UK Students on J-1 and F-1 Visas in the US: Form 8843 and Non-Resident Returns

Form 8843 is the one US tax form every UK student on an F-1 or J-1 visa must file, and most do not know it exists: it is the statement that tells the IRS your days in the United States should not count toward the substantial presence test, and it is required even if you earned nothing at all. Miss it, and you can forfeit the exemption that keeps you a non-resident, which in turn can drag your UK savings and investments into the US tax net.

This guide explains what Form 8843 does, who must file it, the deadlines, when a Form 1040-NR is also needed, the payroll tax exemption that comes with student status, and what happens after five years. It is written for British students and scholars; the same rules apply to their partners and to UK academics on J-1 visas. For the wider picture, see our guide for Brits in the US.

What is Form 8843 and why does a student with no income have to file it?

The IRS decides whether a foreign national is a US tax resident with the substantial presence test: 31 days in the current year and 183 weighted days over three years, counting all of this year's days, a third of last year's and a sixth of the year before. On that test alone, a full-time student would become a US tax resident in their first or second year.

The exemption that stops this is the "exempt individual" rule. Days spent in the US as a student on an F, J, M or Q visa who substantially complies with the visa are not counted, generally for up to five calendar years. Form 8843, "Statement for Exempt Individuals and Individuals with a Medical Condition", is how you claim it. The IRS's substantial presence page is explicit: individuals claiming the exemption must file Form 8843 to exclude their days, or they lose the benefit. Income has nothing to do with it. A first-year undergraduate from Leeds with no job, no scholarship and no US bank account files Form 8843.

Who must file, and what goes on the form?

Who	Visa	Exempt period	Files Form 8843?
Student	F-1, J-1, M-1, Q	Up to 5 calendar years (any part of a year counts as a year)	Yes, every exempt year
Teacher, trainee, researcher	J-1, Q	Generally 2 of the preceding 6 calendar years	Yes, every exempt year
Spouse or child of a student or scholar	F-2, J-2	Same as the principal	Yes, each files their own
Student past the five-year limit	F-1	None, unless they can show they do not intend to reside permanently in the US	Only if claiming the extended exemption

The form itself asks for your visa type, the dates you entered and left the US, your university or sponsor, and the number of days you are excluding. Each person files their own, including a spouse on a J-2 visa with no income. The IRS's About Form 8843 page links the current form and instructions.

When is Form 8843 due, and does it need a tax return?

Two scenarios.

1. No US-source income. Form 8843 is filed on its own, by mail to the address in the instructions, by June 15 following the calendar year.
2. US-source income, such as a campus job, a paid research assistantship, a taxable stipend or US bank interest above the exempt amount. You file Form 1040-NR with Form 8843 attached. The IRS's nonresident alien page gives the deadline: the 15th day of the fourth month, April 15, if you received wages subject to US withholding; otherwise the 15th day of the sixth month, June 15.

Nonresidents cannot use the standard deduction, cannot file jointly and pay tax only on US-source income, so a UK student's Form 1040-NR is usually simple. What makes it non-trivial is the US/UK treaty: Article 20 can exempt certain payments received by students and trainees from abroad for maintenance and training, and treaty-based positions may need Form 8833. Our post on American students in the UK covers the mirror image.

The payroll tax exemption worth knowing about

A UK student working on campus or on authorised practical training should not have Social Security and Medicare taxes withheld. The IRS's page on foreign student FICA liability states that nonresident alien students on F-1, J-1 and M-1 visas are exempt from Social Security and Medicare tax on wages for services allowed by their status and performed to carry out the purpose of the visa. The exemption does not extend to F-2 or J-2 dependants, and it ends once the student becomes a resident alien. Employers get this wrong often; if your pay slip shows FICA withheld, raise it with the payroll office and, failing that, a refund claim is possible.

What changes after five years?

Publication 519 sets the limit: you are not an exempt individual as a student in a year if you have been exempt as a teacher, trainee or student for any part of more than five calendar years, unless you can establish that you do not intend to reside permanently in the US and have substantially complied with your visa. A PhD student who arrived in August 2021 therefore stops being exempt from 1 January 2027, and with 183 days in the US in 2027 becomes a resident alien for that year.

That is the moment the UK side matters. A resident alien is taxed on worldwide income on Form 1040: UK bank interest, dividends in a stocks and shares ISA, which the US treats as PFICs, UK rental income and UK investment gains all become reportable, and the FBAR and Form 8938 thresholds apply to UK accounts. Our guide to the substantial presence test for UK citizens explains the transition, and why an ISA is a problem on a US return covers the most common surprise.

What happens if you never filed Form 8843?

The form carries no penalty of its own, which is exactly why students skip it. The cost is indirect. Publication 519 says that if you do not file Form 8843 on time, you cannot exclude your days of presence unless you can show by clear and convincing evidence that you took reasonable actions to become aware of the filing requirement and significant steps to comply with it. In practice, a student who discovers the omission should file the missing forms as soon as possible, one for each year, with a short explanation, and most are accepted without difficulty. The real danger is the student who never files, never notices, and crosses the substantial presence threshold on paper in their second year, becoming a resident alien with a worldwide income filing obligation they did not know they had. If that describes you, do not simply start filing Form 8843 from now; take advice on the earlier years first.

A year-by-year timeline for a UK student in the US

Calendar year	Status	What to file
Year of arrival (any part of the year counts as year 1)	Exempt individual, nonresident	Form 8843; Form 1040-NR only if US-source income
Years 2 to 5	Exempt individual, nonresident	Form 8843 each year; Form 1040-NR if income; no FICA on campus wages
Year 6 onwards	Days count; resident alien if 183 weighted days	Form 1040 on worldwide income; FBAR and Form 8938 on UK accounts; Form 8621 for UK funds; FICA applies
Year you leave the US	Possibly dual-status	A dual-status return; check UK arrival rules and split year

The UK side while you are away

Your UK tax residence is decided by the Statutory Residence Test, which pays no attention to your US visa. Many UK students abroad remain UK resident in their first year, or qualify for split year treatment when they leave; those with UK savings interest above the allowance, or rent from a let flat, may need a Self Assessment return. Where both countries tax the same income, the treaty's tie-breaker rules and credits apply. The point is that the two positions should be settled together rather than assumed.

Illustrative example: a student from Bristol starts a two-year master's in Boston on an F-1 visa in September 2026, with a teaching assistantship paying $18,000 a year. For 2026 she files Form 1040-NR reporting the assistantship, attaches Form 8843 excluding her days, claims any treaty exemption that applies, and confirms her university withheld no Social Security or Medicare tax. For UK purposes she checks the Statutory Residence Test for 2026/27 and reports UK savings interest if it exceeds her allowance. Had she skipped Form 8843, her US days would count and she would reach the substantial presence threshold in 2027. This is illustrative only.

The bottom line

File Form 8843 every year you are a student or scholar in the US, whether or not you earn anything, by June 15 on its own or with Form 1040-NR if you have US income. Check that your employer is not withholding Social Security and Medicare tax. Count your calendar years, because the fifth is the last exempt one. And keep the UK return in view, because the day your US status changes is the day your UK savings become the IRS's business. Our US tax return service prepares Form 1040-NR and Form 8843 for students and academics, and our New York and San Francisco offices work with UK universities' alumni on both coasts.