clients follows other rules (1099 income on an F-1 visa).

When does income from home start to count?

Income from home starts to count in your first year as a resident alien, when the US taxes your income from every country on Form 1040 (Publication 519). For most F-1 students that is the sixth calendar year in the US (IRS: exempt individual), if they spend at least 183 days here that year.

First year in the US on an F, J, M or Q visa
  1. 20221 of 5: exempt, days do not count
  2. 20232 of 5: exempt, days do not count
  3. 20243 of 5: exempt, days do not count
  4. 20254 of 5: exempt, days do not count
  5. 20265 of 5: exempt, days do not count
  6. 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 a student who first arrived in 2022, with 2027 the first year their days count. 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)).

Worked example: Meera, F-1 from India, arrived August 2022

Meera is an illustrative PhD student in Texas, which has no state income tax. 2026 is her fifth exempt calendar year, so she is a nonresident alien for 2026.

Meera's 2026 incomeAmountOn Form 1040-NR
Teaching assistant pay, on her W-2$24,000$24,000
Summer internship in Bengaluru, done in India$2,000$0
Rent from her flat in Pune$1,800$0
Fixed deposit interest from an Indian bank$300$0
Total$28,100$24,000

As a student from India, she takes the $16,100 standard deduction under Article 21(2) of the treaty (India's student article). $24,000 minus $16,100 = $7,900 of taxable income, and 10% of $7,900 = $790 of federal tax (Rev. Proc. 2025-32).

In 2027 her days start to count. With at least 183 days in the US that year, she becomes a resident alien, unless she shows she does not intend to stay permanently (Form 8843 line 12). Her rent and interest from India then go on her 2027 Form 1040, from the day her residency starts (your sixth year on F-1).

A resident alien also files an FBAR if their foreign accounts together pass $10,000 at any time in the year (IRS: FBAR). For a 2026 resident it is due Thursday, April 15, 2027, with an automatic extension to Friday, October 15, 2027. Form 8938 may apply too (FBAR and Form 8938 for students).

What to do next

  1. List your 2026 income and check each item against the table above. If you sold shares or fund units at home, check the tax-home rule above.
  2. Find the first calendar year your days count (how to count them).
  3. If you had no US income, file Form 8843 alone by Tuesday, June 15, 2027 (no US income on an F-1 visa).
  4. With US wages, file Form 1040-NR with Form 8843 by Thursday, April 15, 2027. F1TaxReturn prepares both for free as paper forms you print, sign and mail, once the IRS publishes the final 2026 forms (create an account).

Questions students ask

Do I pay US tax on income from India while I am on an F-1 visa?

Generally not while you are a nonresident alien. Interest on NRE, NRO or fixed deposit accounts, rent from property in India and pay for work done in India are foreign-source income, so they stay off Form 1040-NR. A gain on selling shares can be different, because its source is your tax home. Whether India taxes that income is a question for a tax adviser in India.

Is rent from my apartment back home taxable in the US?

Not while you are a nonresident alien, because rent is sourced where the property is (Publication 519, Table 2-1). A gain from selling the apartment follows the same rule. In your first year as a resident alien, the rent goes on Form 1040 with the rest of your income, from the day your residency starts.

Does a summer internship at home go on my US return?

Not while you are a nonresident alien. Pay for work you did while you were physically outside the US is foreign-source income, whoever pays it. Only work done in the US makes pay US income.

I worked from my home country for a few weeks while on OPT. Is that pay US income?

Only the part for the days you worked in the US. The 2025 Form 1040-NR instructions for line 1a split an employee's pay by workdays: $60,000 of pay with 220 of 240 workdays in the US gives $60,000 times 220 divided by 240 = $55,000 of US income. Keep a record of your days, and ask your DSO whether working abroad fits your OPT.

Do I have to report my bank account back home?

Usually not while you are a nonresident alien. A nonresident alien files no FBAR, and the interest stays off Form 1040-NR. In a year you are a resident alien, you file an FBAR if your foreign accounts together were worth more than $10,000 at any time in the year.

Sources

This guide is checked against these 7 documents, most recently on .

  1. Publication 519 (2025), U.S. Tax Guide for Aliens, IRS
  2. Nonresident aliens: exclusions from income, IRS
  3. 26 U.S.C. 872, gross income of nonresident alien individuals (2024 edition), U.S. Government Publishing Office
  4. Instructions for Form 1040-NR (2025), line 1a, IRS
  5. Revenue Procedure 2025-32 (2026 tax rates and standard deduction), IRS
  6. Exempt individual: who is a student, IRS
  7. Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR), IRS