Frequently Asked Questions about U.S. Taxes

Watch BIO's short Introduction to U.S. Tax Filing videos.

Berkeley International Office staff are not tax experts and cannot provide tax advice. To assist our clients, Berkeley International Office offers the following resources:

For student and scholars with no U.S. income: Online instructions for how to file your required tax form.

For students and scholars with U.S. income: Berkeley International Office has purchased GLACIER Tax Prep (GTP). GTP is a user-friendly tax preparation software created specifically for international students and scholars who are nonresident aliens for tax purposes. GTP will help you navigate U.S. federal tax forms, residency status, tax treaties, exemptions, and deductions.  GTP is accessible from around the world.

International students and scholars who have been in the U.S. for any portion of 2024 must file an annual tax report by the following year's tax filing deadline, even if they earned no U.S. income (see our "No U.S. Income" page).

International students and scholars who earned U.S. income should access GLACIER Tax Prep (GTP) to determine their tax filing requirement. You may be required to file taxes with the state of California as well. Income that is taxed includes wages, scholarships and earnings on investments. (A complete list of taxed income may be found in IRS and state tax guides.) The most common type of income is wages; the money withheld from each paycheck is an estimated payment of the federal and state income tax obligation. This money is sent by the employer to the IRS and Franchise Tax Board in the employee's account (the account number is the Social Security number). Taxable scholarship payments may have some amount withheld similar to wages. Investment income (not including bank interest) rarely has an amount withheld in advance; the applicable tax is paid when filing the tax forms.

Deadlines can be found on our main tax page. The deadline refers to the date the envelope is postmarked by the post office.

Filing a tax return is required by law. One of the conditions of your visa is to comply with U.S. law. If you owe taxes and don't file, the IRS can assess penalties, interest and seize U.S. bank assets for repayment. Fines and penalties can often amount to more than the original tax debt. There can also be immigration consequences for failing to file taxes. Applicants for permanent residency or "green cards" are frequently asked to show proof of tax filing for previous years in the U.S. In addition to the legal requirement, if you are owed a refund, filing a tax return is the only way to receive it.

See Nonresident vs. Resident for Tax Purposes.

Yes, all students or scholars who were in F or J status, a nonresident for tax purposes, and were present in the United States in 2024 must file a tax report for that year. Ask your employer to mail the Form W-2 to your home country address or explain how you may access it online. If you overpaid federal tax, the IRS can mail a refund check overseas.

Yes, since you were present in the U.S. during 2024, you are required to complete and file tax forms.

GLACIER Tax Prep includes a tax resource library AND a comprehensive tax preparation program that:

• Calculates the substantial presence test to determine the foreign national's U.S. tax residency status.

• Checks each type of payment against any applicable tax treaty to ensure that the individual takes advantage of any tax treaty benefits.

• Completes the correct U.S. federal income tax form—either Form 1040NR or Form 1040NR-EZ.

• Prepares any additional statements or attachments, as applicable - Form 2106, Form 8843, Schedule C, and/or Scholarship/Fellowship Grant Statement.

• Prints the federal tax return and all additional attachments.

• Provides detailed instructions about which tax forms to submit and how, when, and where to submit them.

See "Access Instructions" here.

(Students or scholars who never received any income from a U.S. source:  Follow the online instructions.)

No. Once you provide GLACIER Tax Prep with all of the required information, the system will auto-fill the appropriate tax forms. To complete the tax filing requirement, you must print the forms and mail them to the address provided on the GLACIER Tax Prep instruction sheet. The address will depend on the form(s) you are filing. California state taxes must be filed with the California Franchise Tax Board.  The address is available on the appropriate California tax form.

All nonresident aliens for tax purposes in F or J status are required to complete Form 8843 with the IRS regardless of whether they received income. This also includes dependents in F-2 and J-2 status, regardless of age. For instructions on how to complete this form, follow the instructions here

All nonresident aliens for tax purposes who spent any portion of 2024 in F or J status are required to complete Form 8843 and send it to the IRS. The deadline is June 15, 2025.

See No Income Tax Filing (bottom of page).

Yes. Anyone in F or J status present in the U.S. and a nonresident for tax purposes is required to complete a tax form. If your F-2 or J-2 dependent did not earn any income, they would still be required to fill out the Form 8843. J-2 dependents who received an EAD and earned income may be required to complete additional tax forms. They would be eligible to gain access to GLACIER Tax Prep to assist in the federal tax form process.

No. If your child is a U.S. citizen and did not earn any income, no tax forms need to be completed.

Some of the forms you may receive from UC Berkeley, your employer, or other sources are: 1042-S, W-2, 1099-INT, 1099-MISC, 1098-T. For more information about the specific forms, see Tax Forms.

If you were employed at UC Berkeley and want to know where to find your W-2, please review our Tax Forms page.

If you have not received Form W-2 or Form 1099-R, or received an incorrect form or information, contact your employer. You may not have received the form because of an incorrect or incomplete address. Be sure to verify the address used if already mailed. If the form was returned to the employer because of an incorrect address, or never mailed, and the employer intends to issue or re-mail, allow a reasonable amount of time for this action to occur before calling the IRS for help. 

If you have requested the Form W-2 from the employer but have not received your Form(s) W-2, the IRS will help you obtain the missing form(s). Call 1-800-829-1040. Be prepared to provide your name, address (including zip code), phone number, Social Security Number, and dates of employment and the name, address (including zip code), and phone number of the employer. For additional information, see Tax Topic 154(link is external), "Form W-2 - What To Do if Not Received" on the IRS website

• A student or scholar who was employed and was exempt from tax withholding under a tax treaty.

• Any nonresident alien student or scholar who received a taxable fellowship/scholarship/grant stipend in excess of required tuition and fees.

• Any nonresident alien who received a non-employee service payment.

Not all students and scholars will receive a Form 1042-S. For more information on the 1042-S and where to find it, please see our Tax Forms page. 

See Filing a State Income Tax Return.

See Filing a State Income Tax Return.

If you need more time, you can file Form 4868(link is external) to request an automatic extension of time until October 16. You will not be notified if the extension request is approved, it is automatic.  If you owe any taxes, you must still mail the estimated tax payment by the tax filing deadline in April or you will be assessed penalties and interest on any payment owed. Be sure to sign and date the forms and keep copies for your records.

Anyone who failed to file a tax return for a previous year should do so as soon as possible. Nonresident aliens for tax purposes should do the following:

1. Request an access code for GTP by following the instructions on our GTP page. You must meet the eligibility requirements. 
2. Once you have accessed GTP, you have the following options to file for a previous year (you will need to navigate to the appropriate page from the GTP menu page):

   1. Option 1: Access blank tax forms from previous years. You can use this option if you would like to complete the tax forms on your own. BIO cannot advise on how to fill out tax forms.

   2. Option 2 (recommended): Purchase an access code for a previous year, which will allow you to use GTP software to complete your forms.

Please note that access to GTP is only free for the current tax year. To file for a previous year, you will need to purchase an access code.

Go to Where's My Refund?(link is external) to track your refund. This page will usually have information about the refund three to four weeks after filing a paper return. Check weekly, on Wednesdays, for any updates to your refund information.