Substantial Presence Test, Treaty Income Exclusion and Covid-19

IRS has issued a revenue procedure that allows the use of the medical condition exception on Form 8843 to except 60 consecutive days spent in the U.S.  from counting towards presence in the U.S.  during the “COVID-19 Emergency Period”. The sixty-day time period that may be excepted may start on a date of the individual’s choice during a time period between February 1, 2020, and on or before April 1, 2020.

The same procedure provides for an individual to exclude those days of presence in order to claim benefits under an income tax treaty with respect to services income.

This revenue procedure, Rev. Proc. 2020-20 will be published in Internal Revenue Bulletin to be issued on May 11, 2020.

This might affect withholding for 2020, the income tax form to be filed for 2020 (1040NR or 1040).  As appropriate, individuals may want to adjust their tax planning and notify employers. Some individuals are eager to meet the SPT and file on Form 1040, others prefer not to become tax residents filing on Form 1040 any sooner than required.

International Topics in IRS Webinars, by Jean Mammen, EA

A wide variety of free, 2 CE live webinars are offered by the IRS stakeholder liaison service – usually on Thursdays, often at 2 PM ET. On busy days, there may also be one offered at another time.

These seminars give the IRS view on topics where tax professionals seem to need more help, based on tax return issues and cases that go before Tax Court.

Upcoming International Topics:

October 17, 2019, two webinars on international topics are scheduled:

Tax Obligations of U.S. Individuals Living and Working Abroad“, at 11 am ET

This is a follow-up to the live 2 CE international presentations in June. One of the presenters told me during the National Harbor IRS Tax Forum that this additional presentation was scheduled because over 3,000 questions had been submitted during the June presentations.

The presentation portion of this webinar will be relatively short. Most of the time will be devoted to answering live questions.

An Overview of the Foreign Tax Credit”, at 2 pm, ET

This may be a more detailed version of the excellent 1 CE presentation on the FTC at the IRS Tax Forums.

Find the list of available tax professional webinars on the IRS website here: https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/webinars-for-tax-practitioners

This lists upcoming webinars that can be attended live for credit.

Archived International Topics

Find the list of available older recorded webinars at  https://www.irsvideos.gov/Webinars

CE are no longer available for webinars posted as videos.

Three international topic webinars offered in June, 2019, are now available for viewing at www.irsvideos.gov.

They are:

Foreign Earned Income Exclusion “ (6/6/2019)

U.S. Taxation of Employees of Foreign Governments and International Organizations” (6/13/2019)

Determining Tax Residency Status “(6/27/2019)

Note: IRS webinars contain only a few code citations.

 

 

 

 

Au Pair Income Tax Filing, by Jean Mammen, EA

An au pair in the U.S. on a J1 visa is participating in a cultural exchange program sponsored by an organization authorized by the State Department Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. The au pair experiences life in an American family while providing child care for up to ten hours a day, not to exceed 45 hours a week.

The au pair must be enrolled in at least six semester hours of classes at a post-secondary institution. The au pair is not a full-time student. The DS 2019 issued by the sponsor is for a cultural exchange program participant (or trainee), not a student.

The au pair must receive a cash stipend.

The au pair will need to file a U.S. income tax return reporting the stipend, even if they do not receive a W-2 reporting the stipend amount. The tax and filing rules are the same for all J visa holders.
The usual au pair income tax reporting form will be a non-resident tax form. A non-resident form must be filed if a non-resident has any U.S. source income, whether or not any income tax will be due. ( IRC 1.6012-1(b)(1)(i)). Often the two-page Form 1040NR-EZ is suitable. The first page is the tax return. The last page, Schedule OI, or Other Information, asks about the foreign status of the filer.
The new tax law effective 2018 – 2025, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, eliminates the personal exemption and some deductions that a non-resident might have claimed. Thus, an au pair who files for 2018 on an amount of income similar to the 2017 income will have more taxable income, and likely pay higher taxes, even when the tax brackets and tax rates are more favorable in 2018.

The IRS has stated that Form 1040NR-EZ and Form 1040NR will not be updated for 2018. Thus, there may be lines on the income tax filing form that cannot be used, such as the personal exemption line.

Filing a State tax return. Check to see which filing form to use for the state, a non-resident form or a resident form. Some state rules say anyone who files a non-resident federal tax form also files a non-resident state form, if their income meets the filing requirement. Other states use their own residency rules to determine which form a foreigner should use. When you know which state form would be appropriate, check to see if taxable income by state rules meets the state filing requirement.

