As one of the most complex tax situations that you could find yourself in, figuring out the way to report earnings as a non-resident alien of the United States can be extremely difficult. Those who fall under this status are people who are not citizens of the U.S. and have not established permanent residence yet. Anyone outside of those two classes, with certain exceptions, will have to file a so-called Form 1040NR. It is fairly similar to the regular form 1040 that other taxpayers have to file. The “NR” portion of it, which stands for “non-resident” alien, however, brings in some modifications.
Who Must File?
Merely being a non-resident alien does not immediately mean that the filing of Form 1040NR has been triggered. In order for the government to be eligible to take taxes from you, there have to be U.S.-based earnings involved. That means that only non-resident individuals who receive W-2 wages, 1099 independent contractor earnings, and other forms of income will have to pay U.S. tax... [read more]