Resources for Life in the U.S.

Additional information on federal income tax obligations may be found in Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Publication 515, Withholding on Nonresident Aliens and Foreign Corporations, and 519, U.S. Tax Guide for Aliens.

Who must file

You must file Form 1040NR if you were a nonresident alien and received income in the United States during 2023. You must file even if your income is exempt from U.S. tax under a tax treaty or any section of the Internal Revenue Code.

You do not need to file Form 1040NR if you were a nonresident alien student, teacher, or trainee who was temporarily present in the United States under an “F,” “J,” “M,” or “Q” visa, and you have no U.S. source income (such as wages, salaries, tips, etc., or scholarship or fellowship grants).

Individuals who are temporarily in the U.S. under an “F,” “J,” “M,” or “Q” will be exempt from the Substantial Presence Test – students for their first 5 calendar years, others for the first 2 calendar years (provided they were not previously exempt in the prior 6 years).  Individuals who are exempt from the Substantial Presence Test need to file form 8843.  If you file an income tax return, you file form 8843 with that return.  If you do not need to file an income tax return, you will send only that form.  You do not need an SSN/ITIN to file this form.  The form has information about your visa status, where you are going to school / doing research or teaching, and when you have been in the U.S.

If you are required to file an income tax return, you must file with IRS no later than the 15th day of the fourth month after your tax year ends, with adjustments for weekends and holidays. For example, for the 2023 calendar year, the tax return must be filed by April 15, 2024. 

NONRESIDENT ALIEN VS. RESIDENT ALIEN

If you have been in the U.S. as an F-1 or J-1 student for more than five years (counting the first year you arrived) and you pass the substantial presence test, you are a Resident Alien for tax purposes. If you have been in the U.S. as a J-1 scholar for more than two of the past six years (counting the first year of arrival) and pass the substantial presence test, you are a Resident Alien for tax purposes. You may use the "Am I A Nonresident Alien?" tool to determine your residency for tax purposes.

WHERE TO FILE TAXES

NonResident Alien

If you are not enclosing a payment, file Form 1040NR at the following address:

Department of the Treasury
Internal Revenue Service Center
Austin, TX 73301-0215

If you owe taxes and are enclosing a payment, mail your return to:

Internal Revenue Service
P.O. Box 1303
Charlotte, NC 28201-1303

Resident Alien

Use the address shown in the instructions for the form 1040 you are using.

PENALTIES FOR NOT FILING OR FILING LATE

If you are required to file a tax return but fail to file by the due date, you may have to pay a failure-to-file penalty. The penalty is usually 5% for each month or part of a month that a return is late, but not more than 25%. If you are more than 60 days late, the minimum penalty is the smaller of $205 or 100% of the unpaid tax.

You may be subject to criminal prosecution (brought to trial) for actions such as 1) tax evasion; 2) willful failure to file a return, supply information or pay any tax due; 3) fraud and false statements; or 4) preparing and filing a fraudulent return.

There might also be immigration consequences for failing to file taxes. Applicants for permanent residency or green card are often asked to show proof of tax filing for previous years in the US.

For more information on penalties for failure to file returns or pay taxes as required, please refer to Page 37 of IRS Publication 519, U.S. Tax Guide for Aliens.

STATE INCOME TAX

If you had taxable income for Pennsylvania (Box 15 on Form W-2 is PA and Box 16 is not zero), you must file a PA-40 tax return by the April due date. If you had taxable income for another state (Box 16 on Form W-2 is not zero and Box 15 is other than PA), you may also need to file a return for that state.
**The free tax software will prepare federal and state income tax returns.  There is a guide for preparing Pennsylvania state tax returns, and guides are available for several other states.  If there is no guide for a particular state, you can check with that state’s tax department for guidance.

CITY INCOME TAX

If you had taxable income for the City of Bethlehem (Box 20 on Form W-2 is BETHLEHEM and Box 18 is not zero), you must file a Keystone local tax return by the April due date. Do not submit Form 1042-S with your Keystone tax return. If you had taxable income for another locality (Box 18 is not zero and Box 20 is other than BETHLEHEM), you may also need to file a return for that locality.
**The free tax software does not prepare local tax returns.  The Pennsylvania state tax return guide does include information about how to prepare and file your local tax return. 

Tax terms 

Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement

This form is issued by your employer. If you worked at Lehigh, your W-2 will come from Lehigh’s Payroll Office

Form 1042-S, Foreign Person’s U.S. Source Income Subject to Withholding

International students and scholars who signed a treaty or received a fellowship stipend or academic award such as a scholarship or assistantship will receive a Form 1042-S.)