Weellllll.... ???.....now I'm confused!!! @older alumnis: did you file with 1040NR-EZ when you filed from your country of origin or did you file with 1040EZ as resident??? And if 1040NR-EZ, is it true, that you don't get much money back on this one????? :-\ The filing itself shouldn't be that difficult then Where do I have to send the forms??? And can we file online now??? So many questions again... : PLEASE HELP!!!!! c ya
As far as I can tell they aren't allowing online filling this year so you have to send the forms in. Not sure which form either so good question
i filed one while i was there, i got it from housing. then a year later i had to file one from the u.k, it arrived in the post (the one with NR i seem to remember) - they also sent me one the year after but that was their mistake. it depends what you work/worked as to how much you get, i was a server and thought i estimated my tax too low (something we did everyday declaring tips etc) but i still got a couple of hundred pounds back - a nice surprise! /the one i filed when i was there, i think i got $40 ha ha but i was a hostess then! i was there nov 01 - dec 02 so i covered 2 tax years. i'm sure the form i received in the post explained everything, and where to send it back to, i don't remember it being that difficult and i hate filling out forms!! hope that helps. ;D
I got mine through the other day too - haven't really had a chance to look at it yet though, but I'm sure there's something in the 'Farewell Pack' that they gave us out when we left! Don't hold me to that though! I'm sure the cheque comes back to you in US Dollars Slab - but again, don't hold me to it! Laterz
As far as I know you can file 1040EZ online, but not 1040NR-EZ, which is yet another reason for me to try it with the 1040EZ, albeit wrongfully. I'm going to take the chance. Also, I kept my bank account open, so I am certainly hoping for an electronic deposit and no cheques getting sent around. Shouldn't be a problem.
I hate taxes!! I'm still fighting the IRS over mine from last year! It took my 9 months to get my social number because Immigration had no record of me coming into the country!! So one goverment issue, led to another and they owe me more money! GRRR! I'm going across the border tomorrow, so I might take my paper with me and have someone do it there this year. Can't remember what I need though. Just the 4 part paper or other stuff too???? The online route is a bad idea if you ever plan to go back to the states, especially to work. You should get more money back filing as a non-resident (technically, you should get it ALL back, but they'll find ways not to give it to you!). You'll get a cheque in US dollars. Shan
No matter whether you submit your tax return online or not, you can always chose NOT to get a check but a deposit into your account instead, which should be a lot faster and safer - did it last year too and didn't file online, worked like a charm. That being said, you don't get all your money back when filing as a non-resident (unless I grossly misunderstood something). You can find a tax table and the end of the instructions to 1040NR-EZ, and there's field 13: Exemption deduction. It says in the instructions: Line 13—Exemption deduction. You can take an exemption of $3,050 for yourself. Earn more than that and you have to pay taxes according to the tax table. In 2003 I earned far less than in 2004, and I only stayed under those 3050$ by claiming my trip to the US as moving expenses, therefore filing 1040NR (non-EZ) and an additional form. Because that trip can only be claimed in direction to the US, I have even less room for maneuver now. By filing 1040EZ (non-NR) you can claim of 7950$ of exempt income, which is more than twice as much. So in essence you get 3050$ of tax exempt income on 1040NR-(EZ) and 7950$ of tax exempt income on 1040(EZ). Let me know if I make a fundamental mistake there.
Im a bit confused with this tax thing but Im sure alot of people are ??? The instructions online are 43 pages long so think i'l have a wee look at them and try to figure out what we have to do....does anyone know people who had to file for last year from home that could maybe give us a help?? Or is it really simple to do hope everyone is well!! love Ali :-* x x
Hey everybody, thanks for all those tips.. I looked at the 1040 NR EZ this afternoon and I have some questions though.. 11- I started to put what I paid but it is asked in 18. So in 11 we do not put anything? 13- we have to put 3100$ is that it? 22 is the money you paid less the amount in the table?? That is 94$ for me, but i tought we had to be refunded almost all we paid so that's far away from what I paid..? 23 is the same amount? If we do not have an US account anymore we do not have to fill routing number and account right? they will refund money by check!? 25- ?? And I do not understatnd the J : is therre a treaty with France?? I don't think so but i donno.. Well, thank you in advance to help me with this f**king tax form!! See ya Charlotte
:-[ ok, now I'm even more confused! I think I should sent my stuff to Frank... Does anybody has the taxstuff done by him before??
Yeah I think I'll be using Frank. Thanks for the tip Simon. I remember getting the email from you last year. Stormin mentioned someone else we know who'd used them too and all was well. I think they are charging $45 or something this year. Cheaper than Walmart last year. Ona x
Hey Ali! This form is going to be a killer me reckons - gonna be doing it next week with Jem when she comes down - if you get yours done by then, drop us a line... simple instructions only! Hehe! Cheers babes! Bonjour!
