Savings and Investments
(For Tax Year 2007)
If you have a checking or savings account which earns
interest, a certificate of deposit (CD) or other cash investments, you
receive each January a form from your bank or investment institution called
a 1099 INT or 1099 DIV. This form shows the interest or dividends you earned
on your savings or investments for the previous calendar year. This
information is provided to you for tax purposes, and is also reported to
the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) by your bank or investment institution.
It is important to save these interest statements, because in SOME instances,
you may be required to report the interest or dividend income on your income
tax forms.
International students who have been continuously in F-1 or J-1 status for
five years or less (entered the U.S as F-1 or J-1 2003 or later) generally
file income tax forms as non-residents, and are usually not required to report
interest as earnings, although dividend income MUST be reported. International
students who have been continuously in F-1 or J-1 status for MORE than five
years (entered the U.S. as F-1 or J-1 2002 or earlier) generally file income
tax forms as residents for tax purposes, and are taxed on all world-wide
income, including interest. However, residents for tax purposes also
have greater benefits under the tax laws, such as larger income deductions,
deductions for dependents, etc.
International Student and Scholar Services staff are neither qualified nor permitted to give individual tax advice. Tax information is available only at tax seminars.