Filing your first US tax return · Form 1040NR.
Don't let TurboTax mess this up. F1 students file 1040NR (not 1040). Plus India-US treaty Article 21 — your $14,600 deduction.
What you must file (every year, no exceptions)
"Statement for Exempt Individuals" — establishes that you're an F1 student and therefore exempt from the substantial presence test. Required even if you earned ZERO US income. Skipping this is the most common F1 tax mistake.
"US Nonresident Alien Income Tax Return" — required if you had any US income (on-campus job, OPT internship, US-source scholarship taxed via W-2). NOT Form 1040 — that's for residents. The treaty Article 21 deduction goes here.
Required to formally claim the India-US tax treaty benefit (Article 21 — standard deduction normally unavailable to non-residents, but India + South Korea get it). Must be filed alongside 1040NR, separately from the form itself.
Required if your aggregate non-US bank accounts exceeded $10K at any point. As an F1 in years 1-5 (non-resident alien), typically NOT required. Becomes required when you transition to US tax resident (year 6+, or after marriage to a US citizen).
The tool every Indian F1 student should use
Sprintax — international student tax filing
Built specifically for F1/J1/M1/Q1 visa holders. Auto-detects 1040NR vs 1040. Applies India-US treaty Article 21 automatically. Generates Form 8843. Most US universities offer Sprintax discount codes — ask your International Student Services office. Federal filing ~$50; State extra ~$40.
- Asks the right F-visa questions upfront — won't route you to the wrong form
- Automatically applies the India-US treaty Article 21 benefit (you'd miss this elsewhere)
- Generates Form 8843 even if you had zero income
- Ask your university — most institutions partner with Sprintax for discounted student rates
The India-US treaty Article 21 — your $14,600 deduction
Most non-resident aliens cannot claim the US standard deduction (~$14,600 for tax year 2024). But Indian students on F1 (and South Korean students) get a special carve-out via Article 21(2) of the India-US tax treaty.
How it works:
- You're a non-resident alien (years 1–5 on F1)
- You have US-source earned income (W-2 wages from on-campus job, OPT internship, etc.)
- You file Form 1040NR + Form 8833 to claim the treaty benefit
- You get to subtract $14,600 (2024 standard deduction) from your taxable income
What it saves: If you earned $20,000 from an OPT internship, your taxable income drops to $5,400. At 10-12% bracket = ~$540-650 tax instead of ~$2,000+. ~$1,400 saved per year.
Sprintax applies this automatically. Most TurboTax / H&R Block defaults will not.
Other tax tools (when Sprintax doesn't fit)
Common alternative offered by some US universities (often free). Good for simple W-2 cases. Limited handling of stock/investment income.
Glacier Tax Prep ↗Full-service CPA firm specialising in Americans abroad and non-residents. Use this if your situation is complex (stock options, India bank interest, marriage to US citizen, transitioning to OPT/H1B).
Bright!Tax consultation ↗CPA service for US expats and complex non-resident situations. Higher cost than software ($350-500 typical) but a real CPA reviews your return — useful when transitioning H1B / handling FBAR.
Greenback consultation ↗