Tax Assistance for International Students and Scholars
General Tax Information
All International persons living in the U.S. are required to comply with the U.S. requirement to file federal and state tax "returns" and pay any required taxes by April 18, 2011 for any U.S. income received in 2010. Generally if you made less than $3650 USD in 2010 you do not owe U.S. income tax. However if you paid any taxes in error, filing a U.S. and Indiana State tax return is the only way to receive a refund of these taxes.
If you made no U.S. income in 2010, you still must complete form 8843 if you were in the U.S. in 2009 and are still here. This form can be found here: http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f8843.pdf and instructions for completing this form can be found here.
If you are a non-resident for tax purposes, you will be able to use the CINTAX tax program to prepare your federal tax return. CINTAXwill help you complete form 1040NR or 1040NREZ and the 8843. Please note that you cannot complete your tax forms until you have received a report of your 2010 income. This is generally reported on form W-2 or 1042-S. IU employees received the W-2 in late January. The 1042-S will be prepared and sent by IU's tax office by March 15, 2011. If you believe that you should have received a 1042-S and haven't by that time, you can contact FMS at taxpayer@indiana.edu. If you received additional income — say as an independent contractor — you may receive a 1099MISC. The CINTAX program will enable you to compile all forms of U.S. income regardless of the type of form the income was reported on.
You will have to complete the state tax form IT-40PNR using paper forms. You will not be able to complete your state tax return until you have completed your federal tax return. You can choose to come to the state tax workshop on April 1 which will be run by tax experts from the Indiana Department of Revenue, see Tax Workshops, or you can go to the Indiana Department of Revenue's help desk in the Government Building, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Maps are available at OIA.
Indianapolis Taxpayer Services100 N. Senate IGCN Rm N105
Indianapolis, IN 46204
(317) 232-2240
The Office of International Affairs also has ITIN acceptance agents on staff who can assist you in applying for an ITIN at the time of filing your federal tax return if you or your dependents are not eligible for a social security number.