Hello,

I am a student on F-1 visa and have been in US since 2009 July. In 2010 I was employed by my university (in Texas) and did CPT for 3 months in California.
How do I apply for California and Texas taxes together. Which forms would I be needing? Is the form 1098T of any use?

I tried using Turbo Tax, but I am losing like around $800-$900 just for total tax of around $2000.
Could u please help me? How much should my approx. refund be?

Details are:
School W2:-
Wages: 8121.55
Fed: 627.75

CPT W2:
Wages: 8500.00
Fed: 1003.00
CA-SDI: 93.50
State Income Tax (CA): 325.00

Thank you very much!

While you have to report the Texas income on the California return, you need pay taxes ONLY in the income earned while in California as a NON-resident. File Form 540NR and complete Form 540NR(CA) to show the federal income ($16,622) and the Calfornia income ($8,122).

Once you do that, you will probably have ZERO California tax liability.

If you need professional help filing your return, email me at [email protected].

Thank you for answering!

I tried filling out the 540NR form, but I am not able get a full refund. I am losing 61$.
In the form 540NR, on line 19, should I enter the income I have earned throughout the year as mentioned in 1040NR-EZ (i.e. my taxable Texas and California income), and correspondingly calculate tax for it on line 31? Or should I enter only my California income only on line 19 of 540NR, cause that is the amount I should be paying California tax for, right?

Pjane:

Use tax software (TaxAct is very good) and complete Schedule CA (540 NR) to calculate your California Tax Liability. The software will calculate the correct liability once you complete this form.

Thank you!

I tried the software, and it does show a tax of 61$, so I guess I won't be getting a full refund.. Thank you very much for all the help! :)

Some tax seems to be inevitable!