Tax Information for International Students and Scholars
Californians impacted by December and January winter storms now have additional time (until October 6, 2023) to file federal and state individual tax returns and make tax payments. Please see additional information at IRS and State tax websites.
Bechtel International Center cannot provide individual tax advice. We can only provide basic general guidelines to get you started in preparing your taxes. No information on this site may be considered formal tax advice. Consult an appropriate tax advisor as necessary.
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) requires all international students and scholars to file federal tax forms, whether or not they had earned income during the tax year. In addition, F-2 and J-2 dependents must also file certain tax forms. In the U.S., tax forms are filed in the current year for the previous year.
If you had any U.S. source income in 2022, the tax deadline for 2022 Federal IRS Tax Returns and California State Tax Returns is April 18, 2023. If you had no U.S. source income in 2022, you have until June 15, 2023 to file appropriate forms.
All international students and scholars must also file state tax forms if their income in 2022 was more than a certain amount. J-2s may also need to file.
If you arrived in the US after December 31, 2022, you do not have to file any tax forms in 2023.
Tax definitions of "resident" and "non-resident" are different from immigration definitions of those terms. This information below is for students and scholars who qualify as non-residents for tax purposes. If you are a resident for tax purposes, you will need to complete the same tax forms as U.S. citizens. You can either prepare your own tax return or hire a qualified professional tax preparer.
Tax Tutorial
See additional general tax information
Sprintax Software for Federal and State Tax
Bechtel International Center, in cooperation with the Controller’s Office, provides an online tax software package called Sprintax to all international students and scholars in F or J status at Stanford University who are considered non-residents for tax purposes. Sprintax is free for all students and scholars to complete their federal tax returns. Students and scholars may choose to use Sprintax to complete state returns at their own expense. This software provides you with guidance on filing your taxes and has tax experts available via email for individual tax questions (hello@sprintax.com). Sprintax also offers a chat function and will offer webinars throughout the tax season (February-April).
***the quickest way to contact Sprintax is through the chat function on their website***
Sprintax can be used to determine your resident status for tax purposes and prepare your federal and state income tax forms. You are not obligated to use this software. You can complete the tax forms on your own or use the services of a professional tax firm. Stanford does not accept any responsibility for the accuracy of your tax return.
Regardless of how you choose to complete your tax forms, you should keep copies of all your tax returns. You may need them when applying for future immigration benefits.
If you will be receiving a 1042 form from Stanford payroll, please wait till you receive it before using the software.
The Sprintax code provided by Bechtel can ONLY be used to file 2022 taxes. It is not possible to use this code to file past year taxes.
