Taxes
All F-1 and J-1 students must file federal tax forms every year they are in the US even if they do not earn any money in the US. The deadlines to file the forms are April 15, if you have earned money in the US (including scholarships and assistantships), and June 15, if you have not earned money in the US.
Students earning money while in the US may have to pay federal and state income taxes. The completion of a W-4 form at the time of hire determines the amount of tax to be withheld from each paycheck.
Students often mistakenly claim "exempt" on this form only to find they must pay a large sum of tax on April 15. Students should only claim "exempt" if they are positive it will not negatively affect their tax liability.
The ISC holds a workshop every Spring semester on Federal non-resident tax information. You can access this year's presentation(in pdf) by clicking Here.
Also, the University of Texas, Austin has excellent tax information for international students on their website at: http://www.utexas.edu/international/taxes/ .
Federal tax information can be obtained from the IRS website at www.irs.gov . To have specific questions answered call the IRS International Tax Law hot line: (215) 516-2000 press 2, and then press 3. This is not a toll-free number. State tax information can be obtained from the California Franchise Tax Board at www.ftb.ca.gov .
The following federal tax publications are of special interest to international students: Publication 519: US Tax Guide for Aliens; Publication 520: Scholarships and Fellowships; Publication 901: US Tax Treaties. They are available in the ISC between March and June, or can be downloaded from the website www.irs.gov .
Tax Help There are several tax assistance businesses that can prepare your taxes for you and help you apply for a refund if you are eligible. Check the yellow pages in the phone book, but make sure the one you use knows about non-immmigrant tax laws. One fee-based business is Tax Back International . Click on the link to get a free refund quote! www.taxback.com/fellow