Income Tax Information

for Non-Resident Aliens in the US

TAX YEAR 2008

Filing Deadline April 15, 2009

In February and March 2009, staff members from the Controller's Office will conduct tax help sessions for those of you who need assistance to prepare your tax returns.  The tax sessions are designed to accommodate primarily F-1 and J-1 visa holders studying or working at Oberlin.

You can view the calendar for the tax help sessions here. F-1 and J-1 visa holders have been divided in groups based on alpha order by last name. Please come to the session designated to you.

FEDERAL TAX RETURNS - For those who have been in the United States for less than five calendar years. NOTE: Any part of a year that you have lived in the US counts as a whole year.

To make the process for the 2008 federal tax returns easier for you, we have purchased access to an online program called CINTAX. Personal access codes have been assigned to each current student and you have received your access code via email. If you are confident that you can use the CINTAX program to prepare your 2008 federal tax returns by yourself, please do so. PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU FOLLOW THE SPECIFIC INSTRUCTIONS YOU RECEIVED BY EMAIL. They are also posted here.

CLICK ON THE ICON BELOW TO ACCESS CINTAX:

CAUTION - CINTAX will not work on a Mac with Internet Explorer. You must use Firefox or Safari.

You may access CINTAX from any computer with internet access from anywhere in the world! Simply type the following URL address into your internet browser: http://www.cintax.us. Click on the word “CINTAX” at the top of the page to enter. The FIRST time you log into CINTAX, you will be asked: “Have you already created your User Account?” Select “No. This is my first time to log in this year. I need to create my User Account.” You will then be prompted to enter your assigned Access Code (you should have received your assigned Access Code from your Institution Administrator). You must then create your User Account by selecting a Password and your personal UserID); be sure to remember your NEW Password and UserID as you will use it to access CINTAX if you need to login again. To ensure that your income tax return information remains private and secure, DO NOT share your Password or UserID with anyone. Please note, your email address is used solely by CINTAX to contact you if there is a problem while you are using the system; we do not sell or share your email address with anyone).

If you prefer to have assistance available when you prepare your federal tax return, as well as the other required tax returns, then you may come to your designated tax workshop and get help for all tax returns.

The following is a very important federal filing requirement: If you have lived in the United States on an F-1 or a J-1 visa for UP TO five calendar years, you MUST complete and file Form 8843 – EVEN IF YOU HAVE NO INCOME in the United States for tax year 2008!

Form 8843 can be completed online via CINTAX. If you are confident that you can complete it by yourself, please do so. MAKE SURE YOU FOLLOW THE SPECIFIC INSTRUCTIONS YOU RECEIVED BY EMAIL. They are also posted here.

If you have income, such as wages or scholarship, you must file Form 1040NR or Form 1040NR-EZ TOGETHER WITH Form 8843. These forms can be prepared using the CINTAX software as stated above. PLEASE READ THE INSTRUCTIONS BEFORE YOU ATTEMPT TO ACCESS AND USE CINTAX.

When you are done completing the Federal forms, please follow these steps:

1.    Save your completed forms and print paper copies

2.    Sign and date the completed forms:

• page 1 of Form 1040NR-EZ

  OR

• page 2 of Form 1040NR

OR

• page 2 of Form 8843 (you only need to sign this form if you don't have income.)

3.    Attach a copy of your W-2 and/or a copy of your 1042-S forms to the completed Form 1040NR  or 1040NR-EZ (follow the directions printed on Form 1040NR or 1040NR-EZ.)

4. Mail the forms to:

Department of the Treasury

Internal Revenue Service Center

Austin, TX  

73301-0215

5.    If you owe money: Attach your check or money order payable to: United States Treasury. Remember to write your Social Security Number or your Individual Taxpayer Identification Number on the payment.

6.    Remember to keep copies of your tax forms for your records.

Everyone who has been given an access code should be able to use CINTAX. If for some reason you cannot use CINTAX, the following are pdf files of the forms you need. You can download them on your computer and fill them in electronically:

FORM 8843

Calendar to calculate actual presence in the US

FORM 1040NR

FORM 1040NR Instructions

FORM 1040NR-EZ

FORM 1040NR-EZ Instructions

 

STATE OF OHIO AND LOCAL TAX RETURNS

After you have completed your Federal tax forms, you must begin the process of filing your State of Ohio, Ohio School District, and Regional Income Tax Agency (R.I.T.A. = Oberlin) returns.

CAUTION - Your Federal tax return must be completed before you can begin your Ohio tax return. You must have a copy of your Federal tax return in order to complete the following tax forms.

1. For the State of Ohio tax return, go to:

www.tax.state.oh.us/PROD/IFileWeb

Select “Ohio IT-1040 I-File.” Follow the directions on the website.

2. For the Ohio School District return, go to the same website:

www.tax.state.oh.us/PROD/IFileWeb

Select “Ohio SD-100 I-File.” Follow the directions on the website.

If for some reason you cannot file your State of Ohio and School Disctrict tax returns electronically, you may download the forms here:

FORM IT-1040EZ

FORM SD-100

The mailing instructions are very similar to the ones posted above for Federal Tax Returns. The mailing addresses are listed on the actual forms. MAKE SURE YOU KEEP COPIES OF THE COMPLETED FORMS FOR YOUR RECORDS.

3. For the R.I.T.A. (Oberlin city) tax return, please download the form here:

FORM 37-A

The mailing instructions are very similar to the ones posted above for Federal Tax Returns. The mailing address is listed on Form 37-A. MAKE SURE YOU KEEP COPIES OF THE COMPLETED FORMS FOR YOUR RECORDS.

PLEASE NOTE: If you qualify for a refund from any of the local tax returns that you filed, you will be asked to choose the way your refund should be sent to you – for example, you can choose to receive a check in the mail or you can choose to receive a “direct deposit” into your bank account. Please note that if you choose the “direct deposit,” you will be asked to provide your bank account information – that is, your bank account number and your bank routing number. You must remember to bring this information with you to the tax help session.

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QUICK AND EASY DOWNLOAD

Here is a COMBINED SET of the forms for State of Ohio, Ohio school district, and RITA (Oberlin) tax returns:

ALL-IN-ONE set of three forms

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FEDERAL TAX RETURNS - For those who have lived in the United States for five or more calendar years. NOTE: Any part of a year that you have lived in the US counts as a whole year.

Different rules and different Federal forms may apply to F-1 visa holders who have lived in the United States for five or more calendar years and to students with visa types other than F-1. Students who have lived in the USA for five or more calendar years are considered "resident aliens" for tax purposes. Here is the federal tax form those students should use - this is a pdf file that you can download on your computer and fill in electronically. There are also several online programs you could use if you're willing to pay a small fee.

FORM 1040EZ

FORM 1040EZ Instructions

For the State of Ohio, Ohio school district, and RITA (Oberlin) tax returns, please see the revelant sections above as these forms are the same for all tax filers.