Getting Ready to Prepare Your Tax Return
Answer the following questions to confirm your tax status and find out your next steps.
Generally, most international students and scholars who are on F and J visas are considered nonresidents for tax purposes. International students on J-1 and F-1 visas are considered nonresident for their first five calendar years in the US, while Scholars/Researchers on J-1 visas are considered nonresidents for two out of the last six calendar years in the U.S. If you have been in the U.S. for longer than the five (students) or two (scholars) year periods, the Substantial Presence Test will determine your tax residency.
No
If you are considered a resident for tax purposes, please check out our Federal Income Tax Filing for Residents page for more information.
Yes
Keep reading the instructions below to find out about subsidized access to Sprintax (provided by OISS).
No
If you did not receive any U.S. source income in 2020, you will not receive an income statement and do not need Sprintax access. Just complete and submit the IRS form 8843.
Yes
If you had U.S. source income in 2020, you will receive one or more forms (e.g. W-2, 1042-S and/or 1099) indicating the type, source, and amount of income received.
Keep reading the instructions below to find out about subsidized access to Sprintax (provided by OISS).
Do not file your 2020 tax return until you have received all of your income statements.
All tax filers with U.S. source income will need either a Social Security Number (SSN) or Individual Tax Identification Number (ITIN) to file a tax return.
Reporting your SSN or ITIN to Yale.
If you have (or when you get) an SSN or ITIN, students must report your number in person to your school registrar. Yale College and Graduate School students should report it to the University Registrar's Office. Students in the professional schools should visit their school registrars. Registrars will update your student record, which will in turn update your information in the payroll system. Faculty and staff should contact the Yale Employee Service Center to report your SSN or ITIN.
Income Statements
Before you begin to prepare your tax return, you will need to collect all applicable IRS forms (see table below).
Depending on your individual circumstance, you may have multiples of one form and/or more than one type of income statement. Determine which forms you will receive from Yale University based on your tax status and the type of payments you received from the University.
When you receive these forms, check that your name and SSN/ITIN are correct on these income statements. If the information on your W-2 is incorrect, please contact Yale Employee Services. If the information on your 1042-S is incorrect, please contact sharedservices@yale.edu. (Note: if you have not previously been issued or reported an SSN or ITIN, Yale will auto-populate this field with your student ID number. These Yale-issued numbers are for internal use ONLY and cannot be used for tax filing purposes. and you will need to have the form re-issued.)
All Documents
| Document | Description | Needed? |
|---|---|---|
| Passport | Yes | |
| Visa/Immigration information, including form I-20 (F status) or form DS-2019 (J status) | Yes | |
| SSN or ITIN | This is not needed if you had no income. In that case, the form 8843 is the only form you have to file. | Yes |
| W-2 (Wage & Tax Statement) |
This form reports your wage earnings if you worked. If you had more than one employer you should get a W-2 from each employer. Make sure all employers from last year have an up-to-date address for you. It is issued by the end of January 2021 for wages earned. Instructions on how to get your Yale W-2 form. If you are unable to access your W-2 form electronically or did not receive these forms, please contact Yale Payroll at employee.services@yale.edu or call 203-432-5552) and include the following information for a copy of your W-2 form:
|
Yes |
| 1042-S (Foreign Person’s U.S. Source Income Subject to Withholding) |
This form is used to report:
If you received this type of income, the 1042-S will be mailed to you by March 15, 2021. If you have access to the FNIS system, your 1042-S form will be available to download on FNIS (Foreign National Information System). If you are unable to access your 1042-S electronically or did not receive it by by mail, please contact sharedservices@yale.edu (or call 203-432-5394) and include the following information for a copy of your 1042-S:
|
Yes |
|
U.S. entry and exit dates for current and past visits to the U.S. |
In addition to passport stamps, you can review or print your US travel history at the DHS I-94 website. |
Yes |
| 1099-MISC | Issued by the end of January for certain payments made to U.S. Citizens, U.S. Permanent Residents and Resident Aliens for tax purposes. Yale will send you your 1099-MISC by email.
If you are unable to access your 1099-MISC electronically, or did not receive it by mail, please contact sharedservices@yale.edu (or call 203-432-5394) and include the following information for a copy of your 1099-MISC:
|
Yes |
| 1098-T | You should have received this form from the University. Nonresident aliens for U.S. tax purposes (those individuals filing an 1040NR form) are generally not eligible to claim any of the education related tax credits or deductions for which the Form 1098-T is intended to serve as documentation. | No |
Preparing Your Federal Tax Return
OISS provides access to Sprintax tax preparation software for Yale international students and scholars who are nonresident tax filers. In late February OISS will email instructions for accessing the Sprintax software. The software helps users prepare all of the paper forms needed for federal tax filing, which will need to be printed out and mailed to the IRS.
Learn how to file your federal return with Sprintax.
Preparing Your State Tax Return
You may also be required to file taxes in any states where you received income.
- Sprintax can also prepare your Connecticut state return and/or returns for other states. You will need to pay for this service; the cost is $29.95 per return.
- If you received income from any other state, you may also be required to file for that state. OISS does not provide guidance for state filings.
- More information about Connecticut state filing.
Print, Sign, and Mail
If you are preparing your forms or fill out the forms yourself, you must print, sign and date the forms, attach the appropriate copies of your income statements and follow the instructions given to mail them to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). For the first time the IRS is permitting non-resident filers to e-file and you can do that through Sprintax. If you owe money, make your check payable to the United States Treasury.
Keep Copies!
Always keep a copy of your annual tax filing (in case your return gets reviewed and there is a problem or if the IRS audits you in the future). You can save the PDFs to your computer or print an extra copy - do not rely on Sprintax to store copies of your tax returns, as you may not be able to access them in the future.
Where's My Refund?
If you have determined that you are due a refund for federal income tax purposes, it will take the IRS some time to process your refund. If you submit your return(s) on or close to the filing deadline, it is not uncommon to have to wait several weeks (sometimes 16 to 20 weeks) before receiving your refund or a notice. You can check the status of your return at this IRS link.
Disclaimer
This information is intended only for international students and scholars who are nonresident tax filers with income sources and level typical of students and scholars at Yale University. Although the information contained in this site has been reviewed carefully and should be adequate to assist most international students and scholars, it is not a substitute for advice obtained from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) or a qualified tax accountant. If your visa status has changed in the past year, or you believe you have a complicated tax issue, please consult the IRS or a qualified tax accountant.
In addition, while the tax preparation software, Sprintax is being provided to help you with your tax filing obligations, you are individually responsible for verifying that the correct information has been entered into the tax preparation software and included on all forms and/or other documents printed or derived from the tax preparation software, and ultimately responsible for any errors or omissions.
