US Income Taxes

Remember, nonresidents who were present in the US any days during a calendar year still have an obligation to file a tax return for that year, even if they earned no US-sourced income for that year!

While you will not owe taxes or be due a refund, you should still file Form 8843 to meet your tax return filing obligations.

Please see our "No Income" page details on the tax filing process for more details on how to file.

Please see our Tax Return Filing Forms page for an organized summary of the kinds of documents you may need to have on hand prior to filing a tax return, depending on your individual circumstances.

• NONRESIDENTS for tax purposes: click here for instructions on how to file your federal tax return.

• RESIDENTS for tax purposes: click here for instructions on how to file your federal tax return.

• And if you earned NO US-SOURCED INCOME: click here for instructions on how to file your tax return.
  • Remember, you should plan to file a tax return for any year that you are present in the US, even if you earned no US-sourced income for that year! 

In the US, taxes are paid and filed at both the US federal (national) level, as well as the state level. If you earn income in the US, you will likely have taxes withheld on each paycheck both by the federal government, and by the state in which you earned the income. As a result, if you earned income in the US in a given tax year, you may need to file two separate tax returns: a federal tax return, sent to the US federal government; and a state tax return, sent to the state in which you earned income. Please be sure to check our State Tax Returns site for detailed instructions on whether you might need to file a state tax return, and how to file.

Taxes and all of the forms and deadlines involved can be confusing, but we are here to make it as easy as possible! For a quick, more easily digestible breakdown of the most important things you should know before starting your tax return filing, please take a few minutes to watch our Top Tax Tips video.

If any questions come up while you are working on your tax return, please visit our detailed Tax FAQs page, which covers the many of the most common issues that students and scholars encounter during the filing process.

When you earn income in the US through employment or other types of income-generating sources, your income may be subject to tax withholding. Under tax withholding, your employer (or the entity providing you with US income) is required to deduct taxes from your overall earnings and send those taxes to the IRS (and state tax agencies, if applicable). In addition to employment, certain other types of income-generating activities (e.g., such as certain types of stipends, prizes, or investment income) may be subject to tax withholding.

How much income tax is withheld will depend on your tax residency and your estimated income tax obligation for the year. In addition, some tax nonresidents may have tax treaty benefits that will affect the overall rate (percentage) of withholding on your income.

Tax Withholding and Employment

When you start employment, you may be required to complete forms that will tell your employer how much tax to withhold from your salary. For nonresidents, these include:

• IRS Form W-4 withholding allowance certificate: File this form with your employer. F-1 and J-1 students who are within their first five years of student status are usually considered nonresident aliens and should complete Form W-4 using the special instructions for nonresident aliens
• IRS Form 8233 to request exemption or reduced withholding based on tax treaty benefits and accompanying Tax Treaty Statement (from IRS Publication 519 Appendix A for students and Appendix B for professors / teachers)

Unfortunately, the International Center cannot complete these forms for you. Once completed submit this forms to Tufts Support Services when starting your job at Tufts. You may need to provide your immigration status and history if you plan to request tax treaty benefits using Form 8233.

F-1 / J-1 students and J-1 scholars may be eligible for certain types of tax benefits available under a US tax treaty. A description of current tax treaties between the US and other countries is listed in IRS Publication 901, US Tax Treaties. When reading Publication 901, it is important to realize that each tax treaty is negotiated differently. Not every country has a tax treaty with the US, and the terms of each treaty provide different types of benefits for different groups, such as students, scholars, or others. Tax treaty benefits may be limited by income maximums and/or available for only a limited number of years, and in certain cases, tax benefits may be lost retroactively if your stay in the US and/or your US source income exceeds treaty limits.

If you have tax treaty benefits, you can request that they be applied at the time of tax withholding (see next section on Tax Withholding) or your annual tax filing (see section on Annual Tax Filing). You must have a valid Social Security Number (SSN) when requesting your tax treaty benefits - no other number can be used to claim tax treaty benefits.