Form 8843 – Who need to file and how to file?

Home U.S. Tax and Accounting Form 8843 – Who need to file and how to file?

About Form 8843, Statement for Exempt Individuals and Individuals with a Medical Condition

If you are an alien individual, file Form 8843 to explain the basis of your claim that you can exclude days present in the United States for purposes of the substantial presence test because you:

  • Were an exempt individual.
  • Were unable to leave the United States because of a medical condition or medical problem.

Form 8843 is not an income tax return.

Instead, it is a statement you file for the US Government if you are a certain type of nonresident alien for tax purposes (including spouses and dependents of certain nonresident aliens).

Who must file a Form 8843?

All nonresidents aliens who are in the US on F-1, J-1, F-2 or J-2 visas are required to file a Form 8843. Even if you earned no US income, you must still file this form.

You must file a Form 8843 if:

  • You were present in the US in the previous tax year;
  • You are a nonresident alien;
  • And you are in the US under F-1, J-1, F-2 or J-2 status.

Even if you don’t need to file an income tax return, you should file the Form 8843 if the above criteria apply.

How to fill out Form 8843

Part 1 of form 8843 – General Information: 

  • Personal details
  • Social Security Number (SSN) or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) – if you have one. You generally don’t need an SSN or ITIN to file a Form 8843 but if you have been assigned one, you must include it on Form 8843. The exception to this is for those who can be claimed as dependents on a US tax return. These dependents must have either an SSN or ITIN.
  • US visa type (F-1, J-1, etc)
  • Current non-immigrant status – unless this has changed since you entered the US. In this case you should also enter the date your change of status was approved.
  • Number of days you were present in the US in the last 3 years
  • Number of days you were present in the US in the relevant tax year (enter this in the Substantial Presence Test box)

Part 2 of form 8843 – Teachers and Trainees

Teachers and trainees are required to include details of what academic institution or program you were involved in during the previous year.

Part 3 of form 8843 – Students

If you are an F-1 international student or J-1 visa holder (and dependent), in part 3 you should include details of your academic institution or program and answer the rest of the questions according to your personal circumstances.

Part 4 (Professional Athletes) and 5 (Individuals with a Medical Condition or Medical Problem)

The majority of students in the US on F or J non-immigrant status will not need to fill in parts 4 and 5.

How to file Form 8843

Form 8843 is typically attached to your 1040-NR income tax return.

If you’re filing form 1040-NR, you should mail form 8843 to the address shown in your tax return instructions.

However, if you have no income and are only filing Form 8843, you should print Form 8843 and mail it to:

Department of the Treasury,

Internal Revenue Service Center

Center, Austin, TX 73301-0215

Deadline for filing a Form 8843

The 2024 deadline for filing Form 8843, along with any tax return that is due, is 15 April 2024.

By not filing on time, you may not exclude the days you were present in the United States, which could result in you being considered a US resident under the substantial presence test.

Howver, the IRS does allow nonresidents in the US to file 8843 for previous years they have missed. To do this, you will simply need to attach a Form 8843 for each year you were present in the US with your tax return.

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