Hello, I am a citizen of China and came to U.S. Two years ago with H4 visa. One year ago, I changed my visa to F1 and now I am doing summer intern on CPT.
My question:
1. Could I apply for the first $5000 free tax treaty?

2. W4 form, should I fill it with 5000 allowance? Should I ask my employer about this treaty or just let them withhold normally and ask for refund from IRS?

Thank you! I look forward to your reply.

Deer0411,

Would you please tell me what material you submitted to INS to convert H4 to F1?
Currently I'm planning to change H4 to F1. Thank you so much.

BTW, sorry I don't know the answer to your question. Hope someone know and answer it for you.

Homegirl: contact the international office in your school for detailed requirement. Because diff school may have diff process.

STILL Waiting for kind answers, thanks.

1) Yes, you ARE eligible for the treaty exemption.

2) Withhold normally and get the refund.

Thank you! I just want to confirm that my changing status from H1 to F1 won't influnce the result, right?
Could anybody answer my W4 question? Should I ask to report tax together with my husband rather than having them wothhold the tax monthly?

If you are an F-1 student, you CAN file jointly with your husband if he is either a U.S. citizen or on an H-1/H-1B visa. However, in doing so, you probably CANNOT claim the $5,000 treaty exemption.

Or you can file separately as a F-1 student and claim the $5,000 treaty exemption. For this option to make sense, you must actually have earned income that is subject to U.S. taxes. If you are a student with minimal income, filing jointly with your husband is probably the wiser choice.

Regardless, income taxes will still need to be withheld from any job you hold.

If you filed jointly with your husband while on H-4 status, you will need to get permission from the IRS to file as a non-resident alien for 2007. Right now, in the eyes of the IRS, you are a resident alien. You will want to change that status if you will be working while attending school in order to claim the $5,000 treaty exemption AND to be exempt from Social Security and Medicare taxes. If you started work today without that IRS waiver, you WILL be liable for Social Security and Medicare taxes based on filing status from 2006.

Thank you very much! This is really helpful.
Could you tell me how to apply for the "permission from the IRS to file as a non-resident alien for 2007" I called the toll free number and didn't get any response.
Thank you!

Try this number for the IRS International Tax Hotline:

215-516-2000