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It outlines who must file, which federal forms are required for nonresident aliens versus resident aliens, and how immigration status affects filing duties. The guide also details how to determine resident versus nonresident status using the Substantial Presence Test and stresses keeping University of Colorado tax specialists informed when immigration status changes.",{"@graph":63,"@context":118},[64,80,101],{"@type":65,"itemListElement":66},"BreadcrumbList",[67,71,74,77],{"item":68,"name":69,"@type":70,"position":9},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":72,"name":10,"@type":70,"position":73},"https://docshare.wps.com/template/",2,{"item":75,"name":41,"@type":70,"position":76},"https://docshare.wps.com/template/letters/",3,{"item":78,"name":59,"@type":70,"position":79},"https://docshare.wps.com/template/filing-income-tax-forms-frequently-asked-questions/304074/",4,{"url":78,"name":59,"@type":81,"image":82,"author":87,"headline":59,"publisher":90,"fileFormat":93,"inLanguage":57,"description":61,"dateModified":94,"datePublished":95,"encodingFormat":93,"isAccessibleForFree":96,"interactionStatistic":97},"DigitalDocument",{"url":83,"@type":84,"width":85,"height":86},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/filing-income-tax-forms-frequently-asked-questions/304074.png","ImageObject",442,249,{"name":88,"@type":89},"Berry Peter","Person",{"url":68,"name":91,"@type":92},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-03","2026-09-19",true,{"@type":98,"interactionType":99,"userInteractionCount":79},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":100},"ViewAction",{"@type":102,"mainEntity":103},"FAQPage",[104,110,114],{"name":105,"@type":106,"acceptedAnswer":107},"What is an income tax return?","Question",{"text":108,"@type":109},"Income tax returns are forms submitted by individual and joint taxpayers to report income and calculate and reconcile tax liability with relevant authorities. In the U.S., a federal return is typically filed early in each calendar year for the previous year.","Answer",{"name":111,"@type":106,"acceptedAnswer":112},"Do foreign nationals always have to file federal tax forms?",{"text":113,"@type":109},"Except under certain circumstances, foreign nationals who received compensation, including wages and non-qualified scholarships/fellowships, must file a federal income tax return to report earnings and reconcile taxes with the IRS. Many individuals with income in Colorado must also file a Colorado state return.",{"name":115,"@type":106,"acceptedAnswer":116},"How does the Substantial Presence Test determine residency for tax purposes?",{"text":117,"@type":109},"International visitors use the Substantial Presence Test to determine whether they have spent enough days in the U.S. to be treated as residents for tax purposes. Meeting the test in one year does not make someone a resident forever; the conditions must be met each subsequent year, and certain statuses may treat some days as exempt.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":78,"og:type":120,"og:title":59,"og:site_name":91,"og:description":61},"article",{"robots":122,"canonical":78},"index,follow",{"doc_id":124,"site_id":56},304074,1790529135,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":127},{"doc_id":124,"user_id":128,"nickname":88,"user_avatar":129,"doc_module":9,"category_id":40,"category_name":41,"doc_title":59,"doc_description":61,"doc_content":130,"file_id":131,"file_url":132,"file_type":133,"file_size":134,"view_count":79,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":9,"is_downloadable":9,"audit_status":9,"page_count":135,"language":136,"language_code":57,"site_id":56,"html_lang":57,"table_of_contents":137,"faqs":138,"seo_title":139,"seo_description":61,"update_tm":140,"read_time":73},1374402524268,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_3d24733baf745e90a7e4bdd5f77d97b2","Filing Income Tax Forms Frequently Asked Questions  \n1. What is an income tax return?  \nIncome tax returns are forms submitted by individual and joint taxpayers to federal and, in some cases, state and local taxing authorities to report various types of income, and to calculate and reconcile tax liability.  \nIn the United States, we file a federal income tax return during the first part of each calendar year to report our earnings and reconcile our taxes with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for the previous year. For example, in 2020 , those required to file will complete and submit a 2019 income tax return. In Colorado, we also file a state income tax return with the State of Colorado’s Department of Revenue to reconcile our state income tax bill.  \n2. Do I have to file tax forms?  \nExcept under certain circumstances, all foreign nationals who received compensation, including but not limited to wages and non‐qualified scholarships/fellowships , must file a federal income tax return to report their earnings and reconcile their taxes with the IRS. See question 3 for additional information about your specific filing requirements.  \nMany individuals earning income in Colorado also must fill out and submit a State of Colorado tax return. See question 8 for more information.  \n3. Which federal forms should I file?  \nEven if they did not earn any income in the United States and are not required to submit a federal income tax return, all nonresident aliens in F, J, Q or M status, as well as their dependents, must submit Form 8843 to the IRS to report their presence in the United States in an exempt individual status. Form 8843 can be downloaded [at](at www.IRS.gov)[ ](at www.IRS.gov)[www.IRS.gov](at www.IRS.gov).  \nNonresident aliens should file either IRS Form 1040NR or 1040NR‐EZ. To determine whether you are required to file and which form is appropriate for you, review the sections“Can I Use Form 1040NR‐EZ” and “Who Must File” in the instructions to form 1040NR‐ EZ, [available at](available at www.IRS.gov)[ ](available at www.IRS.gov)[www.IRS.gov](available at www.IRS.gov).  \nResident aliens should file IRS Form 1040, which [is available at](is available at www.IRS.gov)[ ](is available at www.IRS.gov)[www.IRS.gov](is available at www.IRS.gov).  \nSome nonresident aliens, if qualified, may elect to be treated as residents for taxation purposes, which may or may not be more fiscally advantageous than filing as  \nnonresidents. Refer to IRS Publication 519 for more information.  \n4. How do I know if I am a resident or nonresident for taxation purposes?  \nInternational visitors to the United States use a formula called the Substantial Presence Test (SPT) to determine whether they have spent enough days in the United States to be considered residents for tax purposes. Once a person meets the SPT, however, it does not mean that person is a resident alien forever; the conditions of the SPT must be met in each subsequent year to retain tax residency.  \nAdditionally, different immigration statuses follow different tax rules. If a person becomes a resident alien in one immigration status but later changes that status, there is a chance they could fall out of tax residency. For this reason, it is very important that all international employees at the University of Colorado inform the international tax specialists within the Employee Services department whenever there is a change or extension of their immigration status.  \nF, J, Q and M statuses are often called “exempt” or “exempt individual” statuses. This does not mean exempt from tax but that an individual in one of these immigration statuses is exempt from counting certain days spent in the United States toward the SPT. Students in F and J status are, generally, exempt from counting days toward the SPT for their first five calendar years in the United States, including prior visits in any of the exempt statuses. Most students will become residents for tax purposes in their sixth calenda","cbCaiiWrVuGzO57n","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaiiWrVuGzO57n","pdf",106703,6,"English","# Filing Income Tax Forms Frequently Asked Questions\n## What is an income tax return?\n## Do I have to file tax forms?\n## Which federal forms should I file?\n## How do I know if I am a resident or nonresident for taxation purposes?\n## What information do I need from the University of Colorado in order to complete my income tax returns?","[{\"question\":\"What is an income tax return?\",\"answer\":\"Income tax returns are forms submitted by individual and joint taxpayers to report income and calculate and reconcile tax liability with relevant authorities. In the U.S., a federal return is typically filed early in each calendar year for the previous year.\"},{\"question\":\"Do foreign nationals always have to file federal tax forms?\",\"answer\":\"Except under certain circumstances, foreign nationals who received compensation, including wages and non-qualified scholarships/fellowships, must file a federal income tax return to report earnings and reconcile taxes with the IRS. Many individuals with income in Colorado must also file a Colorado state return.\"},{\"question\":\"How does the Substantial Presence Test determine residency for tax purposes?\",\"answer\":\"International visitors use the Substantial Presence Test to determine whether they have spent enough days in the U.S. to be treated as residents for tax purposes. Meeting the test in one year does not make someone a resident forever; the conditions must be met each subsequent year, and certain statuses may treat some days as exempt.\"}]","Filing Income Tax Forms - Frequently Asked Questions | PDF",1789809794]