Form 8843 is the IRS statement that lets certain visitors, mainly students, teachers, trainees and some athletes, exclude days spent in the United States from the substantial presence test, so they aren't treated as U.S. tax residents. You must file it even if you had no income: attach it to Form 1040-NR if you file one, or mail it on its own to the IRS in Austin by the 1040-NR due date.
This is the form international students most often don't know about, because it doesn't calculate any tax. What it protects is your status. Skip it, and the days you spent studying can count toward residency. Everything below comes from the 2025 Form 8843 and its instructions.
Who has to file
If you're an alien individual (other than a foreign government-related individual), you file Form 8843 to explain why you can exclude days of presence because you:
- were an exempt individual: a teacher or trainee, a student, or a professional athlete in the U.S. temporarily to compete in a charitable sports event, or
- couldn't leave the United States because of a medical condition or medical problem.
Most "A" and "G" visa holders (diplomats and staff of international organizations) are also exempt individuals and don't need to file it. The exception is "A-3" and "G-5" visa holders, who must count every day.
Why it matters: the substantial presence test
You're treated as a U.S. resident for tax purposes if you were physically in the United States for at least 31 days in 2025 and 183 days across 2025, 2024 and 2023, counting all of 2025's days, 1/3 of 2024's and 1/6 of 2023's. Any part of a day counts as a day. Form 8843 is how you take your exempt days out of that count before it's run.
Other days that don't count
Form 8843 sits alongside a short list of days the IRS never counts toward the test. The instructions list them: days you regularly commuted to work in the U.S. from a home in Canada or Mexico, days you were in the U.S. for less than 24 hours while travelling between two places outside it, days as a regular crew member of a foreign vessel, days you couldn't leave because of a medical condition that arose while you were there, and days you were an exempt individual. Only the medical and exempt-individual days need Form 8843. If you're relying on a closer connection to another country instead, that's a different form: Form 8840.
Which parts to fill in
| You are | Visa | Complete |
|---|---|---|
| Teacher or trainee | J or Q (not as a student) | Parts I and II (Q visa: Part I and lines 6 to 8) |
| Student | F, J, M or Q | Parts I and III (Q visa: Part I and lines 10 to 14) |
| Professional athlete at a charitable event | Any | Parts I and IV, plus a statement that all net proceeds went to charity |
| Stuck in the U.S. by a medical condition | Any | Parts I and V |
If you're attaching the form to Form 1040-NR and you've already given the same details there, you can skip lines 1a to 4a by writing "Information provided on Form 1040-NR" on line 1a. Filing it on its own, you complete every entry. Line 1a asks for your visa type (F-1, F-2, J-1, J-2, H1-B and so on) and your most recent entry date, which you'll find on your I-94 record.
The medical condition route
Part V is for people who meant to leave but couldn't because of a medical condition or problem that arose while they were in the U.S. Whether you intended to leave on a particular day is judged on all the facts, so you give the date you planned to leave before the condition began and the date you finally left, and your physician or another medical official completes line 18. A condition you already had before arriving doesn't qualify under this rule.
The time limits on being exempt
Being exempt isn't open-ended. These are the two rules that catch people:
- Students: you can't exclude days as a student if you've been exempt as a teacher, trainee or student for any part of more than 5 calendar years, unless you show you don't intend to live permanently in the U.S. The IRS looks at whether you've kept a closer connection to another country and whether you've taken steps toward a green card.
- Teachers and trainees: you can't exclude days if you were exempt as a teacher, trainee or student for any part of 2 of the 6 prior calendar years. There's a narrow exception when a foreign employer paid all your compensation and you were exempt for 3 or fewer of those years.
Part III asks for your visa type for each year from 2019 to 2024 for exactly this reason, and line 13 asks whether you applied for lawful permanent residence in 2025.
When and where to file
| Your situation | What to do |
|---|---|
| You're filing a 2025 Form 1040-NR | Attach Form 8843 and mail both by the due date (including extensions) |
| You don't need to file a tax return | Mail Form 8843 alone to the Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service Center, Austin, TX 73301-0215, by the 1040-NR due date |
If you file late, you may lose the right to exclude the days, which could make you a U.S. resident under the test. You won't be penalized if you can show clear and convincing evidence that you took reasonable steps to learn about the requirement and significant steps to comply.
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If you're working on campus and receive a Form W-2, you'll usually file Form 1040-NR with 8843 attached. If you need a taxpayer number but don't qualify for an SSN, see our guide to the ITIN number.
The verdict
If you're on an F, J, M or Q visa, file Form 8843 every year you're in the U.S., income or no income. It takes a few minutes, and it's the document that keeps your days of study from turning you into a tax resident by accident. Keep a copy with your I-94 printout.
Students with US wages may qualify for a treaty exemption, and our guide to claiming a treaty exemption explains the form used to claim it.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to file Form 8843 if I had no income?
Yes. If you're an exempt individual excluding days from the substantial presence test, you file it even with no income, mailing it alone if you have no return to file.
Where do I mail Form 8843?
Attach it to Form 1040-NR if you file one. Otherwise mail it to the Internal Revenue Service Center, Austin, TX 73301-0215, by the 1040-NR due date.
Can F-1 students exclude days forever?
No. Students can't exclude days after being exempt for any part of more than 5 calendar years, unless they show they don't intend to live in the U.S. permanently.
What happens if I don't file Form 8843?
You may not be able to exclude those days, which could make you a U.S. resident under the substantial presence test.
Who completes line 18 of Form 8843?
Your physician or other medical official, if you're excluding days because a medical condition that arose in the U.S. stopped you leaving.
