2027 tax season · 2026 returns
F1TaxReturn vs a VITA site
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.
IRS VITA site
$0
At a site with a foreign student volunteer
Free tax help from IRS-trained volunteers; a site prepares Form 1040-NR only if a volunteer is certified for foreign students.
The short answer
A VITA site prepares a nonresident's Form 1040-NR free, with a person doing the work, but only where a volunteer is certified in the IRS Foreign Student and Scholar course and a second one reviews it, and many sites have none. Software such as F1TaxReturn works anywhere and at any hour: its federal return is free, and you check, sign and mail it yourself.
Choose IRS VITA site if
- There is a site near you with a volunteer certified for foreign students
- You want a person to prepare the return and a second to check it
Choose F1TaxReturn if
- No site near you prepares Form 1040-NR, or its appointments are gone
- You want to file when you like, from your laptop
- You need a FICA refund claim, which VITA does not prepare
- You need a state return and your site does not do states
How do IRS VITA site and F1TaxReturn compare?
Every question a nonresident return raises, answered from each side's own pages.
| Question | F1TaxReturnOurs | IRS VITA siteRead Oct 22, 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Form 1040-NR (federal return) | Yes: Free, with the schedules your income needs | Partly: Free, only where a volunteer is certified for foreign students and a second one reviews it |
| Form 8843 on its own | Yes: Free | Yes: Free; it is also short enough to fill in yourself |
| State return | Yes: CA, NY, IL, MA, IN, MI, NC, AZ, NJ: $30 plus a $2 fee, one payment per returnNew for 2026 returns | Partly: Depends on the site; ask before you book |
| E-file | No: No: a paper return you print, sign and mail | Partly: E-filed, or mailed when it cannot be |
| Tax treaty benefits | Yes: Applied for you on Form 1040-NR | Yes: Covered in the volunteers' guide, Publication 4011 |
| Form 1042-S income | Yes: Takes it: scholarships, fellowships and treaty-exempt payNew for 2026 returns | Yes: In scope for wages and scholarships |
| Form 1099-B (stock sales) | Yes: Takes it, for stock salesNew for 2026 returns | Not stated: Ask the site |
| FICA refund claim (Forms 843 and 8316) | Yes: $20 add-on, after your employer is asked; the letters to it are free | No: Not prepared; a volunteer may give you the form |
| Dual-status year | No: Not prepared | No: Out of scope |
| Amended return (Form 1040-X) | Yes: $35 for the federal and state amendment togetherNew for 2026 returns | Not stated: Ask the site |
| Who prepares it | You, with the software; no human review | A certified volunteer, checked by a second |
- Does it
- With limits
- Does not
- Its pages do not say
01Is VITA free for international students?
Yes, at the sites that serve you. The IRS sets no program-wide income limit, but the program generally serves people who make about $70,244 or less, each site may set its own, and a nonresident return needs a volunteer certified for foreign students.
02How do I find a VITA site that does Form 1040-NR?
Use the IRS VITA Locator Tool or call 800-906-9887, and ask before you book whether the site prepares Form 1040-NR and your state return.
03What can VITA not prepare?
Dual-status returns, freelance pay on Form 1099-NEC, and the Form 843 claim for Social Security and Medicare tax withheld in error are outside its foreign student scope (Publications 4011 and 4152).
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.
- Publication 4011 (Rev. 10-2026), Foreign Student and Scholar Volunteer Resource GuideIRS, read October 22, 2026
- Publication 4152, Electronic Toolkit for Nonresident Alien VITA/TCE SitesIRS, read October 22, 2026
- Free tax return preparation for qualifying taxpayersIRS, read October 22, 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.