The United States has negotiated tax treaties with various countries. The terms of a tax treaty can, in some instances, reduce the amount of tax owed to the U.S. government. The terms of the treaties should be carefully reviewed, however, to be sure that it is truly to the advantage of the international student or scholar to take advantage of them over the course of the entire projected stay in the U.S.

The following charts are taken from the Internal Revenue Service's 2018 VITA/TCE Publication 4011 Foreign Student and Scholar Text for use in preparing Tax Year 2018 Returns for Nonresident Aliens

• Step 1: determine whether you are exempt from the Substantial Presence Test
• Step 2: Then, if you are not exempt, take the Substantial Presence Test
• Step 3: Finally, review this chart to determine Residency for tax purposes

For more information, please visit Internal Revenue Service website.