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TAX INFORMATION FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS & SCHOLARS
Tax Filing Requirements
All international students and scholars who are non-residents for U.S.
tax purposes, and who were in the U.S. at any time during the previous
year, must file tax returns with the U.S. government. This requirement
applies to all F-1 or J-1 students who, as of December 31, last year
were in the United States for less than six calendar years and all J-1
scholars who were in the U.S. less than three years. This requirement
applies even to non-resident students and scholars who received no
income from U.S. sources during the calendar year.
If you are a non-resident student or scholar who received no income
from U.S. sources in the last year (if you had interest income from a
U.S. bank account, it is not considered as U.S. source income), you need
to complete Form 8843. See link below for this form and instructions.
If you are a non-resident student or scholar who received income
from U.S. sources in the last year (such as work income, interest
income, scholarship or fellowship income), you need to complete a 1040NR
or 1040NR-EZ and Form 8843 and submit them to the Internal Revenue
Service by April 15.
Filing Your Federal Taxes
CINTAX Complete International Tax Preparation Software
The CMU Payroll Office and the OIE have worked together to purchase
a web-based program that will create the finished forms for you by
asking you step-by-step questions. The program is called CINTAX
Complete International Tax Preparation Software, and can be
accessed from any personal computer with Internet capability.
CINTAX is written in easy-to-understand language and asks a few
questions about your time spent in the U.S. and any payments you
have received. CINTAX does the rest by deciding which return
to file and putting the right information on the right line. This
program considers any applicable tax treaty the United States has
with your home country and ensures that if a tax treaty exemption is
not warranted, it's not incorrectly claimed on the tax return.
To use CINTAX, stop by the OIE at 106 Bovee UC or the Payroll
Office at 204 Warriner Hall and present your CMU ID Card. You will
then be assigned an access code for CINTAX. Keep your access
code in a safe location! Next log on to
www.cintax.us and complete your
federal tax forms. After you have answered all the questions on the
web program, you will be able to print out your 1040NR and your Form
8843 for mailing to the IRS.
Filing Your State Taxes
After you have completed your federal taxes, you must also file
taxes for the State of Michigan if you received income last year.
You can download your State Tax Forms from the Payroll website at
http://www.controller.cmich.edu/payroll/irs.htm - look for the
2007 Michigan 1040 form. You can also get this form from the Post
Office or the Library. You must complete your federal tax forms
before you start your Michigan tax form. (If you did not receive any
income in 2007, you do not have to complete a Michigan tax form.)
Other Resources
Professional Preparation
You may wish to hire a tax preparer to do your taxes for you.
For a listing of such services, look under “Tax Return
Preparation” in the Yellow Pages of your telephone book.
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