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留学生报税基础指南(涵盖F1->OPT-&H1B)

<p style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;"><span style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;">此指南目前来说仅打算指导一下不同留学阶段应当报的税表和注意的问题,具体的细节需要大家多做功课&lpar;比如查税表的instruction,翻查论坛精华帖,读IRS Publication 519,找懂的会计师报税比如我&rpar;。<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;"><span style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;">Keywords&colon; 8843&comma; Substantial Presence Test&comma; filing status&comma; Identification Number&comma; Due Date&comma; 1040NR&comma; FICA&comma; OPT转H1B&period;<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><img class&equals;"aligncenter" width&equals;"100&percnt;" src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;travelwithless&period;net&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2016&sol;01&sol;c2831-2f0052&lowbar;1515ba14ebab468e82eb6e42123e5841&period;jpg"><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"font-size&colon;20px&semi;"><strong><span style&equals;"font-size&colon;20px&semi;">初入美国F1&colon;<&sol;span><&sol;strong><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;"><span style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;">恭喜你来到美国留学!这不是一段轻松的旅程,但是应当是一段不后悔的青春。<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;"><span style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;">【8843】<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;"><span style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;">然而这个时候大家对美国税法太不熟悉了,orientation的时候也没有人专门强调很多,导致很多同学几年都没有报税,包括我。但是需要报吗?如果不报会怎样?<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;"><span style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;">答案是:很难说。(这句话是我上大学一个管理学教授说的,长大后我才明白原来这就是真理!)<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;"><span style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;">有一个表格叫做8843 &lpar;Statement for Exempt Individuals and Individuals With a Medical Condition&rpar;,这份表格是无论你是否有收入,只要你是留学生都应该每年填的一份表。很简单,不用找我,自己Google一下这四个数字就有pdf版自己填一下签个字,四月十五号前寄到instruction上给的地址就可以。这份表的作用是告诉税局,我还是个留学生,歪国人哪,别啥啥美国人的税务破事都找我。<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;"><span style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;">然而最有趣的一点是,在8843的instruction里并没有说明不填的后果<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;"><span style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;">Penalty for Not Filing Form 8843&colon; If you do not file Form 8843 on time&comma; you may not exclude the days you were present in the United States as a professional athlete or because of a medical condition or medical problem that arose while you were in the United States&period; Failure to exclude days of presence in the United States could result in your being considered a U&period;S&period; resident under the substantial presence test&period;<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;"><span style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;">只提了运动员和有健康问题的人不填会被视为美国居民,只字未提老师学生这类exempt individuals,况且就算被视为美国居民又怎样呢?如果你完全没有任何收入,还是不用报税。<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;"><span style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;">所以美国的税法有的时候真的很模糊,而且这种Self-assessing tax system存在一个问题是税局不可能一个一个税单仔细核对,有很多会计师给留学生报税就按照美国人报的也从来没被查过。不过就跟卡板常说的YMMV &lpar;Your Mileage May Vary&rpar; ,干嘛非要以身试法呢?我的建议是报比不报好,不费什么事。况且真要是被视为美国居民,还真的不好说要不要报税呢。<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;"><span style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;">【Substantial Presence Test】<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;"><span style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;">说到这里,我们有必要说一说美国居民和歪国人报税的区别。在税法上其实就两大类:<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;"><span style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;">1&period; US citizen&comma; lawful permanent resident&comma; resident alien<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;"><span style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;">2&period; Nonresident alien<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;"><span style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;">第一类,美国公民,绿卡持有人,外国居民,在税务上的处理基本一致,就是全球范围收入征税,主要税表1040。第二类,非居民类外国人,只有与美国有关系的一些收入需报税,主要税表1040NR。<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;"><span style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;">那么作为外国人,怎么区分自己是哪一类呢?<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;"><span style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;">有没有绿卡这种简单方法我就不提了,说说Substantial Presence Test这个最重要的方法&colon;<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;"><span style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;">You will be considered a U&period;S&period; resident for tax purposes if you meet the substantial presence test for calendar year 2014&period; To meet this test&comma; you must be physically present in the United States on at least&colon; 1&period; 31 days during 2014&comma; and 2&period; 183 days during the 3-year period that includes 2014&comma; 2013&comma; and 2012&comma; counting&colon; a&period; All the days you were present in 2014&comma; and b&period; 1&sol;3 of the days you were present in 2013&comma; and c&period; 1&sol;6 of the days you were present in 2012&period;<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;"><span style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;">就是说要在当年在美国待至少31天,并且前三年的天数超过183天(前年和大前年的天数要分别乘以1&sol;3和1&sol;6),那么你就会和美国人一样报税啦。但是对很多留学生来说这不是易如反掌吗?每年的大多数天数不都在大玉米地里度过的吗?这时就是8843这张表起到作用了,Do not count days for which you are an exempt individual&period; 因为填了8843,留学生的所有天数都不算入Substantial Presence Test里,直到五年以后。You will not be an exempt individual as a student in 2014 if you have been exempt as a teacher&comma; trainee&comma; or student for any part of more than 5 calendar years unless… (所有事情都有些exception,在美国税法里尤其的多,但是practice起来很麻烦,不在本文讨论范围中)比如10年来到美国,10,11,12,13,14,那么15年请报1040。