Tax Assistance for International Students and Scholars

As an international student or scholar in the United States, it’s important that you understand the tax requirements of your visa and your filing obligations with the IRS (Internal Revenue Service).

International Student & Scholar Services

All F- and J- status visitors must file tax forms if they were in the United States during the previous calendar year.   If you arrived for the first time in F or J status before January 1, of a given year you are required to file at least one tax form in that year, and your dependents must also file forms independently. For the first 5 years of your F- status and first 2 years of J- status, you generally remain a “nonresident for tax purposes.” If you did not work or receive any income in the US during the previous year, and you are a non-resident for tax purposes, you are legally obliged to file the Form 8843.  If you worked or received a stipend, grant, scholarship covering more than just tuition, or allowance in the USA (over a certain amount) you must also to file the Form 1040-NR or 1040-NR-EZ.

If you have been here in more than 5 consecutive calendar years in F status or more than 2 years in J- status, you may have become a “resident for tax purposes” — even if you are still in F or J status for immigration purposes. If you are a resident for tax purposes, you are taxed on your world-wide income, and file your tax forms the same way an American citizen or legal permanent resident would.

While there are many tax forms you can complete and file yourself, the Office of Global Engagement has arranged free access to Sprintax Tax Preparation, which will guide you through the tax preparation process, prepare the necessary documents and even check if you are due a refund.  It can also guide you through the State of Colorado tax process for an additional fee.

Sprintax is used by more than a hundred thousand international students and scholars each year, and the average Federal refund received by eligible students is over $1,000.

All you need to do is:

  1. Register and follow the simple instructions
  2. Complete the online questionnaire
  3. Enter the unique code in the box on the ‘Review your order’ page. Please contact  UNC International Student & Scholar Services if you need the UNC Sprintax Code.
  4. Sprintax will prepare your tax return.
  5. Print, sign, and mail the required documents.  Be sure to keep a copy for your records.

Complete Your Tax Return

If you have any questions, please use the live chat function on Sprintax and their team will be happy to help.

Taxable non-service scholarships and Student Employees

Athletes and other students with taxable scholarships or fellowships (those that include living expenses and require no work activities), who have no other employment in the U.S., and students who have on campus employment should complete their Sprintax Calculus profile as soon as the link is sent each year.  Students who have employment will need to update their SSN information in Calculus when available.  Students who do not have employment but do have taxable scholarships must work with ISSS to apply for an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) as early as possible (ideally in the fall term).  ITINs are required for tax reporting on those scholarships.

Students who apply later may wish to visit an ITIN Acceptance Agent with their completed, signed tax return documents (before mailing to the IRS), so that they do not have to send original passports and other documents to the IRS with their applications.  The IRS keeps a list of legitimate ITIN Acceptance Agents , and you should only work with one of these authorized companies.  The ITIN Acceptance Agent can help authenticate copies of documents that can then be attached to your tax return when you send it to the IRS.  Please carefully investigate the fees of an agent you are considering using – they may range from less than $25 to several hundred dollars.

You do not need an ITIN if you have a U.S. Social Security Number (SSN), or are eligible for an SSN or if you are only required to file IRS Form 8843.

Additional resources

The information contained herein is provided as a service to the international students, faculty, staff, employees and/or administrators of the University of Northern Colorado, and does not constitute legal advice on any immigration, tax or other matter. As legal advice must be tailored to the specific circumstances of each case, and laws are constantly changing, nothing provided herein should be used as a substitute for the advice of legal counsel or qualified tax professional. The University of Northern Colorado is not responsible for the results obtained from the use of any information provided herein.

Get Ready to File Your Tax Documents

All tax filers with U.S. source income (including scholarships and fellowships, as well as on or off campus employment) will need either a Social Security Number (SSN) for employment based income or Individual Tax Identification Number (ITIN) for income not based on employment, to file a tax return.

Reporting your SSN or ITIN to UNC. If you have (or when you get) an SSN or ITIN, students must report your number in person to the Registrar’s office or Payroll, who will update your student record, which will in turn update your information in the payroll system. Do not ever email a copy of your SSN card or put your number in an email!

Before you begin to prepare your tax return, you will need to collect all applicable IRS forms (e.g, W-2 form, 1042-S form, etc.). If you did not receive any U.S. source income in 2019, you will not receive an income statement and can complete submit the IRS form 8843 with or without help from Sprintax If you are a non-resident for tax purposes.

