Important Tax Information for All F-1 Students Physically in the U.S. During 2025
*** F-1 Student Tax Workshop Scheduled on Friday, March 13, 2026 @ 11am - Click HERE to register. ***
Students who were physically present in the U.S. for any part of the previous tax year 2025 must submit Form 8843 to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to declare your exempt status for the previous year. Deadline to submit this form is June 15, 2026 (if this is the only form that you are filing).
Link to the form and instructions:Form 8843
To help you answer Questions #9 and #10 on the Form 8843 please see the information below:
Question #9 Santa Monica College 1900 Pico Blvd, Santa Monica, CA 90405 310-434-4000 Question #10 Pressian Nicolov 1900 Pico Blvd, Santa Monica, CA 90405 310-434-4218If you don’t have to file a 2025 tax return, mail Form 8843 to:
Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service Center, Austin, TX 73301-0215
F-1 Students Who Earned Income Through Work in 2025
If you earned any taxable U.S. source of income during the calendar year 2025 you may need to file a federal tax return with the IRS. Tax filing deadline: April 15, 2026
How to File?
Please Note: SMC staff, including International Education Center staff, are not able to provide individual tax advice.
We have teamed up with Sprintax to provide you with an easy-to-use tax preparation software designed for nonresident students and scholars in the US.
After you login to Sprintax, you will be asked a series of questions about the time you have spent in the US over recent years. Sprintax will then determine your tax status. If it determines that you are a “nonresident alien” (NRA) for federal tax purposes, you can continue to use the software and respond to a series of guided questions. Sprintax will then complete and generate the tax forms you need to send to the tax authorities.
However, if Sprintax determines that you are a resident alien for federal tax purposes, you won’t be able to continue using the software.
All you need to do is:
- Register and follow the simple instructions
- Complete the online questionnaire
- Enter your unique discount code: 5F25SMC50 in the box on the ‘Review your order’ page (This code only works for the first 50 students to sign up!)
- Sprintax will prepare your tax return