Sprintax Filing Software

Everything You Need to Know About Nonresident Tax Webinar

Sprintax Handout

ICT purchases SPRINTAX RETURNS each year to assist international students and scholars at Wesleyan with completing their required federal income tax forms.  Once the software is available, ICT will email all international students and scholars the current tax year’s Access Code and instructions for utilizing SPRINTAX.  SPRINTAX Access Codes used in previous years will not work for utilizing the software for the current tax year.  SPRINTAX is typically available by the beginning of March each year.  Login to Sprintax Returns Software. 

The SPRINTAX online software helps you to prepare the required forms that must be filed electronically or printed out, signed, and mailed to the U.S. government's Internal Revenue Service (IRS).  SPRINTAX representatives and ICT should be able to assist with most inquiries you may have about this system.  Instructions for mailing your forms to the IRS are included with your tax form/s. 

ABOUT SPRINTAX RETURNS

• RETURNS is designed for NRA students and scholars (who have been in the U.S. for less than 5 years) and who have tax filing obligations. 
• View the Sprintax Instructions PDF.
• Enter your information into SPRINTAX to determine whether you are considered a resident or nonresident for tax purposes
• If SPRINTAX determines that you are a nonresident, the software will ask you a series of questions to assess your individual tax situation and generate the appropriate U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) tax forms in PDF (Adobe Acrobat) format. 
• SPRINTAX will determine whether you need to file a State tax return in addition to your Federal tax return. If you do, SPRINTAX will generate the State tax return for you. Note: Sprintax will charge you a small fee to generate State tax return forms.
• After you’ve entered all required information, you will reach a “Finished” page, which summarizes your “order.” After you enter the Wesleyan Access Code, your “order” will update to reflect that the federal tax return and forms are FREE.
• If SPRINTAX prepared a State tax return for you, you will be assessed a fee that must be paid at your own expense online. You may choose not to use this service Sprintax provides, but you will still be responsible, if you are required to file a state tax return.
• Once complete, SPRINTAX will generate your individualized tax return documents.
• Print the documents generated by SPRINTAX, sign them where required, add the supporting documentation listed in the instructional sheet, MAKE A COPY FOR YOUR RECORDS.  Having a copy for your records is extremely important!  After making a copy for your records, mail the packet to the IRS.  DO NOT mail the instructions page of the PDF - this is for you only.
• SPRINTAX does NOT send anything to the IRS on your behalf.  All information you enter can be saved and edited at a later date.  If you are unsure about a response, enter your best guess or leave it blank and then return to SPRINTAX later to complete it.  Remember, the final PDF is based on the information you enter. If you make any changes, be sure to generate a new PDF.
• If you need to modify or reprint your tax return, simply login to SPRINTAX using the Password and UserID you selected at the time you created your SPRINTAX User Account.  Do not create a new account.

PREPARING TO USE SPRINTAX RETURNS

• Compile all immigration documents for you and any dependents (passport, visa, I-94, I-20s/DS-2019s, etc.).
• You will need to know all dates on which you entered and departed from the U.S.  Referring to your travel documents (i.e. flight records) may be helpful as well!
• Compile all tax-related forms and documents. If you did not have any income at all during the tax year (January 1 – December 31), then you may not have any tax-related documents. If you did have income, make sure you have received all related tax statements (i.e. W-2, 1042-S, 1099, etc.).
  • W-2: If you were employed at Wesleyan, you can find your W-2 in your Wes Portal under My Information - Online Pay Statement-iPAY.  If you have trouble finding your W-2, please contact the Payroll office via the Payroll Help link under Employee Information in your WesPortal.  
  • 1042-S: If you received taxable income from Wesleyan, you may have been issued a Form 1042-S. You should check for this in SPRINTAX CALCULS (not Sprintax Returns).
• If RETURNS determines that you are due a refund of taxes you already paid during the tax year, you will have the option to have this refund sent to you as a check, set it up to be directly deposited into your bank account, or you can apply the refund to next year’s tax return.  If you choose direct deposit, you will need to know your bank account number and routing number.  If you have a checking account, both of these numbers can be found on one of your checks.

 
SPRINTAX PAYMENT INFORMATION

• After you enter all required information into RETURNS, it will generate a total cost for the service.
• After you type in the access code that ICT provided to you, the cost for your federal tax forms for the current tax year along with Form 8843 for you and any dependents will be waived.  If you are only filing your current federal tax forms and have requested no further services from SPRINTAX, the software will be free for you to use.  Again, you will not see the $0 until you enter the current year access code!
• If you plan to use RETURNS for any of the following additional services, there will be an associated charge at your own expense:
  • State Tax Return: from $44.95
  • FICA (Social Security / Medicare) Refund: $15.95
    • Please note that before you use Returns to request a refund of your FICA taxes, you must request the refund from your payroll department and you must receive a refusal to refund the FICA taxes in writing.
  • ITIN Application: $15.95
  • Amended Tax Return: $79.95
  • Form 8843 Only: $19.95

ASSISTANCE WITH SPRINTAX

• Sprintax Online Chat System
  • If you have a question at any time while you are using SPRINTAX, click on “Need help? Ask Stacy now” for online assistance with a tax professional.
• You may also call or email Sprintax directly:
  • +1-866-601-5695
  •  hello@sprintax.com

NOTE:  You should not use Sprintax if you have been in the U.S. for more than 5 years and the software determined that you were a Resident Alien for tax purposes in 2020.  The IRS lists free on-line tax preparation services for U.S. Citizens, Permanent Resident and Resident Aliens at https://www.irs.gov/efile/article/0,,id=118986,00.html.  Popular commercial tax preparation services include TurboTax (https://www.turbotax.com) and H&R Block (https://www.hrblock.com).