First US tax return on F-1, OPT and STEM OPT

If you arrived from India on an F-1 visa, your first US tax return is unlike the one your American colleagues file. This guide explains your status, which forms you need even with no income, what the India treaty adds, and the points at which you stop being a non-resident. Dates and dollar figures are for tax year 2025 unless stated, because the 2026 figures were not published when this was written.

Your status: non-resident for the first five calendar years

An F, J, M or Q student is an "exempt individual" for the substantial presence test. The days you spend in the US as a student do not count towards residency. The IRS says that you lose exempt status if you have been exempt as a student, teacher, trainee or exchange visitor for any part of more than five calendar years, unless you show that you do not intend to live in the US permanently and have complied with your visa. Part of a year counts as a year, so landing in December of year one uses one of your five.

Almost all F-1 students are therefore non-resident aliens for tax, and this continues while on OPT and STEM OPT, provided you are still within the five calendar years and in F-1 status. Year six is when residency can start. See the residency guide for the day-count test.

Form 8843: everyone files it

Form 8843 explains why your days are excluded. It is filed whether or not you earned anything. If you file a return, attach it. If you do not need to file a return, mail it separately to the address in its instructions. Pub 519 says it is due by the Form 1040-NR due date. It carries no tax, but missing it makes your days look like residency days.

Form 1040-NR when there is US income

If you had wages from a campus job, CPT or OPT, taxable scholarship or interest that was not fully taxed, you generally file Form 1040-NR, not Form 1040. For tax year 2025 the due date was April 15, 2026 if you had wages subject to withholding, and June 15, 2026 if you had none. The equivalent dates for tax year 2026 fall in 2027.

A student from India has a treaty advantage. Under Article 21(2) of the US-India treaty, students and business apprentices from India can claim the standard deduction on Form 1040-NR, which other non-residents cannot. Pub 519 shows $15,750 for 2025 (single). The Form 1040-NR instructions also say such a student who is single and whose gross income for 2025 was no more than $15,750 may not need to file a return. That does not help if tax was withheld from your pay, because the only way to get that back is to file Form 1040-NR. When in doubt, file. Form 8843 is still required either way.

Claim the deduction on the return. For withholding, IRS Notice 1392 (the supplemental Form W-4 instructions for non-resident aliens) explains how an eligible student from India adjusts Form W-4 so less tax is withheld. Follow that notice rather than changing the form on your own.

FICA: exempt, then not

Wages of F-1 students for work that the visa allows, including on-campus work and practical training, are exempt from Social Security and Medicare tax while you are a non-resident alien. If your employer withheld FICA, ask them to refund it. If they cannot, you file Form 843 with Form 8316 and supporting documents. Once you are a resident alien for tax purposes, FICA applies. Spouses on F-2 are not covered by the exemption.

Scholarships and stipends

A scholarship is excluded only to the extent it pays for tuition, fees, books and supplies required for the course. Any part paid for teaching, research or other services is taxable. A US-source taxable scholarship is treated as effectively connected income, so it goes on Form 1040-NR. A graduate assistantship stipend is generally wages and is reported on Form W-2.

State returns

Many states ask for their own return when you had income earned there, and they do not all follow the federal treaty rules. Check the state tax authority for each state where you worked or studied.

SSN, ITIN and e-filing

If you are working on CPT or OPT, apply for an SSN. An ITIN (Form W-7) is for people who need a tax number but are not eligible for an SSN. It is for tax use only and does not allow work. An ITIN not used on a return for three consecutive years expires.

The IRS instructions say you can e-file Form 1040-NR, though paid preparers generally must. Whether your software supports it, and whether it supports the treaty items, varies. Dual-status returns cannot be e-filed.

When you become a resident

Typically you pass the five-year point and meet the substantial presence test in year six, or you change to H-1B or a green card. A year in which your status changes may need a dual-status return. Read dual status and the F-1 to H-1B guide before that year. From the first resident year you file Form 1040, and Indian accounts become reportable on the FBAR and Form 8938.

Common mistakes

• Using resident-return software, which prepares the wrong form and may treat you as a resident.
• Not filing Form 8843 because there was no income.
• Claiming resident status because you have been in the US 183 days, when your student days are excluded.
• Not claiming the India standard deduction.
• Letting FICA stand when it should have been refunded.
• Missing a stipend or interest that is reportable even if small.

A US CPA is worth consulting before the year you may become a resident, when you have a dual-status year, when you have stock or startup equity, or if you want to argue that you do not intend to stay beyond the five years.