Filing out Form 8843
for the 2021 Filing Season
For Nonresident Aliens who are:
Exempt from the Substantial Presence Test
Do not need to file a federal tax returnFilling out form 8843 agenda• General rules• Information to gather• These instructions are for those filing form 8843 ONLY. If you are filing with your1040-NR you should follow different instructions.

• Mechanics of filling out form 8843
• Background information (recommended)• Who is a nonresident alien• What is the substantial presence test
• Who is exempt from the substantial presence test

Use our tool to confirm you are a nonresident alien!
2Who needs to file a form 8843
• If you are exempt from the substantial presence test:• You are on an F or J student visa for the first 5 years you are present in theU.S.
• You are on a J non-student visa, and were not previously exempt for 2 out ofthe prior 6 years.
• Applies to both -1 and -2 visa holders• If you have U.S. income• You will file this with your 1040-NR return• If you have NO U.S. income• You will only file this form

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The easy way to tell if you are exempt fromthe Substantial Presence Test
• Use our “Am I A Nonresident Alien” tool
• Am I A Nonresident Alien?

• Look at the bottom line of your results. If you have any days that are
exempt for this tax year, you need to file a form 8843

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The general rules for form 8843
• If you are an exempt individual, you must file form 8843

• If you have income subject to tax then you send it in with your income taxform.
• If you have no wages you sign, date, & send it on its own• You do not need an SSN or ITIN to fill out this form
• Students complete Parts I & III• Teachers & trainees complete Parts I & II
• Due April 18th if you had taxable wages• June 15th otherwise• Mail to:
Department of the Treasury
Internal Revenue Service Center
Austin, TX 73301-0215
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Form 8843 for -2 visa holders• Spouses and dependent children must also file this form if they arepresent on a -2 visa
• They complete the same parts as the primary visa holder• Part 1 for their personal information• Part II or III with the same info as-1 visa holder• Same rules as for the -1 visa holder for timing, where to send, etc.

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Items Needed to Prepare Your Form 8843
• An ID number for the individual, if you have one• Social Security number• Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN)• Not required – it’s not a problem if you don’t have one if you only need this form

• Your passport & visa numbers, along with all U.S. entry/exit dates• You will need to enter your travel dates to and from the U.S. in the residency section.
Forget when those were?
• https://i94.cbp.dhs.gov/I94/#/home• Be sure to enter all prior visit dates and visa types• Information about your school• Name, address and phone number for your school• Name, address, and phone number of the director of the academic or other specialized
program• Can be your ISSS contact• A blank form 8843
• Here’s the form on the IRS website: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f8843.pdf
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Next you need to do some math on yourentry and exit days
• You need to count the number of days you were present in the USduring 2021, 2020, 2019

• You can manually calculate this from your I-94 / travel history information• You can also use this online calculator to do the math for you:• Am I A Nonresident Alien Tool

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Filling out Form 8843 for Exempt Individuals• Part I – General information for all individuals• First name• First letter of middle
name (if you have one)• Last Name

• Address in your homecountry• Taxpayer ID (SSN/ITIN),
if you have one• Address here in the U.S.

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Filling out Form 8843 for Exempt Individuals

QuestionInformation1aCurrent visa type: F-1, J-1, F-2, etc.

1b

Did you ever change your visa?
•If no: same answer as 1a•
If yes, answer from 1a, date your visa changed, old visa type2Country(ies) you are a citizen of

3aCountry(ies) that issued your passport

3b

Passport number. If you have more than one, make sure to identify which country goeswith which number.

4aEnter the number of days you were physically present in the U.S. during each of thoseyears. See your Am A I Nonresident Alien tool results. Must be a number, can be 0.

4b

See your Am A I Nonresident Alien tool results. Usually whatever number you have foryear 2021 from 4a10

Form 8843 for Exempt Individuals
Teachers/Researchers/Scholars

Question

Information

5For teachers, researchers, scholars: name, address, and phone number where youtaught. Other visa types leave blank.

6

For trainees: name, address, and phone number where you taught. Other visa types
leave blank.

7

If you had a J or Q visa during any of these years, enter J/Q in the appropriate year. If
you didn’t hold a J or Q visa in that year, leave blank. If you changed your visa during ayear, put the visa that you had at the end of the year. You also need to include a notethat says what your original visa was, date of change, and new visa.

