[mungbeans]

For part of 2011 I had a J-1 visa and for the other part I had a H1-B visa. I don't meet SPT and so am filing a 1040NR.

While on the J-1 I received income (stipend) and did not pay taxes on that; while on the H-1B I receive income and did pay tax.

I believe that I need to file an 8843 form to justify excluding the payment received while on the J-1.

However I am just looking at the 1040NR form and the instructions for line 8 say "Do not include on line 8 amounts exempted under a tax treaty.". Does the income I received while on the J-1 fall under the classification of tax treaty?

If it does then a complication is that I have been at the same company while on the J-1 to while on the H1B and therefore have a single W-2 form that covers the total income and total tax received while on the J-1 as on the H2-B. Therefore I don't know how much to exlude from line 8.

[AtlantaTaxExpert]

Yes, you DO need to submit Form 8843.

The amount of your treaty exemption is dictated by the treaty itself. You debit that amount from your W-2 income, then enter the difference on the "WAGE" line of Form 1040NR or 1040NR-EZ.

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