Hi,

I am an Austrian PostDoc in California. I came to the US in March 2012 on a J-1 visa as a research scholar. I stayed 271 days in the US in 2012, 345 days in 2013. My salary is paid by an Austrian fellowship.

During my PhD, I came 2009 on a J-1 as a visiting scholar to the US (I received my funding from Austria back then) and stayed for 98 days.

I expected that for my PostDoc stay - as 2013 was the second calendar year of my stay - I should still be considered a non-resident alien for tax purposes and I would be exempt from paying federal tax for 2013.

However, when I wanted to do my taxes using glacier tax prep software, the software considers me - based on the informations of my stays in the US described above - as a resident alien for tax purposes.
This came very unexpected for me and I wonder whether this is really true and whether this is due to my stay in 2009.

I guess that I will have to pay the taxes in full but it would be great if someone could re-confirm this assumption before I do it...

Thanks so much in advance - I really appreciate your advice.

Best,
Philipp

U.S. tax law only allows a person in J-1 visa to be considered a non-resident for TWO calendar years unless that person is a student, in which case the five-year rule that applies to F-1 students will also apply to the J-1 visa holder.

However, there is NO provision for tax-exempt status for researchers in the U.S.-Austria tax treaty, so you can be considered a "student, apprentice, or business trainee" under Article 20. That article allows you to be exempt from taxes on income that is sourced OUTSIDE of the United States for up to THREE years from the date of arrival The entire Article 20 is below. The treaty takes precedence over U.S. tax law.

Given your arrival date, you should be good until March 2015.


ARTICLE 20

Students and Trainees
Payments received by a student, apprentice, or business trainee who is, or was immediately before visiting a Contracting State, a resident of the other Contracting State, and who is present in the first-mentioned State for the purpose of full-time education at a recognized educational institution, or for full-time training, shall not be taxed in that State, provided that such payments arise outside that State, and are for the purpose of the individual's maintenance, education, or training. The exemption from tax provided by this Article shall apply to an apprentice or business trainee only for a period of time not exceeding three years from the date the apprentice or trainee first arrives in the first-mentioned Contracting State for the purpose of his or her training.