hey all i am Apurva and welcome back to WeDesified who doesn't like to earn money right but the hard
truth is when you earn money you have to pay taxes as well even if you are an international
student in a foreign country you still have to pay taxes but filing tax returns can be complex
especially when you are in a new country and you don't know much about how things work there right
that is why we are here to help you understand how to file what to file and how much refund you would
get as an international student so you should definitely watch this video until the very end
but before that please subscribe to our channel so that we can make more useful videos like this
and also press the bell icon so that you can get notified whenever we upload a new video
us tax season starts in january and ends in mid-april every year
and the taxes are filed for the previous calendar year so if you're filing tax returns in 2022 then
you would be filing them for the period from january 1st 2021 to december 31st 2021 and
the deadline to file is april 18 2022. now who has to file this tax returns even if you
are international student or dependent on f j m or q visa and you are present in the us in the
year 2021 then you have to file your tax returns even if you had any income or no income at all
filing these tax returns are very important because one it is one of your visa requirements
two you may be getting a refund so you don't want to miss the extra money and three you may be
owing money to the irs and irs is not someone you mess with in the u.s so if you want to be in good
standing with your visa and taxes then you should file your tax returns no matter what as long as
you're in the u.s so now that we have established who has to file the tax returns let's talk about
how to file them and what are some of the common mistakes people do while filing the tax returns
but before we go there let me tell you that we are not tax professionals and all the things we
are going to discuss in this video are from our personal experience of filing tax returns since
the last four to five years we are going to discuss the most common scenarios but when it
comes to taxes every situation can be different we will provide some resources to help you but
it is important to take professional help in case you are not sure about something because filing
tax returns incorrectly can cause you problems in the future like when you change your visa status
or applying for permanent residency so please make sure you have every information correct
since we are done with that disclaimer let's talk about the main differentiator while filing taxes
that is the resident status if you are on the f j m or q visa as a student or a dependent
and been in the u.s for less than five calendar years then you are called as a non-resident alien
don't worry about them calling you an alien it is only for the tax purposes now once you complete
five calendar years from sixth year onwards you will get the resident status while filing the
tax returns if you get the resident status then you would be eligible for some of the tax credits
or benefits by the irs like in 2020 and 2021 u.s gave stimulus checks total worth up to 3 200 per
person to boost their economy during the covert and only residents were eligible for these checks
if you were a non-resident alien in 2020 and 2021 then you won't be eligible for the stimulus but if
you completed five years before 2021 then you can still get your stimulus checked this year
the residents filed the form 1040 while the non-residents have to file the form 1040 nr
so the rule of thumb is if you are in the u.s for less than five calendar years
then you have to file 10 40 nr and if it is more than five calendar years then you can file 1040.
now let's talk about what kind of income is taxable
india has an income tax treaty with the u.s so because of that if you're from india or
any country that has a tax treaty with the u.s your income from outside of the u.s is not taxed
you only have to pay taxes for the income that is generated in the u.s or from the u.s sources
so whatever money you bring in for your tuition fee or living expenses from your home country
is not taxable if you get a scholarship that covers only your tuition fee then that is also not
taxable but if you get any scholarship or stipend for your living expenses then that is taxable and
any income that you earn from on-campus jobs or assistantships or by working on cpt or opt
all that income is taxable also if you make any investments or have passive income sources
within the u.s then that income is also taxable usually when you are working for an employer or
getting a stipend they deduct your taxes from the paycheck itself and give you the remaining amount
but there are some deductions that you can be eligible for and certain taxes that you don't
have to pay for as an international student and as a result you would have paid more amount in
taxes than you owe you can get that money back by filing the income tax returns or if for some
reason you did not pay the sufficient amount in taxes then you can find out how much you owe to
irs by filing the tax returns and you can pay the amount due in the most places you have to pay the
income tax for the federal state and county but in some states like texas florida or washington
you don't have to pay the state income tax so check your local tax guidelines carefully now
what if you don't have any taxable income you don't have to file tax returns right well no
you have to file the tax returns even if you don't have any income in that year but in that
case you only have to file form 8843 form 8843 is a simple form where you provide some basic details
about your visa and passport and report the number of days you were present in the us in that year
it has multiple sections based on your visa type like teachers
students and professional athletes so scroll down to your section and fill the details you can sign
it and mail it to the irs at this address the deadline to submit this form 8843 is june 15th
so you have a couple of months additional time when the regular tax returns deadline
now if you had any taxable income then like we said earlier you have to file form 1040 or 1040 nr
as per your resident status one of the common mistakes the new international students do
is they use these popular apps like the turbotax or credit karma to file their taxes
these apps are designed for the u.s citizens and residents so they do not support forms like the
