2027 tax season · 2026 returns
F1TaxReturn vs Glacier Tax Prep
F1TaxReturn
$0
Federal return, no code or card
Software made only for nonresident F-1, J-1, M-1 and Q students: it fills in Form 1040-NR, Form 8843 and the state return for you to print, sign and mail.
Glacier Tax Prep
$49
Federal return without a school licence
Online software for nonresident federal returns, licensed by many universities for their students.
The short answer
Both prepare a nonresident's Form 1040-NR and Form 8843 to print and mail. Glacier Tax Prep costs $49 for an access code, or nothing where your school licenses it, and says it does not prepare state returns. F1TaxReturn's federal return is free for everyone, and for 2026 returns it prepares 9 states' returns for $30 plus a $2 fee, and amendments for $35.
Choose Glacier Tax Prep if
- Your school licenses Glacier Tax Prep and gives you free access
- You worked in a state with no income tax, so you need no state return
- You need a return for an earlier year, back to 2019
Choose F1TaxReturn if
- Your school does not license Glacier, and you would pay for a code
- You need a state return for California, New York, Illinois, Massachusetts, Indiana, Michigan, North Carolina, Arizona or New Jersey
- You need to amend a return: $35, federal and state
- You want a FICA refund claim (Forms 843 and 8316) prepared
- You want a filing guide that says what to sign, attach and mail
What does a typical return cost?
A nonresident student with one W-2 from a job in Illinois, at each company's list prices.
- Form 1040-NR and Form 8843
- $0
- Illinois IL-1040 with Schedule NR
- $30
- Processing fee
- $2
Total$32
- Access code, federal return
- $49
- Illinois return
- Not prepared
Total$49 + your state
Glacier Tax Prep says it does not prepare the state return, so a Glacier filer prepares Illinois by hand or with other software. Price from glaciertax.com, read October 29, 2026.
How do Glacier Tax Prep and F1TaxReturn compare?
Every question a nonresident return raises, answered from each side's own pages.
| Question | F1TaxReturnOurs | Glacier Tax PrepRead Oct 29, 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Form 1040-NR (federal return) | Yes: Free, with the schedules your income needs | Yes: $49 for an access code; free where your school licenses it |
| Form 8843 on its own | Yes: Free | Yes: Prepares it, for spouses and children too |
| State return | Yes: CA, NY, IL, MA, IN, MI, NC, AZ, NJ: $30 plus a $2 fee, one payment per returnNew for 2026 returns | No: Not prepared, Glacier Tax Prep says |
| E-file | No: No: a paper return you print, sign and mail | No: No: print, sign and mail, its home page says |
| Tax treaty benefits | Yes: Applied for you on Form 1040-NR | Yes: Reviews all income tax treaties, it says |
| Form 1042-S income | Yes: Takes it: scholarships, fellowships and treaty-exempt payNew for 2026 returns | Partly: Not for royalty or rental income on Form 1042-S (codes 10, 12 and 14) |
| Form 1099-B (stock sales) | Yes: Takes it, for stock salesNew for 2026 returns | Not stated: Not stated on its pages |
| FICA refund claim (Forms 843 and 8316) | Yes: $20 add-on, after your employer is asked; the letters to it are free | Not stated: Not stated on its pages |
| Dual-status year | No: Not prepared | Not stated: Not stated on its pages |
| Amended return (Form 1040-X) | Yes: $35 for the federal and state amendment togetherNew for 2026 returns | Not stated: Not stated; it prepares earlier years back to 2019 |
| Who prepares it | You, with the software; no human review | You, with the software |
- Does it
- With limits
- Does not
- Its pages do not say
01Does Glacier Tax Prep do state returns?
No. Glacier Tax Prep's own purchase page says it prepares the federal return only and does not prepare the state tax return. For 2026 returns F1TaxReturn prepares California, New York, Illinois, Massachusetts, Indiana, Michigan, North Carolina, Arizona or New Jersey returns.
02Is Glacier Tax Prep free?
Only if your school licenses it. Otherwise an access code is $49. F1TaxReturn's federal return is free without a code.
03Can Glacier Tax Prep e-file?
Its home page tells you to print, sign and mail your tax documents. F1TaxReturn also prepares a paper return, with a filing guide that says what to sign and where to mail it.
04I used Glacier last year. Can I move to F1TaxReturn?
Yes. Upload last year's Form 1040-NR or Form 8843 from Glacier and F1TaxReturn fills in your name, passport, school and trips from it, in your browser. It never reads your Social Security number, and income is asked again.
Sources and how we checked
We make F1TaxReturn, so we compared it with what each company says on its own pages, read on the dates below and linked, and with the IRS's own publications. A company's page is the best source for what it sells; where it does not say, the table says so instead of guessing. Prices change each season: check the company's page before you buy. How we research.
- Glacier Tax Prep: purchase an access codeGlacier Tax Prep, read October 29, 2026
- Glacier Tax Prep home pageGlacier Tax Prep, read October 29, 2026
Guides that go deeper
More comparisons
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Try the Free Form 1040-NR
F1TaxReturn fills in Form 1040-NR and Form 8843 from your answers, with a guide that says what to sign and where to mail it. Free, once the final 2026 forms are published.