Please help - Complex F1 visa OPT tax question with 5 years presence, exempt FICA
I have found much information about this online, in that if you have been in F1 visa for over 5 calendar years, you can be considered a resident alien for tax purposes.
However, my situation is sort of complex because:
My F1 began in August 2009, and have gone to India for vacations average 2 months/yr, and my employer exempt me from FICA taxes in 2014 (the 6th year and year in question).
According to 5 year rule (2013 being last year as non-resident exclusive), I would be resident for 2014 taxes, but not sure if that means 'calendar days present in country'.
I graduated in 2013, and my OPT began in September 2013. I filed 2013 taxes as NR. My f1 visa expired in July 2014 but my EAD was valid - which allowed me to be in the US.
Can I still file resident taxes for 2014, even though I did not pay FICA (SS and medicare) taxes? Can I pay them back to file as resident?
I want to claim my sister as a dependent who lived with me, I paid for all her support, and some of her education. So also wanted to use her 1098-t for education benefits. Would I need to show proof of her support and education payments?
I am not going on H1b anytime soon.
Would really appreciate a knowledgable answer in this complex situation.
Please Help!
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Your days of physical presence in the US do not include "exempt" days when you were on F1 status, for 5 years. Once the 5 years are over you can start count physical presence days (unless your country has a tax treaty with the US that provides different definition).
You cannot claim non-resident as a dependent, again - assuming your country doesn't have a tax treaty with the US that says differently (I believe India and Korea have such clauses, Canada and Mexico explicitly allowed). See IRS Publication 501:
Nonresident aliens. Generally, if you are a nonresident alien
(other than a resident of Canada or Mexico, or certain residents of
India or Korea), you can qualify for only one personal exemption for
yourself. You cannot claim exemptions for a spouse or dependents.
See the IRC Sec. 152:
(A) In general
The term “dependent” does not include an individual who is not a
citizen or national of the United States unless such individual is a
resident of the United States or a country contiguous to the United
States.
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