[Dooost]

Hi,

I am new US and arrived here on sponsorship of Company A later after 4 months I transferred to Company B, In my case I am paying all Taxes like: Federal, State, Medicare, Social Security.

My Question is that among stated taxes which one will get refunded and I am holding 2 companies pay stabs Initially 5 from Company A and 3 from Company B, So which form to Use.

I hope I am able to describe my question.

[AtlantaTaxExpert]

Dooost:

You will get Forms W-2 from each company next month, with which you can file you're your federal and state income tax return. You will probably get a refund from both returns, as withholding regulations require that foreign nationals on work visa (like H-1B) must over-withhold income taxes at both the federal and state level to ensure that tax liabilities are met.

Since you are on a H-1B visa, you are liable Social Security and Medicare taxes.

Unfortunately, NO refund will be forthcoming. If your home country has a totalization agreement with the United States, what you pay will be transferred into the equivalent system in your home country. If there is no totalization agreement, you get nothing in return for paying these taxes.

Given the duration of time you infer in your post, I believe you have met the 183-day Substantial Presence Test (SPT). If you arrived in the U.S. on or before 2 July 2008, you HAVE in fact met SPT.

If you are married, you can file jointly with your wife and you BOTH choose to be treated as resident aliens for all of 2008. That will require that you declare ALL world-wide income for 2008 and make it subject to U.S. taxes, but it also allows you to claim TWO personal exemptions of $3,500 each and a joint standard deduction of $10,900. BTW, your wife does NOT have to be present in the U.S. in order for you to file jointly. You will file Form 1040, 1040A or 1040EZ.

If you are NOT married and you have met SPT, you must file a dual-status return, which requires you file BOTH Form 1040 and 1040NR.

If you arrived AFTER 2 July 2008, you have NOT met SPT, and you can file as a non-resident alien, filing Form 1040NR or 1040NR-EZ.