8Check No. This is a question to confirm you are an exempt individual. See slides at end
for details on the test.

11Form 8843 for Exempt Individuals
Students

Question

Information

9Enter the name, address, and phone number of the school you attended in 2022. You
can use the ISSS contact information. If you attended multiple schools, enter the one
you were attending at the end of the year.

10Enter the name, address, and phone number of the director of the program at theschool you attended in 2021. You can use the ISSS contact information. If you attended
multiple schools, enter the one you were attending at the end of the year.

11If you had a F,J, M, or Q visa during any of these years, enter that visa in the appropriateyear. If you didn’t hold one of those visas in that year, leave blank. If you changed yourvisa during a year, put the visa that you had at the end of the year. You also need toinclude a note that says what your original visa was, date of change, and new visa.

12Form 8843 for Exempt Individuals
Students

Question

Information

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Check No. This is a question to confirm you are an exempt individual. See slides at end
for details on the test.

13

Answer yes or no based on any actions you have taken. Entering the green card lottery
does not count as a yes. Winning does count as a yes.

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If 13 is yes, explain what steps you’ve taken.

13Sign and date at the bottom of the second page

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Example - Lisa Hui• F1 student from China• Arrived in U.S. on 8/8/2019• She went home to China 5/24/2020 – 8/31/2020• No SSN or ITIN

• Address for OISS:• Coxe Hall 32 Sayre Drive Bethlehem, PA 18015-3123• OISS Contact: Olga Scarpero• Passport # 123456789

Lisa’s Am I A Nonresident Alien Tool Results

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Lisa’s Form 8843

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Lisa’s Form 8843

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Lisa’s Form 8843

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Sign and date at the bottom of the second page

Lisa Hui03/01/2022

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Background Information
Who is a nonresident alien?

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AliensResidents and Nonresidents• An “alien” is anyone who is not a citizen of the U.S.,
either by birth or naturalization• A resident alien is taxed the same as U.S. citizens• Has been here “long enough”• Some can still get treaty benefits• A nonresident alien is anyone who• has not been granted permanent resident status by the USCIS(the “green card” test), and• has not passed the substantial presence test
• This test determines “long enough”• This test does not apply to an exempt individual• See Publication 51922

Substantial Presence Test
• To meet this test, you must be physically present in the United Stateson at least:
1.
2.

a.
b.
c.

31 days during 2021, and183 days during the 3-year period that includes 2021, 2020, and 2019,counting:
All the days you were present in 2021, and
1/3 of the days you were present in 2020, and
1/6 of the days you were present in 2019.

Who Is an Exempt Individual?
• An “exempt individual” does not count days present inthe U.S. toward the substantial presence test
• Exempt from the SPT, NOT exempt from paying taxes!

• Exempt individual defined:• A student with an F-1, J-1, M-1 or Q-1 visa for the first 5
calendar years in the U.S.

• For a continuous visit: 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021
• Lifetime exemption, so a previous visit with a student visa will
count

• Any part of a calendar year counts – even just 1 day!

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Who Is an Exempt Individual?
•Exempt individual continued:◦ A teacher or trainee with a J-1 or Q-1 non-student visa who was
not previously exempt as a teacher, trainee, or student for any
part of 2 of the preceding 6 calendar years in the U.S.
● Calendar years: 2015-2020◦ Family members with F-2, J-2, M-2 or Q-2 visas fall under thesame rules•

Before and after the period of exemption the individual issubject to the Substantial Presence Test
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Flowchart for exempt individuals

Purpose of form 8843 is to claim exempt days.
Only file this if you are exempt from SPT. 26

Who Is a Resident Alien?
• A student (F or J visa) present in the U.S. longer than 5calendar yrs who passes the substantial presence test
• A teacher or researcher (J visa) present in the U.S. longer than
2 calendar yrs who passes the substantial presence test
• A nonresident or dual-status alien who is married to a resident
at yr end & elects to be treated as a resident for the whole yr

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Dual-Status Aliens• Part yr nonresident & part yr resident• Must follow special filing requirements• Most commonly occurs when the taxpayer• Enters the U.S. and passes substantial presence test in theyear of arrival.
• Is an exempt individual and receives permanent resident
status during the year.
• Leaves the U.S. after passing the substantial presence test
for the year of departure.

• Not common for students and scholars

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