Dear AtlantaTaxExpert,

I am an international undergraduate student and a non-resident alien for tax purposes. I worked on OPT for a summer and also got bonus for opening an account from Chase.

I use my school-sponsored tax software to prepare my taxes and will be sending my 1040NR or 1040NR-EZ form.

I read online that Nonresident aliens are not taxed on certain kinds of interest income if it comes from:
A U.S. bank
A U.S. savings and loan association
A U.S. credit union
A U.S. insurance company
Portfolio Interest (Described in section "Exclusions From Gross Income" – "Interest Income" – "Portfolio interest" of Publication 519, U.S. Tax Guide for Aliens).

Since Chase treats this 'bonus' as interest income and it is based in the US-is this interest income reportable?

Should I just report it on 1040 and still expect it to be treated as non-taxable income?

Thanks

To begin with, you should NOT file Form 1040, but rather you should file Form 1040NR.

International students are NOT taxed on interest income, so do NOT report it on the Form 1040NR.

Thanks and yes I meant 1040NR.


To begin with, you should NOT file Form 1040, but rather you should file Form 1040NR.

International students are NOT taxed on interest income, so do NOT report it on the Form 1040NR.

Glad to help!