Hi. I am a Non resident alien under J1 visa and French permanent resident. It is my first tax return in the US.
I live in NY and have worked both in NY (5% of time) and in NJ. So I filled up the forms 1040NR for the federal return, 8833 for the French-US exemption but also IT-203 , IT-203 ATT for NY and I am now looking for an equivalent of those latter forms for non residents in NJ.

Would you happen to know which ones I should use to file my NJ taxes? I know it is a late notice but I hope I'll get some answers.


Thanks- regards,

You can find the necessary forms at the NJ state tax website:

http://www.state.nj.us/treasury/taxation/index.html?filing01.htm~mainFrame

You need the non-resident version of the NJ income tax return, Form NJ-1040NR.

Thanks I checked it out.
But again I have the following doubts:
On the 1040NR in the wages I had to take out the exemptions.
Let's say for example my wages are 20K$ and then I put 15K$ (minus 5k$ because of the France -US treaty Article 21)

And here is the doubt: Should I proceed the same way for the states tax filing or should I put the whole amount?
If I put the whole amount then I owe money to NY. Which according to some co-workers I shouldn't (again I need your validation on this)
But if I put 15k then I feel like I am lying because there is no indication on taking out the exemptions when filing states and I might get problems on it.

Now I am so confused since a coworker told me that I should actually be reimbursed almost 99% of my taxes as a NR who stayed less than 182 days during 2004 ( I stayed 151) and since I have to pay my taxes again back in France. (my computation for the Federal tax is a return of 60% only)

I kind of feel like I might file an extension because it is turning more complicated than what I thought. And the deadline is scarrily approaching...
I wish I had started a month ago... Pff

Recap: I think I really need your help. Please help me clarifying :
- As a NR alien, under J1 visa, would I get 99% taxes back?
- If yes where did I go wrong filling up my forms (I stehre any form I missed)
- If no, should I put 15k or the full 20k$ on my IT-203?
- If no, is it normal that I owe money to NY since I am a non resident?
- Eventually,. I don't know.. Do you think I shoulg get a file extension?


Thank you so much for your time and effort

Regards,

N_Samijo:

I understand your concern. Tax preparation can be rather confusing.

Your co-workers are correct. The $5,000 tax exemption applies to the state income tax as well. The way to validate the exemption is to attach a photocopy of the Form 1040NR to your state income tax return. That allows the state tax officials to see your reasoning for debiting your income by $5,000. Put $15,000 on the IT-203. Same logic applies to the NJ tax return as well.

Now, regarding payment of French taxes, the norm is that France would give you a credit for the U.S. taxes you paid, not the other way around. Most countries tax income earned within their borders, then the country of citizenship allows a credit. That's how the U.S. deals with income earned by its citizens in foreign countries. However, I have not researched U.S.-French Tax Treaty, so I am not familiar with its provisions.

Given your confusion, extensions may be in order for the federal and both states.

Further, this website (http://www.thetaxguy.com) would be a better place to pose your questions, preferably directly to Dr. Carter. They may also be the best place to get professional help.