Hi,

I am f1 student from india. I was working in my school in Louisiana on w2 from January 2007 to may 2007 and my gross earning was $4200 ( net pay: $3149.35, state tax withholding: $167.85, federal tax withholding: 48.85).

currently I am working in my cpt for an employer in Texas who is paying me through 1099 Misc. From August 15th to December 15th, I am on CPT status and My income would be $51000 for this 4 months and I need to deduct the incurring expenses.

And I will be working with same employer on OPT Status again through 1099 Misc from December 16th 2007. So I will work on OPT for 2 weeks in this year and My gross income for that period would be $6600.

F1 : W2 ( 5 months) - Gross Income = $ 4200 (louisiana)

F1 - CPT : 1099 misc ( 4months ) - Gross income = $ 51000 (in texas)

F1 - OPT : 1099 misc ( 2 weeks ) - Gross income = $ 6600 (in texas)


My questions are,

What are the tax forms that I should use when I filing?

Do I need to pay taxes quarterly?

What are types of expenses that I can deduct from the income earned during CPT & OPT on 1099 Misc.

What percentage of tax that I need to pay for my income through CPT & OPT?

I learned that I can claim standard deduction of $5,150 since I am from India.. what is that $3,300 personal exemption that I should claim?

Thanks in advance!

Basky

Basky:

You retain your F-1 status while working under both CPT and OPT, so you will need to file Form 1040NR with a Schedule C to report the Form 1099-MISC income.

The expenses claimed under Schedule C are many and varied, too much so to address in this forum. For this reason, I STRONGLY recommend you get professional tax help when it comes time to file your tax return. This much I can advise you on: keep track of ALL of your expenses while working your CPT/OPT.

You are liable for federal income taxes.

Fortunately, Texas has NO state income tax.

You are NOT liable for self-employment taxes due to your F-1 status UNLESS you arrived in the U.S. prior to 2003.

You CAN claim the standard deduction (which is $5,300 for 2007) and the $3,400 personal exemption.

After the exemptions are applied, the first $8,000 will be taxed at 10%, then the next $23,000 will be taxed at 15%. Every dollar over $31,000 will be taxed at 25%.

Quarterly estimated payments ARE recommended using Form 1040-ES. I suggest you immediately mail in 20% of your salary up to 31 August 2007, then mail in 20% of the rest of your salary by 15 January 2007.

If you need my professional help, either to file the quarterly estimated tax or for your 2007 tax return, contact me at the email address below.

Thanks for quick response.

For deducting expenses, I have been preserving all my expense receipts.

You have suggested me to mail 20% of your salary up to 31 August 2007. Since my employer withhold my federal tax & state tax when I was working W2 from Jan' 2007 to May 2007. I am required to pay 20% of $6000 that I earned from August 15th - August 31st on CPT(1099), that is $1200.

Actually My Employer has not provided me the 1099 form yet. Instead of filing quarterly, If I file my tax return by next year, Do I need to pay any fine or penalty fee?

Thanks,

Basky

Basky:

If the tax due on your return exceeds $1,000, you will pay an under-withholding penalty.