[hems]

Hai,
I am a new member. I am really glad about this forum, which is helping lot of people,

My status in 2005:

Student on F1 (I am still on F1 with OPT)
Was attending school full-time until: August, 2005
Working on OPT from September, 2005.
My nationality: Indian

I have one W-2 from school (I was an R.A.)
One 1099-MISC from my first employer (I was working as a contractor initially)
One W-2 from the second employer (Working from December 15, 2005)

I did not pay social security/medicare on my school W-2.
But I paid social security/medicare on my W-2 forum with second employer.

But my main concern is there was no withholding for the income on the 1099-MISC. I made USD 19,320 as an independent contractor
And paid NO taxes on it. They put that amount in box 7, under "Nonemployee Compensation".

I know that I need to pay tax for income received under a Form 1099-MISC.

My questions:
1. As a citizen of India, Is there a treaty which allows me to claim a standard deduction and personal exemption for my income. If yes, can you specify the amount of standard deduction and personal exemption?
2. Am I eligible for tuition deductions/credits? (I paid tuition during 2005)
3. What is the percentage of tax I need to pay for the imcome reported on 1099-MISC? ($ 19,320 in my case)
4. And finnaly how do I claim a refund for the social security/medicare taxes that I paid with my second employer?

Thanks in advance

Regards,
Hems

[AtlantaTaxExpert]

Hems:

How long have you been in the U.S. on F-1 status? It makes a difference if you arrived in country in calendar year 2000 or earlier.

1) As a Indian citizen, you can claim the standard deduction ($5,000) and a personal exemption ($3,200).

2) If you file as a non-resident (form 1040NR), you cannot claim any tuition deductions/credits.

3) At least 10% of the taxable amount. It depends on how much you made on your two W-2 jobs. However, assuming your F-1 visa exemption still applies, you will not have to pay the 15.3% self-employment tax on the 1099 income.

4) You have to file Form 843. Donwload IRS Pub 519 from www.irs.gov and review page 46 for the documents needed to claim the refund.

BTW, if you file as a non-resident alien, you should also file Form 8843.

[hems]

Thank you very much for the reply Mr. Tax expert,

I have arrived on August 2002 to US and as been in F1 status all these years. (From Sep 2005 I was on OPT with F1 status).

And for answer (3)
My income on two W-2 jobs is $6555 (but I have paid taxes for this amount) and my income on 1099 is $19,320. So, the total is $25,875. Since my F1 status still applies, What is the percentage of tax I have to pay for the taxable amount?

Thank you,
Regards
Hems

[AtlantaTaxExpert]

Hems:

0% on the first $8,200, 10% on the next $10,000, and 15% on the rest.