Topic Summary

Foreign scholars or students and their nonresident spouse/dependents (including young children) must complete Form 8843, even if they had no income.

Form 8843 asks for information on:

• Why the student or scholar is in this country
• The student's educational institution

Generally:

• Students complete Parts I and III of Form 8843
• Scholars complete Parts I and II of Form 8843
• Filers who complete Parts IV and V should be referred to a professional tax preparer (Out of Scope)

The Form 8843 can be electronically filed with the Form 1040-NR. For those not required to file a Form 1040-NR, a paper Form 8843 must be mailed to the Internal Revenue Service Center in Austin, TX by the due date for the Form 1040-NR.