2027 tax season · 2026 returns
F1TaxReturn vs Sprintax
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.
Sprintax
From $54.95
Federal return without a school code
Online software for nonresident returns, and TurboTax's partner for them; many universities give their students a code for it.
The short answer
For 2026 returns, both take Form 1042-S and 1099-B and prepare amendments. The difference is price and how you file: F1TaxReturn's Form 1040-NR is free with no code, a state return is $30 plus a $2 fee and an amendment is $35, while Sprintax lists from $54.95, each state from $49.95 and amendments from $79.95, and e-files the federal return for eligible filers.
Choose Sprintax if
- You want to e-file your federal return and Sprintax says you are eligible
- You worked in a state outside F1TaxReturn's 9, or in two states
- Your school gives you a Sprintax code that covers your return
Choose F1TaxReturn if
- You want the federal return free with no code, whatever your school
- You worked in California, New York, Illinois, Massachusetts, Indiana, Michigan, North Carolina, Arizona or New Jersey: $32 in all for the state
- You need to amend: $35 covers federal and state together
- You have Form 1042-S or 1099-B income, now taken for 2026 returns
- 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
- Federal tax preparation
- From $54.95
- State tax preparation
- From $49.95
TotalFrom $104.90
With a school code that covers the federal return, Sprintax's state return still lists from $49.95. Sprintax's prices are from its own price list, read October 29, 2026.
What does an amended return cost?
Correcting a federal Form 1040-NR and its state return, at each company's list prices.
- Form 1040-X and corrected 1040-NR
- $35
- The state's amended return
- Included
Total$35
- Amended federal return
- From $79.95
- State amendment
- Through its team
TotalFrom $79.95 + state
Sprintax lists amended returns from $79.95, and its FAQ sends state amendments to its team. F1TaxReturn's $35 covers both.
How do Sprintax and F1TaxReturn compare?
Every question a nonresident return raises, answered from each side's own pages.
| Question | F1TaxReturnOurs | SprintaxRead Oct 29, 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Form 1040-NR (federal return) | Yes: Free, with the schedules your income needs | Yes: From $54.95; free at many schools that give a code, and codes can run out |
| Form 8843 on its own | Yes: Free | Yes: $19.95 |
| State return | Yes: CA, NY, IL, MA, IN, MI, NC, AZ, NJ: $30 plus a $2 fee, one payment per returnNew for 2026 returns | Yes: From $49.95 each with its federal return; $59.95 for a state return only |
| E-file | No: No: a paper return you print, sign and mail | Partly: Federal only, for eligible filers, it says; state returns are mailed |
| Tax treaty benefits | Yes: Applied for you on Form 1040-NR | Yes: Applies treaty benefits, it says |
| Form 1042-S income | Yes: Takes it: scholarships, fellowships and treaty-exempt payNew for 2026 returns | Yes: Lists it among the forms to have ready |
| Form 1099-B (stock sales) | Yes: Takes it, for stock salesNew for 2026 returns | Partly: Takes it, but then the federal return is mailed, not e-filed, it says |
| FICA refund claim (Forms 843 and 8316) | Yes: $20 add-on, after your employer is asked; the letters to it are free | Yes: $19.95, sold only with its federal return |
| Dual-status year | No: Not prepared | No: Not in its online software, its FAQ says |
| Amended return (Form 1040-X) | Yes: $35 for the federal and state amendment togetherNew for 2026 returns | Yes: From $79.95 for the federal return; a state amendment through its team, its FAQ says |
| Who prepares it | You, with the software; no human review | You, with the software and live chat |
- Does it
- With limits
- Does not
- Its pages do not say
01Is F1TaxReturn cheaper than Sprintax?
Without a school code, yes: F1TaxReturn's federal return is $0 and its state forms are $30 plus a $2 fee per return, while Sprintax listed federal preparation from $54.95 and each state from $49.95 on October 29, 2026. With a school code that covers the federal return, the difference is the state return.
02How much is an amended return?
F1TaxReturn's amended return is $35 flat for the federal Form 1040-X and the state's amended return together. Sprintax lists amended returns from $79.95, and its FAQ says state amendments go through its team.
03Is Sprintax free for students?
Only with a code. Many universities give their students a Sprintax code that makes the federal return free, but codes are one per tax year and can run out, and the codes the schools we checked describe do not cover the state return. Without one, Sprintax lists federal preparation from $54.95.
04Can Sprintax e-file Form 1040-NR?
Sprintax says it e-files the federal return for eligible filers. Its exclusions include filers with an ITIN and returns with Form 1099-INT, 1099-DIV or 1099-B, and its state returns are printed and mailed. F1TaxReturn prepares paper returns you mail.
05Can both handle Form 1042-S and 1099-B?
Yes, for 2026 returns. Sprintax lists Form 1042-S among the forms to have ready and takes 1099-B, though a 1099-B or an ITIN means its federal return is mailed. F1TaxReturn takes both for 2026 returns.
06Can I switch from Sprintax to F1TaxReturn?
Yes. Upload last year's Sprintax Form 1040-NR or Form 8843 and F1TaxReturn fills in your personal details from it, in your browser; it never reads your Social Security number. Your income, residency and treaty are 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.
- Sprintax Returns: prices and e-filingSprintax, read October 29, 2026
- Sprintax Returns FAQSprintax, read October 29, 2026
- Nonresident federal tax e-filing: who can e-fileSprintax, read October 29, 2026
Guides that go deeper
More comparisons
Ranked lists
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.