[dineshps70]

I am from India, working in USA on H1B visa since 10th July 2008.
In fiscal year 2008 I complete 175 days of stay in USA.
I have non working wife & 2 children on H4 visa.
I am employee of a Indian Company having office in India and USA (Also listed at NASDAQ & NYSE)
Gross income in USA from July 10 2008 till December 31, 2008 is US$ 37000


Am I elligible for income Tax Refund for stay less than 180 days in usa???

Thanks in advance!

Dinesh

[dineshps70]

:p

I am from India, working in USA on H1B visa since 10th July 2008.
In fiscal year 2008 I complete 175 days of stay in USA.
I have non working wife & 2 children on H4 visa.
I am employee of a Indian Company having office in India and USA (Also listed at NASDAQ & NYSE)
Gross income in USA from July 10 2008 till December 31, 2008 is US$ 37000


Am I elligible for income Tax Refund for stay less than 180 days in usa???

Thanks in advance!

Dinesh

[AtlantaTaxExpert]

Dinesh

You have the legal requirement to file a tax return. You can file as a non-resident alien immediately, filing Form 1040NR to claim moving expenses with Form 3903.

OR

You can file jointly with your wife and you both CHOSE to be treated as resident aliens. This will allow you to claim the $10,900 joint standard deduction plus two $3,500 personal exemption (for yourself and your wife) plus two $3,500 personal exemptions for your children PLUS the TWO $1,000 Child Tax Credits. You can still claim the moving expenses noted above as well.

The downside is that:

• you must WAIT to meet the Substantial Test before you can file, which means you must wait until 5 May 2009.

• you must declare ALL 2008 world-wide income, but you can at least partially offset any double taxation by claiming a Foreign Tax Credit (Form 1116).

Even with the downside, this is probably the best way for you to file.

[dineshps70]

Actually my question was

Whether I am elligible for income Tax Refund for stay less than 180 days in usa??

[AtlantaTaxExpert]

You did not indicate whether you were stilll in the U.S. or not, so I assumed that you were.

If you returned to India with less than 180 days, you will file as a non-resident alien, filing Form 1040NR.

You CANNOT claim your wife or children on the return, but you CAN claim your own traveling expenses, plus the daily living expenses (for yourself only) while in the U.S. because your initial trip to the U.S. is considered to be a temporary job assignment.

This assumes you did not receive some form of tax-free reimbursement for your daily living expenses.

Deducting these daily living expenses MAY have the net result of your having NO income tax liability, so you MAY get all of your withheld federal income taxes back, but I cannot guarantee that.

As for state income taxes, that depends on the state, which you did not identify.

Any FICA taxes (Social Security and Medicare) that you paid are NOT refundable.