Tax Information for 2010 Filing
Every year the U.S. government (Federal) and the individual state governments (Georgia), require that individuals present in the United States during the previous year file what is known as an income tax return to each government. A tax return is a type of report that you must send to each government (Federal and State) that states how much you earned, were taxed, and should have been taxed during the year 2010. So you are returning a report on your taxes for 2010. Monday, April 18, 2011 is the deadline to file the tax return for 2010.
Who needs to file a tax return?
Everyone who was physically present in the United States in F-1, F-2, J-1, J-2, H-1B, H-4, TN, TD, O-1 or O-3 immigration status for any time between January 1, 2010 and December 31, 2010 (even if it was for one day) must file a 2010 Federal Income Tax Return. This includes dependents (F-2s, J-2s, H-4s, TDs, O-3s) regardless of their age. 2010 Federal Income Tax Returns must be be completed and mailed (postmarked) by April 18, 2011. If you are currently abroad or received no U.S. income during 2010, the deadline for you is (postmarked by) June 15, 2011.
What is your tax status?
Before you seek help with your tax return you need to determine your tax residency status. There is a huge difference between the two tax residency statuses and filing incorrectly can cause problems and possibly delays in receiving any refund you feel you may be owed. Tax status can be broken down in the following ways: Non-Resident for Tax Purposes and Resident for Tax Purposes. [Note: The terms Resident and Non-Resident are also used by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) in reference to your immigration status. The terms are defined differently by the United States Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in reference to taxes.]
A convenient way to determine your tax status is to use CINTAX, a web-based federal income tax preparation software. After you have entered the initial information requested in the beginning part of CINTAX, the program will determine whether you are a Non-Resident or a Resident for Tax Purposes. If your status is Resident, you will not be able to complete your tax return using CINTAX. The next section of this page provides information on accessing CINTAX.
Income Tax Filing Assistance
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CINTAX: If you are a Non-Resident for Tax Purposes, you may use CINTAX, a web-based federal income tax preparation software (provided FREE of charge by Emory University) to prepare your federal income tax return (Forms 1040NR or 1040NR-EZ). Click here for instructions on how to access CINTAX.
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Tax Workshops: If you are a Non-Resident for Tax Purposes, the Office of the Controller will present tax workshops, at no cost to you, to assist you in preparing your Georgia income tax return. The dates of the workshops are Thursday, March 17 for scholars and Thursday, March 24 for students. Click here for more information.
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VITA Program – Free Tax Preparation: The Atlanta Prosperity Campaign provides free Income Tax preparation services for any person who earned an income less than $48,000 in 2010. To find out more about this program and a tax preparation site nearest you, please see the Atlanta Prosperity Campaign website.
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Both free and fee-based tax preparation assistance is available to international students and scholars, both residents and non-residents for tax purposes. Click the links below to access these resources.
Dependents
As stated above, everyone who was physically present in the United States at some time during the year 2010 must file a tax return for this year. Usually for dependents this is a straightforward process that only requires one to file a Form 8843. If you are using CINTAX, it will ask you if you want to also print out 8843s for each of your family members. Alternatively, you and/or your dependents may complete Form 8843 on your own by following the link above. For tax filing purposes, your dependents are your spouse and children in dependent status (i.e., F-2, J-2, etc.)
If you are in J-2 status and were employed in 2010 using an Employment Authorization Document (EAD) from USCIS, you should use CINTAX to prepare your federal tax return if you are a Non-Resident for Tax Purposes. If you are a Resident for Tax Purposes who earned less than $48,000 in 2010, you may use the Vita Tax Free Preparation. The Tax Preparation Resources for Residents for Tax Purposes are available to you (see above) if you do not meet income requirements for the Vita Tax Free Preparation.
Final Note
Please remember that even though the document is called an Income Tax Return, not everyone who files a return will receive a refund of taxes paid. The tax return is a document which the U.S. and State governments require you use to return a report on your taxes. Many of you will find out that everything will balance out to "0" and some of you may find out that you owe more taxes to the U.S. or Georgia government. Regardless of whether or not you will receive a refund, you are required by law to file a tax return if you were in the United States in F-1, F-2, J-1, J-2, H-1B, H-4, TN, TD, O-1 or O-3 status in 2010. If you are a Non-Resident for Tax Purposes, you should bring a check book to the tax session so that you may either add a check to your tax return for additional taxes you owe OR provide your bank information on the forms (such as your bank account number and ABA number) to enable electronic deposit of your refund.