1040NR EZ tax form question - foreign income
 

Hi,

I have spent hours reading IRS publications and forums but still can't grasp something - hope you can help.

I arrived on an L1 visa here in Colorado on November 2nd 2010. I now have a W2 from my employer and have established that I should file as a Non Resident for 2010 using form 1040NR EZ.

My question is whether I should declare my UK income from January to end October 2010 - on which UK tax has been already paid. I seem to meeting conflicting information:

1. Non residents do not need to declare foreign income..

...on the other hand 2. Item J asks for income exempt from tax under an income tax treaty with a foreign country. Is this my UK income from Jan to October?

If not what is it?

Any advice welcome. Thanks

Re: 1040NR EZ tax form question - foreign income
 

Sounds like in item J they are asking about US-sourced income that is exempt from tax - for example postdocs on a J visa are treated as nonresident and are also exempt from US tax on their US-sourced income.

Don't think this applies to you.

Re: 1040NR EZ tax form question - foreign income
 

maybe this will help --- you have basically just arrived..... and only had what 2 months in US.... you file 1040NR in resepect only of those 2 months. you had no substantial presence in your first 2 months, do not report anything prior to that .... now in respect of those 2 months what treaty income are you considering is reportable in 1040NR? most of the treaty stuff is talking about incomes that are exempt, eg social secutiry related income and possibly federal/state/local pensions... i presume you are working and are not getting social security.... or pensions. so you probably dont have any treaty income. income that might be exempt. if you just worked in US, those 2months, and also got paid from UK sources, need to define more carefully what that was.. now if you had interest income and investments that is another kettle of fish? hopefully you didnt . been there done that 30 years ago....

Re: 1040NR EZ tax form question - foreign income
 

This is what I was told, by H&R Block and by our institution. We arrived in September 2010, on J visas, and from that point our sole income was American salary. We left that section (sorry, was it 'item J'; I don't have my form right here) of the 1040NR blank.

Caveats:
I could be wrong!
Our situations might be different!
Tax forms are tricky b*str*rds!

But we did make a point of asking about it -- 'it' being foreign income earned in 2010 before we came to America, and the above was what we were told.

Re: 1040NR EZ tax form question - foreign income
 

Don't confuse residency for immigration purposes with residency for tax purposes. Get yourself publication 519 from the IRS website, and a big pot of coffee. Also, you can't always file an EZ version of 1040. Sometimes you need the long form.

Re: 1040NR EZ tax form question - foreign income
 

more about this... when i say 1040nr i also include 1040nrez.

take the w2 earnings and stick it in box 8 of 1040NR. check your marital status probably you are single? let hrblock compute eligible moving expenses and sched A deductions (probably none). On page 2 of the 1040nr take any taxes you've had withheld on your w2 and offset the tax amount due and the rest, and you are done and can get on with your life.... probably take them 10-15 mins. me too.. you will have to also do the state non-resident return - let HR Block handle that.....


ps i looked up your 'J1'scholar visa and it would appear you are an exempt individual for 2 calendar years - you begin counting your 183 days on 1.1.2013 which is to say 2 years later after you landed in Sept 2010
all being unchanged, that means you will have 1040nr in 2010, 2011 and 2012 - in 2013 you will file 1040 as resident alien!!!!! (for tax purposes)
www.irs.gov.... alien residency example 4 seems apropos to J1

have a happy stay in the US... hope this clears things up and there are practically zero chance of any treaties coming into the picture from what you've mentioned....