Stocks, Robinhood and crypto on an F-1 visa: how they are taxed

What is a tax home, and why does it matter for my gains?

Your tax home decides where a gain comes from. Publication 519 says gain from selling personal property, such as shares, generally has its source in the US if you have a tax home in the US.

If you do not, the gain is generally from sources outside the US, and only US-source gains are taxed under the 183-day rule. A student with an on-campus job, CPT, OPT or a US-source scholarship or stipend expected to last more than a year has a US tax home. The IRS tax home page and the IRS capital gains page agree on that.

For a student with no US job and no US-source scholarship, such as one whose family pays for everything, the two IRS pages disagree. The tax home page says that student "has not established a tax home in the U.S.". The capital gains page says most foreign students "have shifted tax homes to the U.S. on the day of their arrival", unless their program clearly ends within a year. It concludes that students who meant to stay more than a year are subject to the 30% tax in any year with 183 days or more.

If that is you and you were here 183 days or more, do not assume your gains are tax-free, and do not assume you owe 30%. Ask a tax professional before you file, and keep copies of both IRS pages with your records.

How are dividends taxed on an F-1 visa?

For a nonresident alien, ordinary dividends from US companies and US funds are taxed at 30% of the gross amount or a lower treaty rate (IRS withholding page). No deductions are allowed against them, and the 183-day rule does not apply.

Your broker normally withholds the tax before it pays you and reports the dividends on Form 1042-S (Publication 515). On your return, dividends go on line 1a of Schedule NEC (2025 edition), not on Form 1040-NR line 3b. The lower rates for qualified dividends do not apply on Schedule NEC.

A tax treaty can lower the rate. The US-India treaty caps tax on an individual's ordinary portfolio dividends at 25%. The US-China treaty caps dividends at 10%. You claim a treaty rate by giving the broker a Form W-8BEN that names your treaty country. A treaty rate is for a resident of that country, so check that you qualify before you claim it (tax treaty benefits by country).

If the broker withheld 30% instead of your treaty rate, you claim the difference back on Form 1040-NR (Pub 519). Some fund payouts follow different rules:

The fund rules come from the tax code (IRC 852 and 871(k)), not from IRS student guidance. Check your Form 1042-S to see how your broker classified each payout. Interest from a US bank account is different again: it is generally not taxable for a nonresident alien (bank interest on an F-1 visa).

Is crypto taxed the same way as stocks?

The IRS treats crypto and other digital assets as property, not currency, so selling or exchanging them can produce a gain or loss (IRS: digital assets). For a nonresident, a gain on crypto held as an investment generally follows the same 183-day rule as stocks.

We found no IRS guidance on crypto written for nonresidents. The "generally" comes from applying the capital gains rules in IRC 871(a)(2) to property. If you trade crypto often, or earn staking or mining rewards, get advice from a tax professional. This page does not cover those rewards.

Crypto also has its own question on the return and its own forms:

1. Every Form 1040-NR filer must answer the digital asset question. On the 2026 draft Form 1040-NR, it asks whether during 2026 you received a digital asset as a reward, award or payment, or sold, exchanged or otherwise disposed of one (IRS newsroom). The IRS says to check "No" if you only held digital assets, only bought them with US or other real currency, or only moved them between your own wallets or accounts without paying a fee in digital assets (IRS: digital assets).
2. Crypto paid to you for work is ordinary income. If you do not report it elsewhere on your return, for example with your W-2 wages, it goes on line 8v of the 2026 draft Schedule 1, "Digital assets received as ordinary income not reported elsewhere".
3. Crypto brokers report sales on Form 1099-DA. For 2026 sales they must report gross proceeds for all digital assets, but they must report your cost only for assets bought after 2025 in that account and kept there (Form 1099-DA instructions). For older coins the cost may be missing, so use your own purchase records.

Which forms will my broker send me?

A US broker can send a Form 1099-B for sales, a Form 1099-DIV or 1042-S for dividends, and a Form 1099-DA for crypto sales. None of these forms decides whether your gains are taxable: your days in the US do, together with your tax home.

Brokers must send a 2026 Form 1099-B or 1099-DA by Tuesday, February 16, 2027 (Publication 1099). A Form 1099-DIV sent on its own is due by Monday, February 1, 2027. One that is part of the broker's combined (consolidated) statement can come with the 1099-B, by February 16. A Form 1042-S is due by Monday, March 15, 2027 (Treas. Reg. 1.1461-1(c); see Form 1042-S explained). Wait for every form before you file.

