nudda

Hi all,

As some of you will know, I'm on an L1 visa.
I moved to the US October 2016 and only realised the other day that tax returns have to be filed by everyone not just the companies you work for (as I'm used to in the UK). Theyre due on April 18th so I'm obviously in panic mode.

I've determined I need to complete 1040NR based on the fact I've on the work visa and have been there for less than 183 days in tax year 2016.

I initially started using turbotax but soon realised it doesnt handle 1040NR forms!! So I went to sprintax.com and they seem like a bigger headache than theyre worth as I got told at the end they dont support the pay I get and will need to complete the form offline.

So my question is, I am sure a lot of you have had to fill out 1040NR forms at the start of your stay in the US. What did you guys do? The form itself on the irs.gov site doesnt look too difficult to do. Can I tackle it myself? If not, should I seek a CPA ? Or resort to just filing an extension?

Appreciate any insights

materialcontroller

Don't know the answer to your query, but as this isn't immigration related, hopefully a mod can move this thread to a more appropriate section of the forum.

md95065

For future reference, the abbreviation "NRA" is already very much in use in the U.S. and it doesn't mean "Non Resident Alien" the way that you probably think it does ...

The only reason I read this thread was because I was curious about why the National Rifle Association cared about your tax return.

Don't panic about the 1040NR - you can file Form 4868 to get an automatic 6 month extension for filing.

Chances are that you won't owe anything, so just fill in both the "Estimate of total tax liability for 2016" and the "Total 2016 taxes" boxes with whatever Federal tax witholding is shown on your W-2 form, giving a "Balance due" of 0.

Then you have 6 months to get the 1040NR prepared and filed.

nudda

Oh! Now that I think about it, NRA makes sense.
I would much rather get the taxes done than extend. It's good to know I can extend if I run out of immediate options thought. I have figured out on some sites that I am owed a refund so think the extension will be ok. I still would like to know who to approach or which system to use for which form to get the taxes done, for after Aril 18th.

and many thanks for your reply!!!

Aoi

The online version of taxact.com worked for dual status returns.

cautiousjon

I used TaxAct to help me file a 1040NR. Whilst it was a bit daunting for me, it was a fairly simple process in the end. I skirted really close to the line on the 183 day residency rule though (I chose my initial landing date based on narrowly staying within the rule - I think that I was at 182 days in the end, including taking into account travel to the US over the previous three years). The IRS took about 18 months to adjudicate on my tax return but I did get my full refund in the end.

nudda

Thanks all. 18 months wow thats some time!