Hi,

I was in US from 29-Apr-2011 till 30-August-2011 on L-1 Visa; was transferred from India operations to US subsidiary in California.

I would like to know:
- Whether I qualify as Resident Alien (I don't think I do, but appreciate a confirmation on this).
- If I file as Non-Resident Alien, which all benefits can I claim under India-US Tax Treaty.
- If I claim Close Connection Exemption, would all the US income be taxable in India?
- My employer deducted all possible taxes from my payroll during my tenure (Social Security, Medicare, Federal, State, CA SUI/SDI). Of these which can I claim the refunds on?
- I'm married with a 1+ year old daughter, but my family did not join me in US. Which other exemptions can I claim on my family's (dependent) behalf?

Appreciate a quick response.


Thanks,
Manish

Since you were in the U.S. for LESS than four months, you CANNOT file as a resident unless you were in the U.S. in 2010.

You DO have to file a U.S. income tax return, filing Forms 1040NR and 2106 (to claim daily living expenses) plus the California tax return. There are NO treaty exemptions.

You cannot claim any dependents.

If you need professional help, email me.

L1 is work visa. You do not get any tax treaty benefit.
For 2011 you are nonresident so you will file nonresident tax return and report income earned while in U.S.

Thanks for the clarifications.

I forgot to mentioned this earlier, I was in US in 2010 but for 45 days only; so going by the calculations I still do not qualify as Resident Alien.

But I would like to understand more about Close Connection Exemption, do I qualify for that (I have been filing my returns in India as have all movable/immovable assets in India only).
- And If I do, what will be my tax liability and where would I need to pay taxes?
- More importantly, filing my returns in which country will be tax efficient(in terms of saving taxes, in India I fall in highest tax bracket)?

Thank you very much for you valuable suggestions.


Manish