<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;"><span style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;">了解了这个,至少能够判断是报1040还是1040NR,是报税的基础。<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;"><span style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;">【filing status】<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;"><span style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;">判断了税表第二步是选择filing status,这步其实很简单,对于nonresident alien,只能选&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Single nonresident alien” or &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Married nonresident alien”,单身或结婚分开报(不好意思美国就是要拆散你们;还有两类不常见在此不提)。<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;"><span style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;">【Identification Number】<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;"><span style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;">第三步&lpar;好吧,其实没有什么顺序的,我只是想到什么说什么了&rpar;是搞到一个Identification Number,就跟身份证号一样。两种方法:<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;"><span style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;">1&period; 学校找个工作或者CPT的时候拿social security number &lpar;SSN&rpar;,拿下以后真是干啥啥方便,比如申信用卡。<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;"><span style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;">2&period; 专门为了报税申请一个报税号:individual taxpayer identification number &lpar;ITIN&rpar;。怎么申请,填W-7,注意如果寄材料申请需要寄护照原件,怕丢的话可以拿护照和W-7去附近的税局受理处或者Certifying Acceptance Agent比如说我们公司出示一下护照就可以了。<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;"><span style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;">【Due Date】<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;"><span style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;">报税的截止日是第二年的四月十五号之前报上一年的,可以做4868延期六个月。有时你会看到六月十五的说法,那是对于收入不用withholding的,这个情况很少见,所以记着和美国人一样就行了。<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;"><span style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;">【1040NR】<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;"><span style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;">然后简单说一说nonresident具体的收入,抵税(deduction)问题。1040美国居民的就不具体讲了,网上很多。<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;"><span style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;">&CenterDot; 对于nonresident alien,收入有两大类:<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;"><span style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;">1&period; Investment and other passive income&colon; 不干活就能收钱的<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;"><span style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;">2&period; Business income&colon; 要干活才能赚钱的<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;"><span style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;">1类最常见的包括股息,房租,卖股票等产生的capital gain。这里注意两点,银行利息不用交税,capital gain是如果你这一年在美国待超过183天就要报。税率是没有任何减免,30&percnt; flat,除非treaty里有提到。<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;"><span style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;">2类就是常见的工资类,做生意赚的,反正一切connected with U&period;S&period; trade or business的收入。这类收入和美国人一样,累进税表,有一些减免。<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;"><span style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;">&CenterDot; Treaty大家都知道留学生的&dollar;5&comma;000减免,详情可移步北美微论坛看我发的Open discussion 2,基本原则就是只要在纯留学阶段哪怕过了五年也是应该可以使用的。请附上8833表。<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;"><span style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;">&CenterDot; 常见的抵税(deduction)项目有慈善捐款(所以同志们多献爱心啊!),和一些tax credits,还有每个人有一个personal exemption(&dollar;4&comma;000)。<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;"><span style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;">注:这里我想提一下很多人的一个误区,事务所经常有人来说要退税退税,但是呢?往往还要再补。其因在于对美国税法完全没有不了解。前文说到美国是Self-assessing tax system自我评估的税务系统,每个人都需要在一年后做一个自我总结,所有的收入要加起来,减去各种applicable deductions适用减免,剩下的taxable income应缴税收入根据累进税表算税,然后可能再有一些政府的补助credit给你,最后剩下的要与你预缴的税进行比较,多退少补。预缴的税哪里来呢?你的工资W2里扣,这就是为什么工资拿到手的少。有的人拿着1099,一点预缴税都没有交过,报税的时候只可能补税因为还有self-employ tax 15&percnt;左右。还有的人没有预缴也能拿钱回来是怎么回事呢?refundable的credit比如Earned Income Credit,You must be a U&period;S&period; citizen or resident alien all year,报1040NR的留学生别想了。<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"font-size&colon;20px&semi;"><strong><span style&equals;"font-size&colon;20px&semi;">初入职场OPT&colon;<&sol;span><&sol;strong><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;"><span style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;">没啥好说的,你还是F1。所有之前说的都在这里适用。<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;"><span style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;">【FICA】<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;"><span style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;">不过这个阶段大家必然都是开始有收入了,拿工资的时候不光是年底要交income tax,还要交payroll tax,主要是FICA &lpar;Social Security tax and Medicare tax&rpar;。如果按之前的Test你还是nonresident alien一定记得告诉雇主,不要扣FICA,如果HR不答应,请将此网页狠狠的砸在他的脸上:https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;irs&period;gov&sol;Individuals&sol;International-Taxpayers&sol;Foreign-Student-Liability-for-Social-Security-and-Medicare-Taxes<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;"><span style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;">如果不幸还是被扣了,需要用843表claim,这个过程会很漫长,很痛苦。<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"font-size&colon;20px&semi;"><strong><span style&equals;"font-size&colon;20px&semi;">成功转型H1B&colon;<&sol;span><&sol;strong><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;"><span style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;">恭喜你,在美帝的泥潭里越陷越深。<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;"><span style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;">【OPT转H1B】<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;"><span style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;">成为H1B之后就再也不是exempt individual,报税也将和美国人一样。