i am not sure if this is the correct forum to post this…mods plz do whatever is appropriate w/ the thread…
i had a question abt filing tax refunds in the usa…
the prob is that for three yrs i haven’t filed for my tax refunds… don’t ask me why, its coz i’m retarded…
but now before leaving for pakistan i’m hoping, if possible, to file my tax refunds as i should be getting something around 2000-3000 dollars back from the IRS for the three yrs…since i used to pay about a thousand dollars of taxes each yr on my financial aid/ scholarship from my college…which i’ve heard from other pakistani students on schoalrship that we r supposed to be getting back…there’s some more taxes that i should be getting back too from my off and on part time job earnings but that’s not that significant…
i’m not sure if at all it is possible to get the money back now…if it isnt possible then it isnt possible and thats OK…but if it is possible then i’m going to try ang get the refund…i mean i think i should atleast try…
i have all the old forms and all my W-2s and all other forms 1024S or whatever they r called for all the three yrs lying with me…i will keep my bank A/C in the usa so i’ll just give that account information on the tax forms so the refund can be transferred directly to my bank…plus my friends will be around in the us so i can always give their addresses if there is some need for a physical mailing address…
i was wondering though, what the best way is to go about doing the taxes now…should i just fill in the forms myself and send them in… it seems to be too many complicated forms to fill out but i think inshallah its doable…or should i contact a tax professional or someone like that? are these professionals going to be aware of tax exemption treaties that are specifically for pakistani citizens?
if its the previous case then should i wait for my tax forms for this current year to come and file them all together from pakistan? its a matter of filling the forms and sending them in to IRS…
has anyone else ever filed taxe refunds from pakistan or knows how/if that works?
Step 1) Call IRS and ask them what the best course is
Step 2) If you intend to come back to US, filing returns is advisable; in which case get copies of Taxcut or something for the years you need - that should take care of all your forms
TomSawyer, I do plan to apply for masters so yes I might be back in the US. Technically though, why should the refunds matter? I mean its not like I owe money and I am not paying that, refunds is money that I’m supposed to be getting back…so why should it make a difference?
IRS never picks up the phone, the hold is SO long! And then whoever picks up is so confused and doesn’t know what to tell me and then keeps transferring its hecka frustrating
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*Originally posted by Faisal: *
Heard of H&R Block?
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I just googled and saw what they are.
Are they going to be aware of tax exemption treaties for Pakistan when they fill out my forms?
Don't they charge ridiculous amounts like 100 per hour or something? Is it worth spending money on that or should I just do the forms myself? I mean I have all the paperwork its just a matter of my sitting down and filling the forms. Is their doing it going to make it better somehow or going to ensure that I do get the refund back?
Irem if you are coming back its not a matter of whether you paid taxes or not but the INS (not the IRS) takes a dim view of people who come here and dont follow the rules of the land, one of them been filing taxes. Now since you have already done the taxes you may want to speak with H&R block professionals (they do taxes and this would be their low season so probably cheaper - check their web site) or you can read up all the information and do it yourself. The charge anywhere from 50 for a really cheap return to 2-300 for complex ones and in most cases they have the software that would check for treaties as well. They also have online software that lets you do the forms but then you have you pay if you want to print or send them out.
Also talk to the Stanford. international students office and see if they have tax professionals from the accounting department that may be able to help you out. Most of the major schools generally have them.
You may want to try some software as well. Some are free online till you file them and that gives you a good idea of what you are going to get back so you know how to go about it. You can also go to barnes and nobles and look for a E&Y tax book and that will give you specific details about what to do with your situation and how to go about it. And you dont have to buy cause you read it right there.
No Irem - IRS has been pretty responsive in my quests. I have called them twice in past two years and in both occasions the wait wasn't bad at all. (INS is a different story - when I had to deal with them). In fact I have also emailed them a query through their website, on a weekend and got fully exhaustive and response by Monday evening.
Whether tax is due or refund is due, you are expected to file a tax return. Otherwise they could deny visa. Risk of that is small but why do you want to take that chance?
Why the heck do you need H&R or any such service if yours is a st fwd student on scholarship / assistance return? Clear dumbing down of America. But go rt ahead - some accountant in Delhi will make a few bucks
Hmmm...thanks for the post hmcq. The problem is that one of the 1024-S forms [the forms that the univ issues to the students] has wrong information on it. It has my country of birth and country of citizenship reversed. That is why I didn't file the forms in time that year as I was filling them out the night before they were due and then I realised there was an error on that form so I needed to go to the office and ask them to reissue the form with the correct information before I could send in all form for the tax return that yr.
I'm right now headed to that office in my uni and am going to ask them how soon they can issue the correct 1024-S for that year.
Its correct for the other 2 years though.
If they can't issue that form correctly in time, then I think I'll just do the other two years and forget about that yr for now and wait for them to mail the correct one to me whenever they can and then file for this current year and that year together maybe.
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*Originally posted by TomSawyer: *
No Irem - IRS has been pretty responsive in my quests. I have called them twice in past two years and in both occasions the wait wasn't bad at all. (INS is a different story - when I had to deal with them). In fact I have also emailed them a query through their website, on a weekend and got fully exhaustive and response by Monday evening.
Whether tax is due or refund is due, you are expected to file a tax return. Otherwise they could deny visa. Risk of that is small but why do you want to take that chance?
