Tax information

All international students and scholars who were PHYSICALLY present in the United States in 2024 will need to complete at least one tax form this year. 

If you arrived to the country after January 1, 2025, you will not need to complete any tax forms this year! Your filing obligations will start next year.

The type of tax form you will need to complete will depend on a number of factors. 

If you are an F-1/J-1 STUDENT, click here to refer to the Student Tax Flowchart.

If you are a J-1 RESEARCH SCHOLAR, click here to refer to the Scholar Tax Flowchart instead.

In general, individuals who are considered RESIDENTS for tax purposes will be taxed differently than those who are considered NON-RESIDENTS. They will also file a different tax form (IRS 1040 for Tax Residents and IRS 1040-NR for Non-Residents). 

All F-1 and J-1 students start as NON-RESIDENTS for Tax Purposes when they come initially to the United States. Your Tax Residency status may change if you:

1. Stay in the US for more than 5 calendar years (Jan-Dec)
2. Change Visa status to H1B or become a permanent resident/receive a green card in the US

If you are married, and your spouse is considered a RESIDENT for tax purpose, you may have the option to file your taxes jointly with them as a RESIDENT. 

The easiest way to verify your tax status is to create an account on Sprintax and complete the Residency test.

Once you have determined your tax filing obligations for 2024, click the corresponding prompt to see your next steps:

I need to complete Tax Form 8843 ONLY

I am a NON-RESIDENT for Tax Purposes and need to file IRS Tax Form 1040-NR

I am a RESIDENT for Tax Purposes and need to file IRS Tax Form 1040

Create your Sprintax Account here: https://taxprep.sprintax.com/uni-lp.html?utm_ref=pdxlp&utm_content=prmc

Once you have created your account, click here to access FOCUS' helpful guide which walks you through how to navigate the Sprintax platform.

PSU students have access to a promotional code which will allow you to use Sprintax to prepare your non-resident tax forms for free. This promotional code can be found in the tax emails that OISSS has sent to your PSU email.

If you have trouble finding this promotional code, please contact: intl-services@pdx.edu