In most cases, tax treaties benefit businessmen, touring entertainers, and trade companies, and only a very few have any benefit for students or scholars.

Three countries, Barbados , Hungary , and Jamaica allow students to file a U.S. resident tax return, if they choose, in place of the non resident (NR) return. Two countries, India and Canada , have tax treaty benefits not listed directly on the chart below, and are discussed in another part of this handout. Additionally, only India has a yearly fluctuating treaty amount, and is therefore listed on line 11 of the 1040NR-EZ, and not line 6 as all other eligible treaties are. Also, please note that the general provisions of a few tax treaties can benefit students and scholars in a year of arrival in the U.S. or a year of departure.

Is there a tax treaty between my country and the United States that can save me money on my federal income taxes? (Reference: IRS Publication 901 Table 3 http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p901.pdf )

The countries listed below have tax treaties with the United States that include benefits for students and scholars. Check the list to see if your country appears and note any benefits that you are entitled to in the space provided. You are generally entitled to these tax treaty benefits for the same period that you usually remain a non-resident for federal income tax purposes. (5 years for F-1 students, and 2 years for J students)

Treaty Table for Students:
A notation in the "Non-Service Scholarship Exempt?" column indicates that the treaty allows students to exclude from federal taxation all stipend income from a non-service fellowship or scholarship (non-service fellowship or scholarship income should be reported to you on Form 1042-S, not on Form W-2). A notation in the "Earned Income Exempt?" column indicates that the treaty allows students to exclude from federal taxation the noted amount of earned income (such as teaching assistantships and research assistantships). The numbers or Roman numerals in the columns identify the relevant treaty article and paragraph numbers (note these down; you'll need them for your income tax return.