Filing Taxes as a Resident Alien with a Tax Treaty Benefit

You are considered a Resident Alien with a Tax Treaty Benefit if you meet the following criteria:

  • Have been in the U.S. as an F-1, or J-1 Student for more than 5 calendar years
  • Have been in the US as a J-1 non-student for more than 2 calendar years
  • Have been in H-1B status for 183 days or more during the past year
  • Obtained Permanent Residency status (Green Card) at any time during the past year
  • Obtained U.S. Citizenship at any time during the past year
  • You claimed a tax treaty benefit as a person from one of the applicable countries

File your tax report

Unfortunately, there is no software product available to assist with these kinds of returns. Because you are claiming a tax treaty benefit, you may receive a Form 1042-S from UC or CCHMC, which will be sent to you via email prior to March 15. We recommend waiting for that before filing your tax report.

There are two ways you can file your report:

  1. Try to file on your own for free
  2. Use an accounting firm

To file on your own, follow these steps:

  • File Form 1040 (NOT Form 1040-EZ)
  • On the top of all pages, write "Resident Alien With Tax Treaty Exemption"
  • Include all income (including tax treaty exempt income) on the appropriate lines
  • On the "Other Income" line of Form 1040, enter the total of the tax treaty exempt amount as a negative number so it will be subtracted
  • On the dotted line beside "Other Income," write "Exempt Income. U.S.-{country} tax treaty, Article {article number}"
  • Also get Page 5 of Form 1040NR and on question L, complete the information about your tax treaty claim
  • Assemble your tax return with Form 1040, Forms W-2 and/or 1042-S, if received, and Page 5 of Form 1040-NR, along with any other required attachments
  • Mail your return to the address noted on the form

UC International has negotiated the service of Sprintax with accounting firm Intuit.

To use this service, contact Maria Yordanova using the subject line "University of Cincinnati, Resident Alien with a Tax Treaty Benefit Assistance." They will arrange for help offline and will communicate with you via email/phone.  

  • $150 for the Federal tax return (2022 Rate - this may be higher this year)
  • $72 for the state tax return (2022 Rate - this may be higher this year)
  • There might be upcharges for increased complexity of the returns.

After completing and printing your Federal Income Tax Report, complete a State Tax Report for the states you lived in.