Hi,
My name is Florin. I was in USA WITH A j1 visa and I did not pay taxes. I have paid only in the first month federal taxes and for six months social security and medicare taxes.
The company where I was trainee said that we should not pay this taxes but not I have received a letter fron IRS that I shoul fdile my taxes.
MY QUESTION IS: SHOULD I PAY TAXES OR I'M Exempt?
THANKS

Florin:

It depends on the nature of the work you are doing under the J-1 visa.

If you are a teacher or a researcher at an academic institution or university, then it is likely that you are completely exempt from U.S. taxes for at least two years. The same logic applies if you work for any non-profit organization.

However, if you are working as a trainee for a for-profit corporation like Home Depot, Microsoft, General Electric, etc. then your salary is most likely taxable.

Since your company said that you were exempt from taxes, I recommend you take the IRS letter to the Human Resources Department and let them contact the IRS to resolve this issue.

If it turns out you are exempt from income, Social Security and Medicare taxes, ask that your company refund the taxes they withheld from your salary. If they refuse (for whatever reason), get the refusal in writing. You can then file Form 843 with the refusal letter and other documents to get those withheld taxes refunded to you.

If you need help in preparing Form 843, you can contact me at [email protected].