If you had U.S. source income you will get one or more forms that show the type, source and amount of income. Do not file your 2019 tax return until you have received all of your income statements.

  • Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement – issued by the end of January for wages earned.  This may be mailed or available from your employer online.  Questions about your UNC W-2 can be referred to Payroll.
  • Form 1042-S, Foreign Person’s U.S. Source Income Subject to Withholding – issued by March 15, 2020 for stipend, non-qualified scholarship, fellowship income, prizes and awards, as well as for income covered by a tax treaty.  UNC’s General Accounting office issues 1042-S forms in early to mid-March in most years.  If you have not received yours by about March 21st, or if you have questions, please reach out to our Tax Accountant.
  • Form 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. (Note that some companies may issue this instead of a 1042-S for some income, as the rules have recently changed, and companies may not be aware)
  • Form 1098-T –  Nonresident aliens for U.S. tax purposes (those individuals filing an 1040NR or 1040NRWEZ form) are generally not eligible to claim any of the education related tax credits or deductions for which the Form 1098-T is intended.  For nonresident aliens, it serves as documentation only.
  • 1099INT, for interest earned on checking/savings accounts.  This is not reportable income for nonresident aliens for tax purposes, so does not need to be reported on your tax forms.

If you are eligible for a W-2 and a 1042-S form, you must wait until you have all your income statements before you begin preparing your tax return. Depending on your individual circumstance, you may have more than one type of income statement or multiple forms of the same kind (for instance, if you have two employers during the year, you may would have 2 W-2 forms).

When you receive any tax related forms, check that your name and SSN/ITIN are correct on these income statements. If they are incorrect, you will need to contact the issuer.

The U.S. has income tax treaties with several other countries. Under these treaties, citizens or residents of foreign countries may be eligible for a reduced income tax rate or be exempt from U.S. income tax on some U.S. sourced income. These reduced rates and exemptions vary among countries and specific items of income.

If you take advantage of tax treaty benefits, it is important to be aware that you will be liable for taxes on your U.S. based income in the treaty country.  Since U.S. tax rates are lower than many countries, you should carefully consider whether or not using the tax treaty benefits is actually to your advantage.  We recommend discussing it with a tax professional.

Preparing Your Federal Tax Return

Sprintax tax preparation software for UNC international students and scholars who are nonresident tax filers. The software helps users prepare all of the paper forms needed for federal tax filing, which will need to be printed out and shipped to the IRS.   It is important to make a copy of your documents before shipping.

If you are a nonresident for tax purposes:

If you received no U.S.-based income in 2019, you will need to fill out only form 8843. Print, sign and mail to the address indicated in the instructions.  Each F-2 or J-2 dependent must also complete an 8843. You do not need an SSN or ITIN to file form 8843 unless you are a J-2 or F-2 dependent eligible to be claimed as exemptions on a U.S. income tax form.

If you had U.S. source income, you will need to fill out a 1040NR or 1040NR-EZ form AND the 8843 form.
Form 8843 Information & Form
Form 1040NR Information & Form
Form 1040NR-EZ Information & Form

You may also be required to file taxes in Colorado any other states where you received income.  We are unable to provide guidance on state returns, however, Sprintax can prepare your Colorado return and/or returns for other states.  The additional cost to you is about $30 per state return.

More information about Colorado income taxes is available from the Colorado Department of Revenue.

Whether you use Sprintax to generate your forms or fill out the forms yourself, you must print, sign and date the forms, attach the appropriate copies of your income statements, make copies for your records, and follow the instructions given to ship them to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). If you owe money, make your check payable to the United States Treasury. IF you have income, the deadline for filing the 2025 return is Wednesday, April 15, 2026.

It is important to make and keep copies of what you file every year. If your return is audited and there is a problem, in case it is lost, in case the IRS makes a mistake. You can save the PDFs to your computer or print an extra copy . Keep all of your U.S. tax records for a minimum of 7 years, however, if you think you might ever want to become a permanent resident or U.S. Citizen, we recommend keeping copies forever.

If your tax forms indicate you should get a refund for federal income tax purposes, it will take the IRS some time to process your refund–sometimes 16 to 20 weeks) before receiving your refund or a notice. You can check the status of your refund online at the IRS website.  We have found it is often quicker to use direct deposit rather than receiving a paper check in the mail from the IRS.

This information is intended only for international students and scholars who are nonresident alien taxpayers with income sources and level typical of students and scholars. 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 professional. 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 professional.

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.