Tax Workshops
February 20, 2008
To All International Students and Scholars (F and J):
RE: Tax Workshop Information and Filing Requirements for the 2007 Tax Year
ALL F and J visa holder s who were non-residents for tax purposes in 2007 are required by the Internal Revenue Services (IRS) to file a tax return. The Office of Global Education will be offering Tax Information Workshops to assist you. Workshop information is listed at the end of this email.
Please review the following categories to determine your tax filing requirements:
| A. | No U.S. source
income in 2007: |
| B. | US earning of less than
$3,400 in 2007: |
| C. | US earnings of more than $3,400 – or – |
** Special Note for Spring 2008 Admitted students: New Spring 2008 students entered the US AFTER January 1, 2008 for the first time DO NOT need to file a 2007 return as they were not present in the US during 2007. Newly admitted Spring 2008 students who entered the US PRIOR to January 1, 2008 have to complete a tax return for 2007.
DEADLINE TO FILE - Categories A & B who ONLY need to file the 8843 Form:
Those of you who are only required to file the IRS form 8843 (no US source income) can download the form from the IRS web page at http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f8843.pdf or request a copy of the 8843 form from the OGE. Deadline to file is June 16, 2008 .
DEADLINE TO FILE - Category C who need to file the 8843 AND the 1040NR / 1040NR EZ: Those of you needing to file the 1040NR / 1040NR EZ forms should plan on attending a tax workshop (unless you have attended this workshop before). The deadline to file these forms is April 15, 2008.
Note on CINTAX Software for Category C students : California State University , Sacramento has again arranged to for our international students/scholars to have access to a non-resident electronic tax preparation program called CINTAX. This electronic tax preparation tool, aimed specifically at non-resident international students and scholars, should ease the burden of preparing your US tax return and ensure an accurate tax filing. We will be distributing CINTAX information and access passwords to our international students and scholars at planned tax workshops and in the OGE upon your request (for those who have attended a workshop or prepared a federal return with CINTAX in a previous year). CINTAX will not offer an option to prepare the California state tax return this year.
Are
you a Resident for Tax Purposes?:
F
and J visa students who, prior to calendar year 2007, had resided
continuously in the United States for parts of five or more
calendar years are generally considered residents for tax purposes
(only) and are thus not subject to these requirements. These
students need to review the requirements for Residents to see
if they are required to file tax forms (see form 1040 or 1040EZ
instructions at www.irs.gov).
Non-student Js and their dependents (J-1 visa scholars and
faculty for example) are considered residents for tax purposes
after two years and thus, need meet non-resident requirements
only for the first two years of their program (after that period
they would simply file resident tax returns if necessary).
WORKSHOPS:
We
have scheduled the following tax information workshops in
to assist you. Pre-registration for these workshops
is required as space is limited for each session. Please
visit the front reception desk of the OGE to sign-up for the
session most convenient for you. We expect that those of you
with questions regarding US taxation will attend one of the
workshops.
NOTE:
Students filing a tax return for the first time, should
plan on attending one of these workshops.
FEBRUARY
Friday,
February 29 from 1-3 pm in Lassen Hall 2006
MARCH
Friday,
March 7 from 1-3 pm in Lassen Hall 2006
Friday,
March 14 from 10-12 pm - Lassen 2006
Friday,
March 28 from 1-3 pm in Lassen Hall 2006
Please
do not hesitate to contact the OGE if you have any questions
concerning these matters.
Eric
D. Merchant, Coordinator, International Students/Programs
Tracey
M. Culbertson, International Student Advisor