First Ever Visit to the U.S. by the J1 Visa Au Pair
A J visa holder who is a first-time visitor to the U.S. will file on a form for non-residents, Form 1040NR-EZ or Form 1040NR, for the first two calendar years. They will be a tax non-resident of the U.S. because they will not meet the Substantial Presence Test (SPT). They are eXempt from counting days spent in the U.S. as days of presence for SPT purposes for any period during those first two calendar years in the U.S. on a J visa. An au pair‘s placement might span two successive calendar years. It might run from June through May of the following year.

Preparing the forms: Gather the information and documents that will be needed
-Income information
-Passport
-Visa or visas
-Form DS-2019 issued by the sponsor agency
-Dates you were physically in the U.S. in the tax year and the two prior calendar years
-Print from the I-94 website all available information, especially the dates you entered and departed the U.S.

Form 8843 (Statement for Exempt Individuals…) is completed and attached to the Form 1040NR-EZ, or Form 1040NR, for each tax year where any days are eXempt from being counted for the SPT. Treas. Reg. 301.7701(b)-8(a)(2); 301.7701(b)-8(b)(2)

Form 8843: Complete it before starting on the income tax return itself. Its results show whether the correct income tax filing form is a non-resident or a resident tax form.

Find Form 8843 on the IRS website, https://www.irs.gov  , by searching Forms and Instructions. The instructions print out with the form.

Heading: on Form 8843: Since the au pair would attach Form 8843 to the non-resident income tax return, it is not necessary to enter the address in the U.S. on Form 8843 or to sign the form. Only the first page of Form 8843 will be required for a J1 visa au pair.

Questions 4a and 4b
4a – for the tax year and the two prior years enter the number of days ( Z ) you were actually physically present in the U.S.
4b – for the tax year, enter the number of days ( X ) that were eXempt from being counted for the Substantial Presence Test (SPT) because you were within the eXempt period on a J visa (or an F, M, or Q visa).

As stated above, the Z and X numbers are entered on Form 8843
The Y number will be entered on Schedule OI, Line H

X = eXempt days, not countable for SPT
Y = ‘present’ days that do count for SPT
Z = actual total days physically present in the U.S.

X + Y = Z, or, Z- X = Y

Form 8843 Part II Teachers and Trainees
Line 6 – An au pair cultural exchange participant would be treated like a Trainee. Enter the information for the person who signed your DS-2019.
Line 7 – complete
Line 8 – check ‘yes’ or ‘no’. The Line 8 information states that if you answer ‘yes’, you cannot exclude actual days in the U.S. for the tax year, unless you meet an exception. That exception could apply only to an individual on a student visa, not to a cultural exchange participant.

Third year, in U.S. on a J1 visa: A visa or program renewal year:
This situation will occur for a first-time visitor to the U.S. as a J1 au pair, only if they have renewed and are now in their third calendar year in the U.S.

A third calendar year au pair calculates whether or not they have met the substantial presence test (SPT) in the third year, to see if they should still file on a non-resident form, or if they have become a tax resident of the U.S.

Look at the Substantial Presence Test (SPT) before deciding whether to complete Form 1040NR-EZ or Form 1040 for the third year:

Substantial Presence in U.S. requires1 a Form 1040. The substantial presence test (SPT) is met when someone has 183 days of countable presence in the U.S., full or partial days, over up to three years, including arrival and departure days. 1Possible ‘student exception.’
If 31 day minimum in the U.S. in the tax year is met, count all tax year days present, plus
1/3 of days present in the U.S. in the immediate first prior tax year, plus
1/6 of days present in the U.S. in the second prior tax year. Add all fractions to the total.   IRC 7701(b)(3)(a)(i) and (ii)

If the J1 visa holder leaves the U.S. by the first few days of July of the third calendar year, likely they will not meet the SPT and will use the non-resident filing form.
But if the individual leaves the U.S. later in the year, their days present will be greater than 183, they will have met the SPT, and they will use the tax resident form (Form 1040).

Completing Form 1040NR-EZ, Page 1
Some online software does not include a Form 1040NR-EZ, Form 1040NR, or Form 8843. You might need to use a fill-in the forms feature and even have to calculate the tax due yourself. You might be unable to file electronically and have to print and mail in the forms.

Getting Ready
On the IRS website, https://www.irs.gov , search Forms and Publications, search for Instructions for Form 1040NR-EZ. Look through the instructions. Print out any pages you want to have at hand.

Choose a data entry method: online software, fill-in the forms, print forms and complete by hand, or, consult a tax professional.