但是最让人头疼的莫过于OPT转H1B的这一年,无数人都做了很多功课,有的尝试了也成功了,我也试图找到一个官方的解释,可惜没有看到,在此我仅根据IRS的资料发表一下我的看法,仅供参考。正如我前面所说的,税法很模糊,做错也不一定会查,自己选的税表哭着也要填完。<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;"><span style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;">1&period; H1B十月一号生效,如果你来美国不足五年,之前F1都是exempt的,那么从这天开始算天数到年底只有92天,不满足substantial presence test,固仍算nonresident alien,报1040NR。Treaty?我不推荐,在中美treaty ARTICLE 20 &lpar;Students and Trainees&rpar;里写到:<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;"><span style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;">A student&comma; business apprentice or trainee who is&comma; or was immediately before visiting a Contracting State&comma; a resident of the other Contracting State and who is present in the first- mentioned Contracting State solely for the purpose of his education&comma; training or obtaining special technical experience shall be exempt from tax in that Contracting State with respect to&colon; &lpar;a&rpar; payments received from abroad for the purpose of his maintenance&comma; education&comma; study&comma; research or training&semi; &lpar;b&rpar; grants or awards from a government&comma; scientific&comma; educational or other tax-exempt organization&semi; and &lpar;c&rpar; income from personal services performed in that Contracting State in an amount not in excess of 5&comma;000 United States dollars or its equivalent in Chinese yuan for any taxable year&period; The benefits provided under this Article shall extend only for such period of time as is reasonably necessary to complete the education or training&period;<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;"><span style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;">我认为在H1B生效的那一年你的&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;动机就不纯”了,并不是怎么满足该treaty。<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;"><span style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;">当然,YMMV。<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;"><span style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;">2&period; 我不填8843,我不把自己claim成exempt individual,我不就成resident alien了&quest;报1040 process的快,还多了个standard deduction六千多,比treaty的五千划算呢。如何?无法评论,正如前文说到,并没有明文规定不填8843的惩罚。但是有点太不按常理出牌,有风险。<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;"><span style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;">Again&comma; YMMV。<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;"><span style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;">3&period; Dual-Status。很多人提这个,就是等下一年满足条件后,可以将2015年分成两段报,一段nonresident alien,一段resident alien。这样就可以用treaty了。但我一般真心不建议,理由如下&colon;<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;"><span style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;">a&period; 比较复杂,而且必须延期等第二年满足条件。<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;"><span style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;">b&period; 没有Standard deduction。<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;"><span style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;">c&period; 夫妻还是不能一起file。<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;"><span style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;">d&period; 税率按照married filing separately。<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;"><span style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;">e&period; Exemption不能超过resident alien那个阶段的taxable income。<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;"><span style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;">f&period; 等等。<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;"><span style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;">这么多的限制在我看来还不如承担报1040NR加treaty的风险来的直截了当。<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;"><span style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;">这个问题不宜深究,如果谁能找到官方的解释更是欢迎指教。<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;"><span style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;">另外,上文所有内容都是联邦层面的,州税的问题每个州都不一样,无法一概而论。我研究过加州的,也是众说纷纭,个人倾向按加州居民报。<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"font-size&colon;20px&semi;"><strong><span style&equals;"font-size&colon;20px&semi;">小结:<&sol;span><&sol;strong><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;"><span style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;">写指南真的不容易,写错了怕人说,写不全怕人说,写多了又写不完。<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;"><span style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;">报税也真的不简单,报错了怕人查,报少了怕人查,报多了又心疼钱。<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;"><span style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;">希望自己还能保持激情以后写个超级指南,造福学弟学妹。<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;"><span style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;">祝愿大家税赋越缴越多以后成为超级富豪,福泽天下百姓。<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;"><strong><span style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;">重要文件及表格(Google数字即可):<&sol;span><&sol;strong><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;"><span style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;">https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;irs&period;gov&sol;pub&sol;irs-pdf&sol;p519&period;pdf<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;"><span style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;">https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;irs&period;gov&sol;pub&sol;irs-pdf&sol;f8843&period;pdf<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;"><span style&equals;"font-size&colon;16px&semi;">&ast;&ast;&ast;本文经Caiwade授权转载自他个人博客:http&colon;&sol;&sol;weibo&period;com&sol;ttarticle&sol;p&sol;show&quest;id&equals;2309403935435016534127<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;

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