1040 nr or any supporting forms for non-residents so you should not use these apps until you stay
here in the u.s for at least five calendar years a lot of students use turbo tax because it is free
and sometimes they show more tax written amount than it would actually get
last year and this year students who filed through turbo tax are getting stimulus checks as well
even though they are not eligible because they are unknowingly filing as residents
this is wrong and those students can face problems in the future when they apply for
visa change or pr or even irs can track them down so if you received a stimulus check even
when you are a non-resident alien don't use that check please return it to irs there must
be a mistake in your tax return filings so you have to correct it by filling the form 1040x
you can make the amendments within 3 years but you have to return the cheque immediately
also correcting the mistakes in your tax filings as soon as possible is best
so now you know as a non-resident alien you cannot use turbo tax or credit karma for your tax returns
so then what is the alternative well there are apps like the hr block and others
but by far the most popular and efficient solution is the sprint tax
this is not a sponsored video by sprint tax we are only recommending it because a lot of
international students use it and i personally have been using it since the last four years
sprint tax is not for free it charges students for filing the taxes but the good thing is that
most universities give the coupon codes that give full or partial discounts on sprint tax charges
so you can reach out to your international students office and find out about the coupons
if you don't want to use the sprint tax then you can still fill the forms on your own with the help
of internet resources or your friends and seniors but there is a chance of making mistakes if you
can spend you can take the help of professional cpa as well sprint tax is affordable and very
easy to navigate they have a lot of resources and a chatbot for immediate help whenever you need
you can even get help from their tax professionals quickly whenever you have any doubts about any
questions on the forms these are the documents that you need to file your tax returns
the w2s which you get from your employers are very important because most of the details
are taken from there and once you fill in all these details sprint tax calculates or
refund or the amount due instantly and gives you the final numbers and the documentation
your tax returns depend on a lot of things but if you want a quick idea
then here is a trick we learned by ourselves that we are going to share with you today so take your
total federal income and subtract 12 550 and that will give you the total federal taxable income
this 12550 is called the standard tax deduction irs doesn't charge tax on your income up to a
minimum limit and any income above that will be taxed this minimum amount is called the standard
deduction and it changes every year for the year 2021 it is 12550 if you're single or married but
filing separately and 25 100 if married and filing jointly if your income is less than this amount in
2021 then you don't have to pay any taxes if you have paid anything already then you will get it as
a refund standard deduction is available for the u.s residents but due to the india u.s tax treaty
the non-resident aliens from india can also use the standard deductions
most people are eligible for only standard deductions but if you know any other deductions
that you are eligible for then you can reduce that to get your final taxable income if your taxable
income is more than the standard deduction amount then the remaining amount is taxed
according to the federal tax brackets but you can find the exact amount using the tax tables here
if your remaining taxable income is say 12473 so it's between thousand
four hundred and twelve thousand four fifty so your federal tax is twelve hundred ninety two
if you have paid more taxes than this then you will get the difference as a refund
if not then you will have to pay the difference to irs in the federal taxes
the state and county taxes have a lot of firms but the tax rates are standard you can google
and find out what applies to you based on your location states also give some standard deduction
and in some states you can claim your rent money up to a certain amount to reduce the tax total
so make sure you are availing all these deductions you are eligible for and complete the paperwork
once the firms are ready you can print them sign and mail to the irs you can find the address you
have to mail to by state here you can opt for the direct deposit or a mail in check for the refund
if you are opting for direct deposit then you have to give the routing and account number of
your bank account once submitted you will get your refunds usually within the 30 to 60 days period
if not then you can reach out to the irs helpline the procedure is same for people
who are filing as residents too but the only difference is instead of the 1040 nr you have
to file from 1040. you can even use the free apps like the turbotax or credit karma for this
if you are staying in the us for more than five calendar years and if 2021 was your sixth year
then you can claim the third stimulus check worth of fourteen hundred dollars this year so don't
forget about it also as an international student you are exempt from paying social security or the
medicare or medicaid taxes even if you're working on the cpt opt or stem extension if you have
already paid for those then you can claim for the refund if you have invested in the stocks via apps
like the robin hood or the fidelity then you have to fill a lot more paperwork on those transactions
so you can either call sprint tax and get their help or consult a professional tax service
we know all this tax written filing can be complex and overwhelming especially if you're doing it for
the first time and that is why we have tried to explain all the basic terms and things you
need to know in detail if you still have questions then feel free to ask them in the comments section
but remember we are not any tax consultants so we won't be able to help you with every question
or filing your personal taxes so please use sprint tax or a tax consultant
if you find this video helpful then please like and share it with your friends and family
subscribe to our channel see you in the next video until then keep learning bye