Gather the information you will need on income, deductions, passport and visa, dates…

Complete the heading information, then
On Line 1, check either single or married.
Line 3, enter the total stipend received during the tax year
Line 10 – enter the appropriate number. Probably the same as the number on Line 3
Line 11 – Itemized Deductions: If you paid any state tax during the year, whether by withholding, making estimated payments to the state, or, in your second calendar year, paying the balance due on the first-year state or local income tax return, enter that amount here. No other type of itemized deduction may be entered here. (Use Form 1040NR instead if you want to claim other itemized deductions)
Line 12 – follow the instructions
Line 13 – enter -0- if this line is still available on the 1040NR-EZ tax form.
Line 14 – Taxable Income
Line 15 – Tax : Calculate this using the tax table in the instructions that applies to your personal status, single, or, married.
Lines 18 and 19, 20 and 21 – enter any tax payment already sent to the IRS
Determine if you are due a refund (Line 21) or you owe the IRS (Line 25)
If you owe more than $ 1,000, you may also owe a penalty, Line 26, which you include in the Line 25 amount.

Completing Schedule OI
Complete Lines A, B, C, D
Line E – Enter J if your visa is still valid for entry into the U.S. If your visa expiration date had passed and it could no longer be used to enter the U.S., enter “no immigration status”.
Line F The question says “ever”. If you changed visa type during the calendar year, the three-year SPT period, or the prior six-year period, check ‘yes’ and describe the change and date of change.

Line G – Enter in the boxes only dates within the calendar year.
If you need help, with the dates, visit the I-94 website, enter your passport number, and print out whatever pages are available to you. One of them will show the dates you entered and departed the U.S.

If you were in the U.S. on or before January 1, enter January 1. If you departed before December 31, stop after you enter your last departure date.

Line H – Enter the number of countable days of presence for meeting the SPT for each of the three years listed, the tax year and the first two prior years. If you were not in the U.S., enter -0-. If you only were in the U.S. on a J visa in either the first or second calendar year of eXemption from counting days in the U.S. as days of presence, enter -0-. If you also were in the U.S. on countable days, such as a 15-day tourist visit, enter the number (!5).

Remaining Lines – answer any yes/no question as required. Questions 2 and 3 likely are ‘no’.

Earlier visits to the U.S.
As a tourist only, not on an F, J, M, Q Visa
Apply the Substantial Presence Test (SPT)
On an F, J, M, Q visa, as either the principal or a dependent
See blog post on Second Visit to the U.S.  http://blog.1040nror1040.com/2015/07/03/second-visit-or-multiple-visits-to-the-u-s-changing-statusvisa-u-s-tax-obligations-by-jean-mammen-ea/

FICA and Tax Resident Filing
If the au pair will file as a tax resident because the SPT has been met, the employer must pay / withhold FICA – social security and Medicare tax – on the wages
The employer pays through
–Withholding, or,
–Schedule H attached to the employer’s own tax return

Leaving the U.S.
The au pair may need to obtain a sailing permit from an IRS TAC office to leave, if the employer has not withheld income taxes and provided a W-2. See blog post on Sailing Permit. http://blog.1040nror1040.com/2018/06/04/not-a-u-s-citizen-leaving-the-u-s-returning-before-filing-a-current-year-u-s-tax-return-not-planning-to-return-by-jean-mammen-ea/
The income tax form for a given year is filed the following year. The au pair probably will have left the U.S. before it is time to file the final U.S. income tax return. They should file whether or not they owe taxes. It can be important to demonstrate that they do not owe taxes.

Second Visit or Multiple Visits to the U.S.: Changing Status,Visa, U.S. Tax Obligations, by Jean Mammen, EA

Changing Status, Changing Visa, Changing U.S. Tax Obligation

 Part III of III

For a first-time visitor to the U.S., determining U.S. tax obligations can follow a straight path. And the same is true if you have never visited the U.S. See Part I

If this is your second visit, or if you have changed visa type, more possibilities exist, and more analysis is needed. See Part II for the effects of visa type changes

SECOND VISIT/MULTIPLE VISITS TO THE US

If you leave the US, and then return on another visit, you must then look back at your past visa history to determine which form to use to report income, 1040NR or 1040.

Q: Were you a tax resident of the U.S. during any part of your most recent year in the U.S.?

Maybe you were gone only a few months, maybe you were outside the US for several years, but while here you were already a tax resident. You may or may not be a tax resident in your first year of this visit.

Q: Were you outside the U.S. for more than a full calendar year between this visit and your most recent visit? Yes? No?

If you were gone less than a full calendar year, were you a tax resident during any part of last year? And when you returned, did you become a tax resident again during this year?

If so, you continued to be a tax resident of the U.S. while you were outside the U.S.

