How to file US taxes as an international student (tax year 2026)

Am I a nonresident alien for tax year 2026?

An F, J, M or Q student without a green card is a nonresident alien for 2026 if 2026 is one of their first five calendar years in that status. In those years you are an "exempt individual" while you keep to your visa's terms, and your student days do not count toward the substantial presence test.

The five years are a lifetime total, so years as a J or Q teacher, researcher or trainee use them up too (IRS: exempt individual who is a student). Days in another status, such as H-1B, count even within your five years (F-1 to H-1B).

Once your days count, you are a resident for 2026 if you were here on at least 31 days in 2026 and 183 days over 2024 to 2026. The test counts every 2026 day, a third of your 2025 days and a sixth of your 2024 days, leaving out exempt days (2026 draft Form 8843). For a sixth-year student whose earlier days were all exempt, that means 183 days in 2026 itself (substantial presence test guide).

Non-student J-1 visitors, such as researchers, generally cannot exclude 2026 days if they were exempt for any part of 2 of the 6 years 2020 to 2025 (J-1 guide).

What do I file if I had no US income in 2026?

A nonresident student with no taxable US income files Form 8843 by itself and mails it by Tuesday, June 15, 2027. You do not need an SSN or ITIN for it, and you do not file a tax return.

Mail it to Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service Center, Austin, TX 73301-0215. Filed alone, it must have every entry completed, which for a student means Part I and Part III, and you sign it (Form 8843 guide; SSN or ITIN guide). US bank interest does not change this, because it is not taxable for a nonresident alien (IRS: nontaxable interest).

A spouse or child on F-2 or J-2 files their own Form 8843, even a young child with no income (IRS Publication 4152; F-2 and J-2 guide). If you missed Form 8843 in an earlier year, there is no fine, but file any missed years now (missed filings).

Which income goes on Form 1040-NR?

Form 1040-NR reports your US income only. Wages for work done in the US and the taxable part of a US scholarship are taxed; US bank interest and income from your home country stay off the return.

Pay is US income when you do the work in the US, even if a company in your home country pays you (Publication 519). The 14% withheld from a taxable scholarship is only a prepayment of the tax (IRS: scholarship withholding). Schools must send Form 1042-S by Monday, March 15, 2027, so wait for it before you file.

How much federal tax will I pay on my wages?

Nonresident aliens pay the normal 2026 tax rates on wages but generally cannot take the $16,100 standard deduction, so most of their pay is taxable. Students from India are the exception: Article 21(2) of the US-India tax treaty lets them deduct $16,100 (IRS: nonresident figuring your tax).

Rates go up to 37% above $640,600 (Revenue Procedure 2025-32), and the personal exemption is $0. Your main possible deduction is state and local income tax, itemized on Schedule A (Form 1040-NR). The OPT take-home pay examples and the 2026 take-home pay calculator show the tax at other salaries.

Can a tax treaty lower my US tax?

A tax treaty lowers your 2026 federal tax if your home country's treaty with the US covers your income, usually through a student article. You claim a treaty exemption on Schedule OI and on line 1k of Form 1040-NR (2026 draft).

For most treaty countries the yearly limit on exempt student pay runs from $2,000 to $9,000 (Publication 901), as for China, South Korea and Germany. Canada exempts all US pay only if the year's total is $10,000 or less (Publication 597), and India gives the $16,100 standard deduction instead of an exemption. The treaty guide by country gives every article with its conditions and time limit.

Form 8233 given to your employer stops withholding on treaty-exempt wages (IRS: claiming tax treaty benefits). If your employer did not apply the treaty, claim it on your return with a statement giving the Form 8233 information, and the extra tax comes back. Treaty-exempt wages go on line 1k only, never also on line 1a (how to claim a tax treaty).

A treaty generally does not exempt pay from Social Security and Medicare tax, and California taxes treaty-exempt wages anyway (FTB).

Do I pay Social Security and Medicare tax on OPT, CPT or a campus job?

Nonresident alien students in F-1, J-1, M-1 or Q-1 status pay no Social Security or Medicare tax on pay for work their visa allows. The exemption covers on-campus jobs, CPT, OPT and STEM OPT, and it saves you 7.65% of each paycheck (IRS: foreign student liability for Social Security and Medicare).

That 7.65% is Social Security tax of 6.2% on wages up to $184,500 in 2026 plus Medicare tax of 1.45% on all wages (SSA). The exemption does not cover F-2, J-2, M-2 or Q-3 family members, pay in H-1B status, or a resident alien, and income tax still applies (OPT and CPT tax guide). Two bills in Congress, S. 2940 and H.R. 8972, would make OPT pay subject to these taxes; under the law as it stands on October 14, 2026, a nonresident student's 2026 OPT pay is exempt.

If the tax was taken from exempt pay, ask your employer for a refund first, then claim the rest on Form 843 with Form 8316. For 2026 pay you have until Monday, April 15, 2030; for 2023 pay the last day is Thursday, April 15, 2027 (FICA refund guide, on-campus job guide).

Do I also need a state tax return?

You usually need a state nonresident return for 2026 if you worked in a state that taxes wages, because states tax nonresidents on pay for work done there. Filing that return is also the only way to get back state tax withheld from your pay.

Your federal status does not decide your state status. New York and Massachusetts can treat a student who keeps an apartment there as a resident. New York requires the apartment for substantially all of the year and 184 days or more in the state, but excludes some full-time undergraduates. Massachusetts requires more than 183 days there (New York, Massachusetts).

