The substantial presence test adds up your days here, counting recent years more heavily.
That answer sets which form you file and which income the U.S. can tax.
Consumer tax software rarely asks the questions a visa holder needs answered.
You cannot tell whether last year’s return was the right form.
They cannot be listed on your return without an ITIN, which takes Form W-7.
Filing jointly and claiming your family both wait on that number.
As a U.S. tax resident, your worldwide income belongs on your return, not just U.S. pay.
Accounts over $10,000 combined need an FBAR, including years already past.
Greenback keeps a full library of guides on filing U.S. taxes while you live here on a visa or Green Card: how your status is decided, which form applies, what your family needs, and how income and accounts back home are treated. Here are the ones our clients reach for most.
The substantial presence test makes you a U.S. resident for tax purposes if you are here 31 days this year and 183 days across three years, counting all of this year, a third of last year, and a sixth of the year before. Our guide to the substantial presence test walks through the math, our Form 1040 vs. Form 1040-NR guide covers which form follows, and our H-1B guide covers that visa.
Arriving partway through the year often splits it in two: part taxed as a nonresident, part as a resident, which takes both Form 1040 and Form 1040-NR. Anyone listed on that return also needs a tax number. Our guide to dual-status filing covers the split, our Form W-7 guide covers the ITIN, and our guide to filing jointly with a foreign spouse covers the election.
A Green Card makes you a U.S. resident for tax purposes from your first day in the U.S. as a permanent resident, so foreign salary, rental property, investments, and pensions all belong on your return. Our guide to Green Card tax requirements covers the scope, and our guide to the Foreign Tax Credit explains how tax already paid at home is credited.
An FBAR, the Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts, is due once your foreign accounts top $10,000 combined at any point. Form 8938 starts at $50,000 in foreign assets at year’s end, or $75,000 at any point, for single filers living in the U.S., and doubles for filing jointly. Our FBAR guide and our comparison of FBAR and Form 8938 explain which accounts each one counts.
Treaties can reduce or remove U.S. tax on pensions, scholarships, dividends, interest, and some categories of work, and they settle which country taxes what when both consider you a resident. Our guide to U.S. tax treaties and our guide to Form 8833 cover the benefits and the disclosure of a position.
Students on F, J, M, or Q visas do not count their days toward residency, and that exemption generally ends after more than five calendar years. Claiming those days requires Form 8843, even if there is no income. Our Form 8843 guide explains who files it, and our guide to student visa tax rules covers F-1, J-1, and OPT.
The substantial presence test makes you a U.S. resident for tax purposes if you are here 31 days this year and 183 days across three years, counting all of this year, a third of last year, and a sixth of the year before. Our guide to the substantial presence test walks through the math, our Form 1040 vs. Form 1040-NR guide covers which form follows, and our H-1B guide covers that visa.
Arriving partway through the year often splits it in two: part taxed as a nonresident, part as a resident, which takes both Form 1040 and Form 1040-NR. Anyone listed on that return also needs a tax number. Our guide to dual-status filing covers the split, our Form W-7 guide covers the ITIN, and our guide to filing jointly with a foreign spouse covers the election.
A Green Card makes you a U.S. resident for tax purposes from your first day in the U.S. as a permanent resident, so foreign salary, rental property, investments, and pensions all belong on your return. Our guide to Green Card tax requirements covers the scope, and our guide to the Foreign Tax Credit explains how tax already paid at home is credited.
An FBAR, the Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts, is due once your foreign accounts top $10,000 combined at any point. Form 8938 starts at $50,000 in foreign assets at year’s end, or $75,000 at any point, for single filers living in the U.S., and doubles for filing jointly. Our FBAR guide and our comparison of FBAR and Form 8938 explain which accounts each one counts.
Treaties can reduce or remove U.S. tax on pensions, scholarships, dividends, interest, and some categories of work, and they settle which country taxes what when both consider you a resident. Our guide to U.S. tax treaties and our guide to Form 8833 cover the benefits and the disclosure of a position.
Students on F, J, M, or Q visas do not count their days toward residency, and that exemption generally ends after more than five calendar years. Claiming those days requires Form 8843, even if there is no income. Our Form 8843 guide explains who files it, and our guide to student visa tax rules covers F-1, J-1, and OPT.
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“I am a Non-Resident Alien wanting to file my taxes. The application process was buttery smooth. The replies from my CPA were prompt and clear. She was very helpful. Definitely recommended.”