Even if your only income was from foreign sources, and none of it was from U.S. sources, it is subject to U.S. taxation by the U.S. Internal Revenue Code provisions for form 1040.

Residency persists during this absence from the U.S. by the “no lapse” sections of the U.S. tax code: IRC 301.7701(b)-4(e)(1) and (2)

Q: Was your most recent year in the U.S. within the three-year window for counting days for the substantial presence test (SPT)? Did you have any countable days of presence? As a tourist? On an “all the rest, count your best’ visa type? Or on a student or exchange visitor (teacher, trainee, researcher) visa like F or J, after the eXempt period had ended?

If so, do the calculation over the three years to determine if you meet the SPT during this tax year.

Q: On your most recent visit, were you not able to count days for the SPT because you were on an A or G visa?

If so, double-check back through the three-year window, and do the SPT calculation over the three years, as if this were your first visit to the U.S,

Q: Is your current visa a student visa (F, J, M)? If so, to determine if you have already used up some of the 5 calendar years of the student eXempt/eXclusion period, look back all the way to 1985. Why 1985? That is the year this section of the tax code came into effect. Treasury Regulation governing the transition: 301.7701(b)-3(b)(7)(iv). Look back at your visa history during all your prior visits to the U.S. since 1985. In how many of those calendar years were you on an F, J, M, or Q visa?

Subtract that number of years from the 5 years in the ‘student’ look back period. The result is the remaining number of calendar years during which you are eXempt/eXcluded from counting days to meet the SPT.

Example:  8 years ago you were in the U.S. as a J visa high school exchange student, for an entire academic year. Now you are in the U.S. on a student F visa for a multi-year combined Master’s degree and Ph.D. program. The eXempt period on an F visa is 5 years. During your lookback period you were in the U.S. on a J visa for parts of two calendar years. 5-2=3. You have three years remaining in your eXempt period. You will start counting days of presence for the SPT on your first day in the U.S. of your fourth year in the U.S. on this student visa

Example: You accompanied your parents to the U.S. when you were a child. They left your twin sister back home with Grandmother. You were in the U.S. for all or part of three calendar years. That visit took place sometime between 1985 and last year. Your parents were on J visas. You had a J2 visa, as a dependent. Now you and your twin sister are students in the U.S. on F1 visas.

The student eXempt period lasts five years. You have already spent 3 years in the U.S.  on an F, J, M, or Q visa. Only two years remain in your eXempt period. You will start counting days for the SPT on your first day in the U.S. in the third year of this visit. Your sister will not begin counting days until after her fifth year is past. She will begin counting days on her first day in the U.S. in her 6th year on this visit.

If you have income – whether U.S. source or foreign source, you might file on Form 1040 as a tax resident as soon as your third year as a student in the U.S. Your sister would file a U.S. tax return only if she has U.S. source income, until at least her sixth year. Until then, if she needs to file a U.S. tax return, she will use form 1040NR.

Q: Is your current visa a J or Q exchange visitor visa as a teacher, trainee, researcher, etc? Look back at the six previous years to see in how many of them you were in the U.S. on an F, J, M, or Q visa. If that number is two years or more, you have exhausted the eXempt period.

Subtract that number of years from the two years available as eXempt status in the “teacher or trainee” J visa look back period. If you counted one (1) year, you have one eXempt year left before you start counting days for the SPT. If you counted two (2) or more years, you begin counting days for the SPT on your first day in the U.S. on this visit. If you counted zero (0) years on an F, J, M, or Q visa, you have the full two-year eXempt period remaining.

Example: You left the U.S. two years ago this August, after a twenty-four month stay as a J visa researcher. You returned to the U.S. on the two-year anniversary of your departure, again as a J visa researcher.

You had been in the U.S. during parts of three calendar years during the six-year lookback window. You began counting days for the SPT on the day in August that you arrived in the U.S. on this visit.  The count did not reach 183 days before December 31st. You file on form 1040NR.

You had been out of the U.S. for a full calendar year, plus some months before and after that full year. Thus, your prior status as a tax resident, during the January through August of your third calendar year in the U.S. during your previous visit, was extinguished during that full year outside the U.S.  Your previous visit was within the six-year look back period. It exhausted the two-year eXemption period potentially available for this visit.

 

This Series

FIRST VISIT / NO VISIT: If you have U.S. source income, how do you choose between form 1040NR or form 1040?. What are the tax and tax residency effects?

See Part I

 

VISA TYPE CHANGE:  What are the tax and tax residency effects when you change visa types?

See Part II

 

SECOND VISIT/MULTIPLE VISITS: If this is not your first visit to the U.S., how do you determine your tax status?

Part III, above