Washington does not tax wages in tax year 2026 (Washington DOR); the state-by-state guide covers the other states, and two state tax returns covers working in two. The four states in the table are expected to make returns due Thursday, April 15, 2027, but none has published its 2027 date. For tax year 2025 all four were due April 15, 2026, with one exception. New York gave a nonresident alien whose federal return was due June 15 the same June 15 deadline (2025 IT-203 instructions, special condition code E4). If your federal return is due June 15, check your state's 2026 instructions.

When are the tax year 2026 deadlines?

Form 1040-NR for tax year 2026 is due Thursday, April 15, 2027 if you had wages, and Tuesday, June 15, 2027 if you did not. Form 8843 goes in with your Form 1040-NR, or by June 15, 2027 if you file it alone.

Form 4868 extends only the time to file: tax you owe is still due on April 15 or June 15, 2027. If you are owed a refund, filing late brings no late-filing penalty, but after three years the refund is lost. A return with tax due that is more than 60 days late has a minimum penalty. For returns due in 2027 it is $535 or 100% of the tax due, whichever is less (Revenue Procedure 2025-32; 2027 deadlines guide).

How do I file and mail my return?

You file a 2026 Form 1040-NR by mailing the signed paper return to the IRS, or by e-filing it through commercial tax software that supports Form 1040-NR (tax software comparison). A Form 8843 filed on its own is mailed to the IRS in Austin, Texas.

1. Once you have every Form W-2 and Form 1042-S you expect, fill in Form 1040-NR, Schedule OI (the 2025 edition says "Answer all questions") and Form 8843, plus Schedule NEC if you had US dividends.
2. Attach copies of your Forms W-2 and 1042-S to page 1 of Form 1040-NR.
3. Sign and date Form 1040-NR and enter your occupation; an unsigned return is not valid. Do not sign an attached Form 8843, because your signature on the return covers it.
4. Mail Form 8843 behind Form 1040-NR in one envelope. A US Postal Service postmark on or before the due date counts as on time, and we recommend certified mail as proof of the mailing date.

For returns filed in 2026, Form 1040-NR without a payment went to Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Austin, TX 73301-0215, USA. With a check or money order it went to Internal Revenue Service, P.O. Box 1303, Charlotte, NC 28201-1303, USA (IRS where-to-file page). These may change: check the 2026 instructions or our mailing guide before you mail.

A paper return's refund usually takes 6 weeks or more (IRS: refunds; your 1040-NR refund). If software filed a Form 1040 for you before, read filed Form 1040 instead of 1040-NR.

What is new on the 2026 Form 1040-NR?

The 2026 draft Form 1040-NR asks every filer a new yes-or-no question about work authorization. The IRS has not yet published the instructions that define its words for students, so wait for them before you answer.

The question reads: "At the time you file your return, are you a U.S. citizen, U.S. national, or an alien lawfully authorized to work in the U.S.?" Line 12b is also new: a charitable deduction for people who do not itemize. Which Form 1040-NR filers may use it is not yet published (tax year 2026 changes).

What changes in my sixth year in the US?

In your sixth calendar year as a student your days start to count, so 183 days in the US in 2026 usually make you a resident alien for 2026. A resident files Form 1040 and is taxed on worldwide income.

Residency normally starts on your first day in the US in 2026 (IRS: residency starting and ending dates). If you were here on January 1, 2026, you are a resident for the whole year and take the $16,100 standard deduction. If you were abroad on January 1 and still reach 183 days, 2026 is a dual-status year, with residency from the day you returned.

To stay a nonresident after five years, check "Yes" on Form 8843 line 12 and attach a statement showing you do not intend to live here permanently (IRS). The IRS weighs, among other facts, your closer connection to another country and any steps toward a green card, and it has published no checklist that guarantees acceptance.

A resident owes Social Security and Medicare tax on OPT and other off-campus pay. Work for your own school while enrolled can stay exempt, unless you normally work 40 hours or more a week (Rev. Proc. 2005-11) or a state agreement at a public university covers student workers. A resident may also need to file an FBAR if foreign accounts total more than $10,000 at any time in the year (FBAR guide). Read your sixth year on F-1 before you file. F1TaxReturn does not prepare Form 1040 or dual-status returns.

What to do next

1. Count your calendar years in the figure above. If 2026 is your sixth year or later, read the sixth-year guide first.
2. Collect your passport, your I-20 or DS-2019, and your entry and exit dates from the I-94 website. Wait for your W-2 (by Monday, February 1, 2027) and any Form 1042-S (by Monday, March 15, 2027).
3. With no taxable US income, mail a signed Form 8843 to Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service Center, Austin, TX 73301-0215 by Tuesday, June 15, 2027.
4. If you had wages, mail Form 1040-NR with Form 8843 by Thursday, April 15, 2027, with US bank details for your refund. File a state return too if your state taxes wages.
5. Work through Form 1040-NR line by line with your W-2 beside you.

F1TaxReturn prepares Form 1040-NR and Form 8843 for free as paper returns that you sign and mail. State returns for California, New York, Illinois and Massachusetts cost one payment of $30 plus a $2 processing fee. It does not take income reported on Form 1042-S or Form 1099-B, and it prepares 2026 returns once the IRS publishes the final 2026 forms and instructions. You can create an account now.