As an international student, why am I not eligible for a tax refund on the 1040NR?

Q: As an international student filing the 1040NR why am I not eligible to receive a tax refund from the Federal Government? Why must I itemize in order to get any money back? —Khadene, Framingham

The following answer was provided by Barry Beck, CPA, Barry D Beck, CPA, PFS, DABFA.

A: You are not required to itemize to receive a refund. Reading between the lines, it sounds like you are not properly completing the appropriate forms.

The rules for non-US citizens living and working in the US is often misunderstood. Simplistically, you would be taxable on all income effectively connected with efforts in the US. I would recommend that you obtain an IRS publication that describes your facts. These publications are available over the web, visit the IRS website.