Flöckchen: Yes, me, last year - worked fine. I am going to send a German FAQ to all the people that have asked me in the past, so you should really be able to do it yourself. Of course I can't promise that I'm going to do everything properly or that I max out the money you get - but you can't be sure with anyone you give your form to either. Charley: There is also an instruction document on how to fill out 1040nr-ez. You didn't pay any state or local taxes, so you don't fill in anything in 11. You are right in putting 3100$ in line 13 (which is the main difference to 1040ez, where you get 7950$ as a resident). 22 and 23a should be the same, yes. I don't think it should be as little as 94$ (because last year I got back around 300-400$ I think), but it's certainly far less than you would expect - which is due you being taxed as a NONRESIDENT. All the people that claim you get everything back have filed as RESIDENTs (using 1040ez), because that was changed only two years ago. Now Q1 visa are explicitly mentioned in the instructions, whereas you used to be able to be taxed as a resident because you spent more than half a year in the US. Now we are "exempt individuals". Which is why I am going to try using 1040EZ anyway. If you don't have a routing number anymore, you don't fill it in and request a cheque, yes. The part about the treaties is the only one that puzzles me still. I think I remember that there was some treaty with Canada regarding this, and I might be totally wrong and this could be the key to getting all the money back. But that would leave the question why Q1s are explicitly mentioned in the FAQ to the form. I remember that I didn't fill anything in regarding those treaties the last time, and it wasn't a problem at least.
Ok thanx for your advises.. But now I think Im gonna look now for the 1040 EZ one to get my money back!! Cuz with the other one I could just claim for 94 dollars.. ! I will get back to you if I have other issues about this one, which is really likely!! So.. Hope to here from you soon!! Is there some overall advises for this one? About how to fill it? Thank you very much for your help!! Charlotte
Hey guys, I have another questions, maybe someone can help me. It's about the form we have to use. You talked about 1040 NR-EZ and 1040 EZ. Okay, I got the difference. But last year my tax declaration was made by a tax sercive near the commons (http://www.libertytax.com/MyAsp/US_...PostalCode=32837&Dist=3.45&searchPostal=32821) They used the form 1040NR for me and my friends. Now I'm confused. Does anybody know about this form? ??? Thanks! Franzi
As far as I'm aware 1040NR is the long version of 1040NREZ. Not sure which one we are meant to use but yes they did do 1040 NR if you got them done by a tax company last year
There are two kinds of forms: 1040 and 1040NR. There are shorter variants of both, which are the EZ ones, e.g. 1040EZ and 1040NR-EZ. All I can say is this: I think the *right* form to use is 1040NR-EZ. Last year I filed using 1040NR (without EZ), because I had to deduct my flight as moving expenses, which is one reason NOT to be able to use EZ. This can only be done IN direction to the US, so this year you should theoretically be able to file 1040NR-EZ - but would get back even less money than the year before. Now the thing is that last year about 20 people I know filed using 1040EZ, NOT NR. This was possible until 2002 or so, when they changed the instructions so as to explicitly state that Q1 are NON-RESIDENT aliens, no matter what. The funny thing is that ALL of them got their money back without problems. It didn't matter to me back then, because we all had learned little enough to get back everything with either 1040 or 1040NR, but this time around it is different. Seeing that their forms got accepted as well, I will try using 1040EZ this time. I already filed it online, but it got rejected due to some technical error (I hope). I tried filing with another company now (free at all of them) and will let you know if it got accepted. If not, I will print and mail it and keep my fingers crossed. i think it's worth trying because they don't seem to do much if you file wrong - and the whole part about non-resident vs. resident is still pretty unclear, so you have a good excuse should you need one.
Anyone I know who filed online last year (which meant they used the 1040), had to file an amendment just before the deadline. If you file online or with the regular 1040, you can be charged with tax fraud IF they catch you. Just a thought. Shan
Hey everybody, Sorry but i'm lost..Maybe you could help me Quark..!? Using 1040NR EZ, it seems that I can only get 94$, whereas I paid for 552.90.. So I understood that we could get all back with 1040 EZ but now I have nothing to be refunded..!? Do I have to enter something in 8a? I earned 7657.15, so with the table 10. tax is 794$. Paid 552.90 in line 7. So 11a. refund is 0...!? Please Help i think i'm gonna get crazy with this forms.. I want my money back!! Thanks in advance......
Shannybanany: Interesting comment, I've been waiting to hear something like this for quite some time. So they DO check from time to time. However, if they just had to file an amendment, it's certainly worth trying, isn't it. All I can say is that I know about 20 people who filed 1040 without any problems - which was quite surprising to me, too. Do you know exactly what happened to the others, were they sent letters and if so, what did those say? My return just was accepted online, and I should receive my money next week. As soon as it's in my account it's out of there again - and we will see about American cops coming to Europe to fetch it. Of course, if they threaten to deny admission to the US if I don't pay back my refund, I just might give in, but I still think all of this is quite unlikely to happen. Charly: I suppose you somehow forgot to put your standard deduction of 7950 $ under 5? As a single with no dependents, you are entitled to that. That leaves you with 0 Dollars of taxable income, so you get everything back! Your calculation for 1040NR-EZ seems to be correct (you took your deduction of 3100$ for field 13 on that one), although you might get a bit more when claiming your trip to the US as a moving expense, using form 1040NR and filing form 3903. This is only possible for the move TO the US, though, so you need to file it in the first year. Again, I can only emphasize what shannybanany said, there's no guarantee that 1040EZ will work, nor that you get your money back or don't get any trouble. But in my opinion, no one can guarantee that, and I've seen many so-called professional tax preparers in the US filling out a lot of crap for the internationals and charging a lot of money for it. I can do that myself just as well, but for free. I suppose they wouldn't take any responsibility either if worst came to worst, so I don't see why I should bother with any of them...