Brokers do not file a 1099-B for an "exempt foreign person" (Form 1099-B instructions). For an individual, the regulation behind those instructions adds a condition (26 CFR 1.6045-1(g)). Your Form W-8BEN must certify that you have not been in the US 183 days or more in each year it covers, and do not expect to be. A student who lives here most of the year cannot certify that, so may still get a 1099-B. The same rule applies to a crypto broker's Form 1099-DA.

Give each US broker a Form W-8BEN while you are a nonresident alien. Without a Form W-8BEN or Form W-9 on file, a broker can apply backup withholding of 24% to your sale proceeds (Form W-8BEN instructions; IRC 3406).

Where do stock gains and dividends go on Form 1040-NR?

Taxable stock and crypto gains and US dividends go on Schedule NEC, and its total goes to line 23a of Form 1040-NR (2026 draft). The 2026 Schedule NEC is not published yet, so the line numbers below are from the 2025 edition.

1. List each sale, with its gain or loss, on line 16 (what you sold, the dates, the sale price and your cost), then net them on lines 17 and 18. A net loss is entered as zero.
2. Copy the line 18 gain to line 9, and enter US dividends on line 1a, each in the column for its rate (usually 30%).
3. Total each column on line 13, apply its rate on line 14, and enter the tax on line 15. That amount goes on Form 1040-NR line 23a.
4. Enter tax withheld on a Form 1042-S on Form 1040-NR line 25g.

Do not use Form 1040-NR line 7a or Schedule D for these gains. Schedule NEC says Schedule D is for gains connected with a US business and for US real estate. Our Form 1040-NR guide covers the rest of the return. This page covers federal tax only, and state rules are separate (state income tax guide).

How much tax would I owe? A worked example

With 183 days or more and a US tax home, the tax is 30% of your net gain and of your US dividends, or lower treaty rates. That tax comes on top of the tax on your wages, and the example shows both on one return.

Does frequent trading make my gains business income?

No. For tax purposes, trading stocks or securities for your own account, even often, is not by itself a US trade or business, unless you are a dealer (26 U.S.C. 864(b)(2)). So your gains stay under the 183-day rule and are not taxed as business income.

We could not confirm whether the same rule covers crypto trading. Whether frequent trading, or being paid in crypto, is allowed under your F-1 status is an immigration question, not a tax one. We do not answer it here: ask your school's DSO or an immigration attorney.

What changes when I become a resident alien?

Once you are a resident alien, the rules on this page stop applying. A resident alien is taxed on worldwide income, including gains on investments in your home country, and a resident for the whole year files Form 1040.

For most F-1 students, residency starts in the sixth calendar year in the US (your sixth year on F-1). If it starts partway through a year, that year is a dual-status year, and these rules cover only the nonresident part. In the year you become a resident, give each US broker a Form W-9 to replace your Form W-8BEN. A resident's capital gains are taxed under the Form 1040 rules, which this page does not cover.

What to do next

1. Count your days in the US in 2026, including your exempt days. Use your I-94 travel history and passport stamps.
2. If you were in the US 183 days or more, decide whether you have a US tax home: a US job, CPT, OPT or a US-source scholarship points to one. If you have none of these, ask a tax professional, because two IRS pages disagree.
3. Give each US broker and crypto exchange a Form W-8BEN, naming your treaty country if a treaty lowers the dividend rate.
4. Collect your 2026 forms: Form 1099-B and any 1099-DA by Tuesday, February 16, 2027 (a 1099-DIV comes by then too, or by Monday, February 1, 2027 if sent on its own), and Form 1042-S by Monday, March 15, 2027.
5. File Form 1040-NR with Form 8843. The deadline is Thursday, April 15, 2027 if you had wages subject to withholding, and Tuesday, June 15, 2027 if you did not (tax deadlines for 2027).
6. If you had no income subject to US tax, for example only gains that are not taxed, file only Form 8843, by Tuesday, June 15, 2027 (Form 8843 guide).

F1TaxReturn does not take Form 1099-B, Form 1099-DA or Form 1042-S, so it cannot report stock or crypto sales or dividends shown on a 1042-S. If your gains are taxable, your dividends are on a 1042-S, or you sold or received crypto in 2026, you need another way to file, such as a tax professional. The software does take Form 1099-DIV, but it taxes capital gain distributions (box 2a) at 30% whatever your day count. That is too much unless you were in the US 183 days or more with a US tax home. For a return without sales, crypto or a 1042-S, the federal Form 1040-NR and Form 8843 are free. The software prepares 2026 returns once the IRS publishes the final 2026 forms (start a return).