Taxes for Newcomers in the U.S.

Taxes can affect your paycheck, bank records, school forms, and future paperwork. Start by learning which documents to save, when to check filing rules, and where your immigration or visa category changes the answer.

Who This Guide Is For#

Use this guide after you have handled urgent arrival tasks and need to understand the tax paperwork that can show up during the year. It fits workers, students, families, and people who have received wages, scholarships, bank interest, contractor payments, or year-end forms.

This guide helps you understand the system. It does not tell you which form to file or how to prepare a return.

The Basic Tax Map#

Most first-year readers need three practical questions:

1. Did I receive income or tax documents?
2. Did someone withhold tax from my pay or payment?
3. Does my tax residency, state, school, employer, or visa category create a filing step?

Federal Taxes#

The IRS handles federal income tax. If you work as an employee, your employer often withholds federal income tax from your paycheck based partly on Form W-4. At tax time, you compare your yearly tax with what was withheld.

You may:

• Get a refund if too much tax was withheld.
• Owe money if too little tax was withheld.
• Need to file even if the final tax is small or zero.
• Want to file because tax was withheld and you may get money back.

The IRS says many people must file when income is over the filing requirement, when they have more than $400 in net self-employment earnings, or when another filing rule applies. The IRS also says some people should consider filing even below the income threshold if federal tax was withheld or they may qualify for a refundable credit.

State And Local Taxes#

State rules vary. Some states tax wages and other income. Some do not have a state income tax. Local rules can add city or county taxes in some places.

Read Federal Versus State Taxes for a practical comparison of income, payroll, sales, property, and multi-state tax questions.

Do not assume federal filing solves every tax step. You may have:

• A federal return.
• A state return.
• More than one state return after moving or working in multiple states.
• Local tax forms in some cities.
• No state income tax return in a state that does not tax income.

Resident Alien Versus Nonresident Alien#

For federal tax, the IRS uses the green card test and the substantial presence test as the main tests for whether a noncitizen is a resident alien or nonresident alien for tax purposes.

The substantial presence test looks at days in the current year and the two previous years. The basic count includes all days in the current year, one-third of days from the prior year, and one-sixth of days from the second prior year. Special day-counting rules can apply to certain students, teachers, trainees, and other categories.

This distinction can affect:

• Which tax return form you use.
• Which income you report.
• Whether a tax treaty may matter.
• Whether standard tax software works for your situation.
• Whether your school international office has a specific tax resource.

Common Income Documents#

Most tax preparation starts with documents. Save them as PDFs or paper copies.

Employers and payers send year-end forms after the tax year ends. If you moved, update your address with payroll, your school, banks, and other payers so tax forms reach you.

Form W-2 And Form 1099#

Form W-2 means the payer treated you as an employee. It shows wages and taxes withheld.

Form 1099 means someone reported a payment to you outside normal employee payroll. A 1099 does not mean the payer already covered the tax. Contractors and side-income workers may need to track expenses, self-employment tax, and estimated payments.

Low Income, No Income, And Form 8843#

Low income does not settle the filing question by itself. You may still need to file or may benefit from filing.

Common reasons to check:

• Federal tax was withheld from your paycheck and you want a refund.
• You had self-employment or contractor income.
• You received taxable scholarship, fellowship, stipend, interest, dividends, or other income.
• Your state has a separate filing rule.
• You are a nonresident alien student, teacher, trainee, or other visitor with a Form 8843 situation.

The IRS says Form 8843 explains a claim that certain days present in the United States can be excluded for substantial presence test purposes because the person was an exempt individual or had a medical condition that prevented departure. For many international students and scholars, this is why school tax software or international-office guidance matters even when income was low.

SSN, ITIN, And Tax IDs#

An SSN is common for people authorized to work. An ITIN is an IRS tax processing number for people who have a federal tax purpose and are not eligible for an SSN.

The IRS says an ITIN is for federal tax purposes only. It does not authorize work, change immigration status, create Social Security benefits, or serve as general identification outside the federal tax system.

If you later receive an SSN after using an ITIN, follow IRS instructions to stop using the ITIN and connect your tax records.

Filing Season And Deadlines#

For calendar-year filers, the regular federal due date is often in April. The IRS page for individual filing deadlines lists April 15, 2026, for 2025 calendar-year returns. Deadlines can change for weekends, holidays, disasters, military service, fiscal-year filers, and some nonresident alien situations.

An extension gives more time to file paperwork. It does not give more time to pay tax you owe. If you think you will owe, check the IRS extension and payment rules before the deadline.

Common Mistakes#

Decision Rules#

Costs / Timing#

Tax preparation cost depends on your situation.

• IRS Free File and Direct File availability can change by year, income, and state.
• VITA and TCE programs may offer free help for eligible taxpayers.
• Schools may provide nonresident tax software to international students and scholars.
• Paid preparers can help, but you are responsible for the return you sign.
• Refunds depend on how you file, errors, identity checks, credits, and direct deposit details.

Start collecting forms in January. Do not wait until the filing deadline to ask payroll, your school, a bank, or a former employer for missing documents.

What To Do Next#

1. Save your pay stubs and tax forms.
2. Confirm whether your tax situation is resident alien, nonresident alien, or unclear.
3. Check whether you need a federal return, state return, local return, Form 8843, or ITIN.
4. Use your school, payroll office, IRS pages, or a qualified preparer before you guess.
5. Keep copies of filed returns, W-2s, 1099s, ITIN or SSN letters, and IRS or state notices.
6. Read Understanding Your First Paycheck if tax withholding on your pay stub confused you.
7. Read How to Protect Your Personal Information before responding to tax-related calls, emails, or texts.

Related Guides#

• W-2 Versus 1099
• Federal Versus State Taxes
• Understanding Your First Paycheck
• How to Get a Social Security Number
• What To Do While Waiting for Your SSN
• How to Open a U.S. Bank Account
• Sending and Receiving International Money Transfers
• How to Protect Your Personal Information
• Common Scams Targeting Newcomers

Sources#

This guide uses official or primary sources for rules and government steps. Local rules may still vary. (Last checked: September 10, 2026)

• IRS: Check if you need to file a tax return
• IRS: When to file
• IRS: Taxation of nonresident aliens
• IRS: Substantial presence test
• IRS: About Form 8843
• IRS: Individual taxpayer identification number