United States income tax requirements:

All F-1 students, regardless of income, are required to file a United States income tax return. The United States Internal Revenue Service evaluates income tax. If you earned money of any kind during the year, you must file a US tax return. If your income was not subject to taxes, you still must file a US tax return.

Filing a US tax return does not mean you will owe monies to the United States government. Usually, you will need to file is the 1040NR or the 1040NR-EZ (if you have no dependents). In addition to the 1040NR or 1040NR-EZ, you and your dependents should file Form 8843. These forms can be accessed from the Internal Revenue Service web page at www.irs.gov.

However, if you have earned any income of any kind in the United States, you may want to contact a licensed income tax preparer to make sure you fulfill your obligations. A licensed preparer will charge a fee to prepare your taxes, but a good preparers’ knowledge is worth the cost. DO YOUR RESEARCH and read carefully before signing an agreement with a tax-preparing agent.

Any forms you receive from your bank, your employer or Midlands Technical College, you must keep and use to prepare your taxes. After your taxes are prepared, it is a good idea to keep a copy of the tax form you sent, plus copies of tax documents.

The deadline for submission of any income tax document is always April 15 of the year. For complete information on taxes for Non-Resident Aliens, you can review IRS publication 519 or call the US Internal Revenue Service at 1-800-829-3676.

South Carolina income tax requirements:

If you received income during the year, you will also need to file an income tax return with the state government in addition to the United States government. For South Carolina state taxes, you need a form named Schedule NR. You can get the form you need at this website: www.sctax.org.

If you lived part of the year in a state other than South Carolina, you may need to file tax returns in that state also. Go to www.taxadmin.org/fta and click on the state where you lived to access tax information from that state.

Remember, the deadline for submission of any tax document is April 15 of that year.

Tax Treaties:

The U.S. has signed tax treaties with a number of countries, which reduce the amount of taxable income for students from those countries. To get information about tax treaties and how they affect you, please speak with a licensed tax preparer or contact the IRS.

Tax Assistance:

For your federal taxes, there is free tax assistance available by calling the IRS at 1-800-829-1040. This assistance does not substitute for the knowledge that you will get from a professional tax preparer who is familiar with the needs of international students.

For state taxes, you can get assistance from the South Carolina Tax Commission. Their office is located at the State Museum on Gervais St. Their phone number is 898-5000.

Back to International Student Main Page