Federal is only half the question. States have their own tax, their own forms, and their own deadline, and here is the part that surprises students: your state answer can be different from your federal answer. Being a nonresident for federal tax does not automatically make you a nonresident for a state. Each state decides with its own test.
Run this check once for every state you lived in or earned money in during the year. If you moved states mid-year (very common after graduation, or for a summer internship in another state), you may owe a part-year return in two states.
Simplified checker for guidance only, using reference filing thresholds for tax year 2025. State rules and thresholds change, and a few cases (keeping a year-round apartment in New York, California's worldwide income threshold tables) need the full interview. The full My1040NR service runs this same logic state by state, prepares the state forms into the same PDF, and adds a separate state mailing slip, because the state return goes in its own envelope to the state, never to the IRS.
| State | When a student files |
|---|---|
| Texas and the no income tax states | Never for income tax. These states have no individual income tax: AK, FL, NV, NH, SD, TN, TX, WA, WY. |
| Massachusetts | Nonresidents file Form 1-NR/PY if Massachusetts income is over $8,000. Below that, file anyway if tax was withheld and you want it back. |
| New York | Nonresidents file Form IT-203 if New York income is over the standard deduction for your status ($8,000 if single), or to get withheld tax back. Keeping a year-round apartment plus more than 183 days in New York can make you a resident for state tax even as a federal nonresident. |
| Illinois | File Form IL-1040 if your Illinois income is over the exemption allowance ($2,850 per person for 2025), or to recover withholding. |
| California | Nonresidents and part-year residents file Form 540NR when income passes the FTB threshold tables, which look at your worldwide income, not just California income. California also does not follow most federal tax treaties, so treaty-free federal income can still be taxed by California. |
| Any state | If the state withheld tax from your pay, filing is how you settle it, and often how you get money back. If you earned nothing in a state and only lived there as a student, you normally file nothing with that state. Form 8843 is federal only, states have no version of it. |
Disclaimer, terms and privacy | Not tax advice. Not affiliated with the IRS.