“Our accountant has made things that once felt complicated feel simple and manageable. Non-resident taxes can be tricky, but he handles them with ease and confidence, far better than any accountant we have worked with before.”
“It was great to work with Greenback. … The responsiveness and attention to detail made me feel extremely reassured with the filing of my taxes 1040. I intend to use them again next year.”
“Fantastic service! Easy to use portal and great comms with our assigned agent, with whom we will be doing our taxes each year moving forward!”
For visa and Green Card holders filing a full year as a U.S. tax resident. We prepare Form 1040 with your worldwide income, apply the Foreign Tax Credit for tax already paid at home, and include the standard schedules.
For your first year here, when part of the year is taxed as a nonresident and part as a resident. We prepare both forms, correctly split the income between the two periods, and attach the required statement.
For visa and Green Card holders whose accounts back home top $10,000 combined at any point in the year. We work out which of your accounts the IRS counts and file FinCEN Form 114, so the reporting is off your list.
For a spouse or children with no Social Security number. We prepare Form W-7 with your return and, as an IRS-authorized Certifying Acceptance Agent, verify passports in-house so they stay with you.
For students on F, J, M, or Q visas whose days do not count toward residency. We prepare Form 1040-NR with Form 8843, or Form 8843 alone, for a year with no income to report.
Answers to what visa holders and Green Card holders ask most about filing in the U.S.
Most visa holders and Green Card holders must file a U.S. return. You are a U.S. tax resident if you hold a Green Card, or if you meet the substantial presence test: at least 31 days in the U.S. this year and 183 days across a three-year window counting all of this year, a third of last year, and a sixth of the year before.
Residents report worldwide income on Form 1040. Students on F, J, M, or Q visas usually do not count their days for the first five calendar years and file Form 1040-NR instead, with Form 8843.
Yes. If your spouse or child has no Social Security number, they need an ITIN before they can be listed on your return, and Greenback is an IRS-authorized Certifying Acceptance Agent.
That means we verify passports and identity documents in-house, so they stay with you rather than being mailed to the IRS for weeks. We prepare Form W-7 with your filing for $350 for the first application and $175 for each additional family member.
We also prepare first-year returns for both Form 1040 and Form 1040-NR for $875.
Yes, Greenback reports the foreign accounts you have always had, once you become a U.S. tax resident.
We file FinCEN Form 114 when your combined foreign accounts top $10,000 at any point in the year, and prepare Form 8938 for FATCA reporting when your foreign assets pass $50,000 at year’s end or $75,000 at any point, for a single filer living in the U.S., with both figures doubling if you file jointly.
FBAR filing is $125 for up to 5 accounts; Form 8938 is $120; and we can also handle foreign mutual funds requiring Form 8621.
Yes, Greenback identifies and claims your country’s tax treaty benefits, which can reduce or remove U.S. tax on pensions, scholarships, dividends, interest, or certain kinds of work, and settle which country taxes what if both treat you as a resident.
We prepare Form 8833 to disclose the position at a flat $105, along with your return. Treaty terms vary by country, so we check yours rather than assuming.
A resident return is $565, and a first-year return covering both Form 1040 and Form 1040-NR is $875. Pricing is flat-fee and published up front. A nonresident student return is $555; FBAR is $125 for up to 5 accounts; Form 8833 for a treaty position is $105; Form 8621 for a home-country fund is $200; and an ITIN application is $350 plus $175 for each additional family member.
If your income was reported and only the FBARs are missing, the IRS delinquent FBAR submission procedures carry no penalty, and your accountant will tell you whether that route fits. Nothing starts until you have seen your full cost and approved it.
A dedicated Greenback accountant, a U.S. CPA or IRS Enrolled Agent experienced with visa and Green Card filers, prepares your return from start to finish.
They confirm your residency status, handle your foreign income and account reporting, and check your country’s treaty themselves. You work with the same person each year, never outsourced and never automated.
Most people filing their first U.S. returns need more than one, and your accountant tells you which, so you do not have to work it out.
Tell us what you have: a visa or a Green Card, a spouse or child without a Social Security number, savings or funds back home, a treaty in your country, or a year you arrived partway through, and we will confirm the filings before anything is prepared.
Each carries its own published flat fee: resident return $565; first-year return $875; student return $555; ITIN $350 plus $175 per additional family member; Form 8833 $105; FBAR $125+; consultation $250+. You approve the total first.
Work with an accountant who knows visa status, treaty benefits, and reporting accounts back home. You’ll have peace of mind that it was done right.
