2018 Instructions for Form 1040NR - U.S. Nonresident Alien Income Tax Return

Sep 19, 2026

2018 Instructions for Form 1040NR provide guidance for completing the U.S. Nonresident Alien Income Tax Return. The document explains general rules on residency, who must file, filing and payment timing, reporting income, and completing line-by-line sections for income, adjustments, tax computation on effectively connected income, credits, other taxes, and amounts owed. It also includes instructions for Schedule A, Schedule NEC, and Schedule OI, plus recordkeeping, amendments, death of a taxpayer, past-due returns, and how to get tax help.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryForms

FormatPDF

Pages80

Reading Time28 min

AccessFree to download

Contents Page What's New

General Instructions

Resident or Nonresident Alien

Who Must File

When To File

Where To File

Election To Be Taxed as a Resident Alien

Dual-Status Taxpayers

How To Report Income

Line Instructions

Name and Address

Identifying Number

Filing Status

Dependents

Effectively Connected Income (ECI)

Adjusted Gross Income

Tax Computation on ECI

Credits

Other Taxes

Payments

Refund

Amount You Owe

Third Party Designee

Keeping Records

Amending Your Return

Death of a Taxpayer

Past Due Returns

How To Get Tax Help

Interest and Penalties

Refund Information

Instructions for Schedule A

Instructions for Schedule NEC

Instructions for Schedule OI

Sign Your Return

Assemble Your Return

General Information

TeleTax

Disclosure, Privacy Act, and Paperwork Reduction Act Notice

Index

Caution: The form, instruction, or publication you are looking for begins on the next page. But first see the important information below. This form, instruction, or publication is being revised to reflect legislation enacted December 20, 2019. The updated revision will be posted here as soon as possible. We apologize for the delay and inconvenience. The most recently issued final revision begins on the next page, but, again, is currently being updated. Early release drafts of forms and instructions (and some pubs) are posted before the final release [at](at www.irs.gov/DraftForms)[ ](at www.irs.gov/DraftForms)[www.irs.gov/DraftForms](at www.irs.gov/DraftForms) (note that they remain there after the final release is posted). The most recently issued final revision of forms, instructions, and publications [is posted at](is posted at www.irs.gov/LatestForms)[ ](is posted at www.irs.gov/LatestForms)[www.irs.gov/LatestForms](is posted at www.irs.gov/LatestForms) and at [www.irs.gov/AllForms](www.irs.gov/AllForms), which has revisions for all years each form, instruction, or pub has been issued. Almost every form and publication has a page on IRS.gov with a friendly shortcut. For example, the Form 1040 page is [at](at www.irs.gov/Form1040)[ ](at www.irs.gov/Form1040)[www.irs.gov/Form1040](at www.irs.gov/Form1040); the Pub. 501 page is [at](at www.irs.gov/Pub501)[ ](at www.irs.gov/Pub501)[www.irs.gov/Pub501](at www.irs.gov/Pub501); the Form W-4 page is [at](at www.irs.gov/W4)[ ](at www.irs.gov/W4)[www.irs.gov/W4](at www.irs.gov/W4); and the Schedule A (Form 1040 or 1040-SR) page is [at](at www.irs.gov/ScheduleA)[ ](at www.irs.gov/ScheduleA)[www.irs.gov/ScheduleA](at www.irs.gov/ScheduleA).(If typing in a link above instead of clicking on it, be sure to type the link into the address bar of your browser, not a Search box.) Note that instructions and publications are available from these pages in PDF for printing, HTML for viewing online, and in many cases, in eBook format for mobile viewing (see [www.irs.gov/eBook](www.irs.gov/eBook for more details)[ for more details](www.irs.gov/eBook for more details)). If you wish, you can submit comments to the IRS about draft or final forms, instructions, or publications [at](at www.irs.gov/FormComments. We)[ ](at www.irs.gov/FormComments. We)[www.irs.gov/FormComments](at www.irs.gov/FormComments. We)[. We](at www.irs.gov/FormComments. We) cannot respond to all comments due to the high volume we receive and may not be able to consider many suggestions until the subsequent revision of the product. All information about forms, instructions, and pubs is [at](at www.irs.gov/Forms)[ ](at www.irs.gov/Forms)[www.irs.gov/Forms](at www.irs.gov/Forms). 2018 Instructions for Form 1040NR U.S. Nonresident Alien Income Tax Return Department of the Treasury Internal Revenue Service Contents Page What's New .................. 1 General Instructions ............. 4 Resident or Nonresident Alien .................. 4 Who Must File ............. 6 When To File .............. 9 Where To File .............. 9 Election To Be Taxed as a Resident Alien ............ 10 Dual-Status Taxpayers .......... 10 How To Report Income .......... 11 Line Instructions .............. 13 Name and Address ......... 13 Identifying Number ......... 13 Filing Status .............. 14 Dependents .............. 15 Effectively Connected Income (ECI) ........... 16 Adjusted Gross Income ...... 25 Tax Computation on ECI ...... 31 Credits ................. 36 Other Taxes .............. 41 Payments ............... 43 Refund ................. 44 Amount You Owe .......... 46 Third Party Designee ........ 48 Keeping Records .......... 57 Amending Your Return ....... 57 Death of a Taxpayer ........ 58 Past Due Returns .......... 58 How To Get Tax Help ........ 58 Interest and Penalties ........ 60 Refund Information ......... 61 Instructions for Schedule A ....... 48

FAQs

Who should use Form 1040NR and these 2018 instructions?

Use the instructions if you file as a resident or nonresident alien and meet the document’s filing requirements for Form 1040NR. The sections cover who must file and how residency or nationality is entered on the appropriate schedule.

What key updates were noted for the 2018 tax year?

The document lists changes under the “What’s New” section, including reduced tax rates for 2018 and limitations such as the suspension of personal exemptions for 2018.

How do taxpayers handle effectively connected income and compute tax?

The instructions explain how to report income, then provide specific guidance for adjusted gross income and tax computation on effectively connected income (ECI), including the related sections on credits, other taxes, payments, and refunds.

Sep 19, 2026

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