Hello

I am a citizen of India and came to the US in 2006 on F1. My status for 2008 was:

F1 :Jan
OPT :Feb-Sep
H1B :Oct-Dec

My wages for 2008 were ard $65K. The Federal and State taxes have been deducted at source totaling to $14K approx.

Do I file as Non-resident /dual status /resident for 2008 taxes, to get maximum returns? Any help would be highly appreciated.

Thank You.

On F1/OPT you are exempt from residency for 5-years. You must file non-resident tax return Form 1040NR or 1040NR-EZ and Form 8843. Your income is not subject to FICA taxes but you must pay federal and state income taxes.

On your OPT income/ you will get deduction based on tax treaty between the U.S. and your country. Since you are from India, as per tax treaty, you will claim standard deduction of $5,450 instead of itemized deduction. You can also claim exemption for your spouse if she did not have any income in 2008.
Read: Your U.S. Tax Return: U.S. Tax Filing Requirements for Non-Residents (http://taxipay.blogspot.com/2008/03/us-tax-filing-requirements-for-non.html)