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Hmmm thanks TomSawyer. I'll try again today and see what happens.
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*Originally posted by TomSawyer: *
Why the heck do you need H&R or any such service if yours is a st fwd student on scholarship / assistance return? Clear dumbing down of America. But go rt ahead - some accountant in Delhi will make a few bucks
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Yup my situation is not that complicated plus my friends are also around to help. I'll give it a shot myself, and if its complicated I'll check with H&R, I think.
Are you guys sure its going to affect getting a visa in the future?
I honestly don’t want to deal with this I couldnt care less about that money, I think I can live without it. I am just trying to pack up and leave the country as soon as I can and this issue is the only thing delaying everything. Once I get to Pakistan I have to take GRE’s and do my grad school applications too, and the longer I stay here the less time I will have in Pakistan to do that so I just want to forget about the taxe refunds and leave
Are they going to be aware of tax exemption treaties for Pakistan when they fill out my forms?
Don't they charge ridiculous amounts like 100 per hour or something? Is it worth spending money on that or should I just do the forms myself? I mean I have all the paperwork its just a matter of my sitting down and filling the forms. Is their doing it going to make it better somehow or going to ensure that I do get the refund back?
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Why would tax exemption treaties for Pakistan matter? Unless ofcourse, you have a lot of income all over the world, on which you don't want to pay taxes in US. As long as the source of income is in US and you are paying taxes in the US and you are not paying taxes in Pakistan, it is all US.
You can probably do your own taxes, for the most part, but if you are confused, and do not find IRS responsive enough, you can ask H&R block. Their typical rates are pretty reasonable.. plus since its off-season, as hmcq mentioend, you won't likely be ripped off, anyway.
By the way, paying your taxes is one thing (esp. if it is deducted at source), but filing the tax return is another. In which case, you either did not file your tax returns timely (a kinda serious offence) or if you did, you need to file amended returns now for each of the years separately, to claim the refunds. Thats all there is to it, pretty much.
I am not sure what the refund status would be either, considering it has been three years and the interest accrued might nullify the refund.
THis reminds me of the thread about “Americans” and we were wondering how come students come here take advantage of our educational system and at every turn speak ill of the country. Now we find out, they don;t pay taxes either.
So is it a serious offence I didn’t file my tax REFUND forms I know of some other people too who did their refunds late, as far as I know it wasn’t a big deal according to them, but pata naheen.
All the taxes that needed to be paid were deducted directly from my scholarship so its not like I didn’t pay the taxes that needed to be paid. I paid all taxes. I am supposed to be getting the refunds now. I just didn’t file the forms to get those REFUNDS.
I thought tax exemption treaty matterred, and is the reason we are getting the taxes refunded in the first place, thats what one of the Pakistani guys who is also on scholarship told me
I’ll just get the forms, I have the old forms, most of them, lying with me, and my friends also have some old forms with them. I have to wait for one 1024-S that is wrong for one yr [has my country of birth and citizenship reversed], dont know how soon my uni is going to re-issue it w/ correct info…the form for the other two yrs is correct…
I’m thinking for now that I’ll just fill them up myself and if I’m stuck I’ll ask my friends… and then just send them in and get this issue over with, and aagay Allah Maalik…
Errr.... well, check with your accounting office. Seems like you failed to file the tax returns.
Just FYI.. there is no such thing as a Tax REFUND form. You file your tax RETURN, in which you show your income, calculate how much tax is due and how much you already paid. This tells you whether you will be getting a refund or you need to pay some more. You need to file this every year on April 15th (for the income till December 31 of the previous year). There is a two month automatic extension, plus you can apply for more extention. Seems like you did none. Just pray that you don't have any more tax to pay compared to what is already deducted, cz you can file late, but if you pay late (2-3 years late now), they charge interest on that, plus penalties.
I am not sure about the student status and how you guys go around not filing your tax returns, so I guess your best bet is to talk to the folks in your school or to get advise from a tax preparation service, like H&R Block.
I think you misunderstood what I said…If you care, read my post again to understand what I’m trying to say
Yup…
Ummm I know that I will be getting refunds. I got about 900 dollars refund my first year and I know from other students in a similar situation as me that we are supposed to get that tax refunded.
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*Originally posted by Faisal: *
Errr.... well, check with your accounting office. Seems like you failed to file the tax returns.
Just FYI.. there is no such thing as a Tax REFUND form. You file your tax RETURN, in which you show your income, calculate how much tax is due and how much you already paid. This tell you whether you will be getting a refund or you need to pay some more.
I am not sure about the student status and how you guys go around not filing your tax returns, so I guess your best bet is to talk to the folks in your school or to get advise from a tax preparation service, like H&R Block.
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Hmmm thanks Faisal bhai k I'll check with them and see what they say...
But where the hell you came up with 100K savings and a tax refund?. If anything, those savings will reduce your tax refund.
irem, go to your Intrnational Students Advisor and talk to him/her asap. Yahan per tum nay saari movies aur fashions ka tau pooch lia laikin kabhi tax ka question nahee poocha.
don’t ask me why, its coz i’m retarded…
I couldnt care less about that money, I think I can live without it. I am just trying to pack up and leave the country as soon as I can and this issue is the only thing delaying everything. Once I get to Pakistan I have to take GRE’s and do my grad school applications too, and the longer I stay here the less time I will have in Pakistan to do that so I just want to forget about the taxe refunds and leave 
