Updated October 19, 2026. Quick answer: Form 1040-NR is the U.S. Nonresident Alien Income Tax Return. The decision is whether you are a nonresident alien for the year, and if so, whether any condition in the instructions’ Table A requires you to file. Residents file Form 1040 or 1040-SR instead.
Resident or nonresident: which form applies
The instructions start from status: “Generally, you’re considered a resident alien if you meet either the green card test or the substantial presence test for 2025.” The other side reads “Generally, you’re considered a nonresident alien for the year if you’re not a U.S. resident under either of these tests.”
The substantial presence test uses a count: “Y ou meet this test if you were physically present in the United States for at least:” The two parts are in the table below. The weighting chart for the three year count is a multi-column table in the instructions, so it is named here and not reproduced: read column (c) there.
A resident alien does not use this form. The instructions say that for a married couple who elect resident treatment, “Don’t use Form 1040-NR.” The election allows a joint return on “Form 1040 or 1040-SR.”
Who must file Form 1040-NR
The instructions open the test with “File Form 1040-NR if any of the conditions in T able A. Who Must File Form 1040-NR, later, apply to you.” The first condition reads “Y ou were a nonresident alien engaged in a trade or business in the United States during 2025.” It applies even in some cases with no income: “Y our income is exempt from U.S. tax under a tax treaty or any section of the Internal Revenue Code.”
The second condition covers a nonresident alien who is not engaged in a trade or business: “Not all of the U.S. tax that you owe was withheld from that income.” Other conditions include a representative role: “Y ou’re the personal representative for a deceased person who would have had to file Form 1040-NR.”
Three exceptions are printed. They include a visa group, “Y ou were a nonresident alien student, teacher, or trainee who was temporarily present in the United States” and a partner group, “Y ou were a partner in a U.S. partnership that was not engaged in a trade or business in the United States during 2025”. Even without a duty to file, the instructions say “you should file one if you can get money back.”
Dual-status years and due dates
A year with a change of status is its own case: “A dualstatus year is one in which you change status between nonresident and resident alien.” The form to file depends on the last day of the year: “If you were a U.S. resident on the last day of the tax year, file Form 1040 or 1040-SR.” The reverse case reads “If you were a nonresident on the last day of the tax year, file Form 1040-NR.”
Either way the return carries a label and a statement. The instructions say to “Enter “Dual-Status Return” across the top” and the statement is signed on neither: “Don’t sign the Form 1040 or 1040-SR.”
The due date depends on wages: “If you were an employee and received wages subject to U.S. income tax withholding, file Form 1040-NR by the 15th day of the 4th month after your tax year ends.” The other case reads “If you didn’t receive wages as an employee subject to U.S. income tax withholding, file Form 1040-NR by the 15th day of the 6th month after your tax year ends.”
| Item | As printed in the instructions |
|---|---|
| India treaty student or apprentice, gross income limit | “your gross income for 2025 was less than or equal to $15,750 if single ($31,500 if a qualifying surviving spouse)” |
| Net earnings from self-employment, agreement country | “Y ou had net earnings from selfemployment of at least $400” |
| Substantial presence test | “physically present in the United States for at least: 1. 31 days during 2025; and 2. 183 testing days during the 3-year period of 2025, 2024, and 2023” |
| Due date, wage earners with withholding | “A return for the 2025 calendar year is due by April 15, 2026.” |
| Due date, everyone else | “A return for the 2025 calendar year is due by June 15, 2026.” |
The form’s own line order
Form 1040-NR starts with the same kind of header as Form 1040, then a filing status row, then a digital assets question and a dependents block. The filing status row is where the form differs: the printed choices are “Single Married filing separately (MFS) Qualifying surviving spouse (QSS) Estate Trust”. The instructions confirm the joint return limit: “a Form 1040-NR filer can’t file a joint return.”
The income section is headed for effectively connected income. Its lines run 1a through 1k and 2a through 9, and the lines below are the ones that carry the form’s own description.
| Line | As printed on the form |
|---|---|
| Line 1a | “Total amount from Form(s) W-2, box 1 (see instructions)” |
| Line 1z | “Add lines 1a through 1h” |
| Line 9 | “This is your total effectively connected income” |
| Line 11a | “Subtract line 10 from line 9. This is your adjusted gross income” |
| Line 12 | “Itemized deductions (from Schedule A (Form 1040-NR))” |
| Line 15 | “This is your taxable income” |
| Line 23a | “Tax on income not effectively connected with a U.S. trade or business from Schedule NEC (Form 1040-NR), line 15” |
| Line 24 | “Add lines 22 and 23d. This is your total tax” |
| Line 33 | “These are your total payments” |
| Line 34 | “This is the amount you overpaid” |
| Line 37 | “This is the amount you owe.” |
The differences from Form 1040 sit in three places. Line 12 offers itemized deductions or, for certain residents of India, the standard deduction: “or, for certain residents of India, standard deduction (see instructions)”. Line 23a adds a separate tax on income that is not effectively connected, taken from a schedule that only this form uses. And line 25 splits withholding by source, with “Form(s) 1042-S” on its own line.
Lines 35a to 36 handle a refund: “Amount of line 34 you want refunded to you.” Line 36 reads “Amount of line 34 you want applied to your 2026 estimated tax”.
Where to send it, and after filing
The instructions allow an electronic route: “If you efile your return, there’s no need to mail it.” For mail, the address depends on payment. “If you aren’t enclosing a payment, mail Form 1040-NR to:” The first address for individuals is in Austin, TX, and a separate address in Charlotte, NC applies when a payment is enclosed. Estates and trusts have their own address block. Read the block that applies to you in the instructions, because the addresses can change after 2026.
The signature area follows the penalties of perjury statement: “Under penalties of perjury, I declare that I have examined this return and accompanying schedules and statements”. The form prints no processing time. For the IRS pointer page, see the IRS page about Form 1040-NR.
Which revision applies
The editions read for this page are the 2025 Form 1040-NR, U.S. Nonresident Alien Income Tax Return, and the 2025 Instructions for Form 1040-NR, which are the revisions irs.gov served when they were read on 2026-10-19. Check the revision printed on the form you are filing, because a later revision can change the line numbers, the due dates and the mailing addresses.
Common mistakes
- Filing Form 1040-NR when a U.S. resident on the last day of a dual-status year. The instructions say “If you were a U.S. resident on the last day of the tax year, file Form 1040 or 1040-SR.”
- Assuming treaty-exempt income means no return. The instructions say the duty applies even if “Y our income is exempt from U.S. tax under a tax treaty or any section of the Internal Revenue Code.”
- Filing a joint return on this form. The instructions say “a Form 1040-NR filer can’t file a joint return.”
Related: Form W-7, Form W-8BEN, Form 1042-S, and Form 2555.
Sources
- 2025 Form 1040-NR, U.S. Nonresident Alien Income Tax Return: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1040nr.pdf
- 2025 Instructions for Form 1040-NR: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i1040nr.pdf
Read from the agency documents linked above on October 19, 2026. General information, not tax advice. Your own facts decide the outcome, and a preparer, the account provider or the IRS is the right place to confirm anything consequential.