CINTAX and Entering Data About New York State Form 1099-G
A number of students have reported difficulty in entering the requested data about form 1099-G in CINTAX. For students who received a form 1099-G from New York State, reporting a 2006 state income tax refund that was paid in 2007, the information on the form does not seem to match the questions CINTAX asks students to complete. This problem applies only to students and scholars who filed a New York State tax return for calendar year 2006 and received a refund.
The ISSS contacted CINTAX for guidance, and here is their reply:
If you received Form 1099-G from New York State, it will look different from the Form 1099-G on the screen in CINTAX . If your Form 1099-G says "Statement of Tax Overpayment" at the top and Form 1099-G in the upper right hand corner, report the amount in the box entitled "Amount reported to the IRS" in CINTAX box 2 (State and local tax refunds, credits or offsets). Enter "0" in CINTAX box 4 (federal income tax withheld). Do not enter the Payer's EIN number because we have removed this box and it is not needed.
Students from India who filed a state tax return for calendar year 2006, and who use CINTAX to complete their 2007 income tax returns, will note that CINTAX does not print their 1099-G refund amount on line 4 of the 1040NR EZ.
It's not a mistake, but the explanation is a bit complicated. F-1 and J-1 students from India who have been in the United States for five or fewer years are able to take a standard deduction on their US income tax forms, as part of the US-India tax treaty. This standard deduction is entered on line 11 of form 1040NR EZ. All other foreign nationals, when completing line 11, must write the amount of any state and local tax withheld as it appears in boxes 17 and 19 of their W-2 forms.
So if you are a student from India, then last year, if you were filing your 2006 1040NR EZ, you reported a standard deduction on line 11, rather than state and local tax withheld. Therefore, since you did not itemize your state and local taxes withheld a year ago on your 2006 federal income tax form, it is not taxable. This means that you are not required to show your 1099-G amount as income on line 4 of the federal form. But, when you fill out the 2007 New York State IT 203, you DO report your 1099G income on line 4 of IT 203. However, you are then able to subtract the same amount on line 24 of the form.