ITIN and Taxes

Taxes

As required by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the United States government agency responsible for the collection of federal income taxes, all non-immigrant students must file U.S. income tax (form 8843) regardless of whether or not they have income from sources in the U.S. Students who earn income must also file form 1040NR. You may also be required to pay state and local taxes.

Currently the U.S. has tax treaties or agreements with several countries and territories under which their citizens may be tax exempt from all or part of their U.S. income. To find out if your country is among these and how a treaty may affect your tax status, review the IRS Publication 901, U.S. Tax Treaties. 

Note: F-1 students who have permission to work are not subject to withholding of social security (part of FICA). If social security has been withheld, ask your employer for a refund. If you are unable to obtain a refund in this way, file a claim on Form 843 with the Internal Revenue Service.

Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN)

Students who are not employed in the U.S. must obtain an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) from the IRS in order to file taxes. Visit the IRS site for additional information and application instruction.