How Sprintax works

• Sprintax will ask you a series of questions to assess your individual tax situation.
• Sprintax will determine whether you are considered a resident or nonresident for tax purposes
• Sprintax will determine whether you need to file a state tax return in addition to your federal tax return. If you do, Sprintax will generate the state tax return for you. Note: Sprintax will charge you a small fee to generate State tax return forms.
• After you’ve entered all required information, you will reach a “Finished” page, which summarizes your “order.” After you enter the Texas A&M Access Code, your “order” will update to reflect that the federal tax return and forms are FREE.
• If Sprintax prepared a state tax return for you, you will be assessed a fee that must be paid at your own expense online. You may choose not to use this service Sprintax provides, but you will still be responsible, if you are required to file a state tax return
• Once complete, Sprintax will generate your individualized tax return documents.
• Throughout the process of using Sprintax, all information you enter can be saved and edited at a later date. If you are unsure about a response, enter your best guess or leave it blank and then return to SPRINTAX later to complete it. Remember, the final tax forms are based on the information you enter. If you make any changes, be sure to generate updated forms.
• If you need to modify or reprint your tax return, simply login to SPRINTAX using the Password and UserID you selected at the time you created your SPRINTAX User Account. Do not create a new account. 

Sprintax now provides the option for some international students and scholars to e-file their federal tax return!

• To find out if you are eligible to e-file your federal tax return, you can either review the eligibility criteria on the Sprintax blog or you can wait until you use Sprintax. Sprintax will advise you at the end of the online questionnaire regarding whether you can e-file or you will need to file by mail.
• If you are not eligible to e-file, you will need to print the documents generated by Sprintax, sign them where required, add the supporting documentation listed in the instructional sheet, and then MAKE A COPY FOR YOUR RECORDS. Having a copy for your records is extremely important! After making a copy for your records, mail the packet to the IRS. DO NOT mail the instructions page of the PDF - this is for you only.

• Review the ISSS Income Tax Basics Webpage
• Compile all immigration documents for you and any dependents (passport, visa, I-94, I-20s/DS-2019s, etc.).
• Confirm all dates on which you entered and departed from the U.S. Referring to your travel documents (i.e. flight records) may be helpful!
• Compile all tax-related documents. If you did not have any income during the tax year (January 1 – December 31), then you may not have any tax-related documents. If you did have income, make sure you have received all related tax statements (i.e. W-2, 1042-S, 1099, etc.). Visit the ISSS Income Tax Basics webpage for additional guidance.
• If Sprintax determines that you are due a refund of taxes you already paid during the tax year, you will have the option to have this refund sent to you as a check, you can set it up to be directly deposited into your bank account, or you can apply the refund to next year’s tax return. If you choose direct deposit, you will need to know your bank account number and routing number. If you have a checking account, both of these numbers can be found on one of your checks.

ISSS strongly encourages all international students and scholars to register for one of the tax information webinars hosted by Sprintax. These are free and will cover everything you need to know about nonresident taxes. such as who must file, tax residency, FICA, state returns, implications of misfilings as well as how to use Sprintax to prepare a compliant tax return. 

When Sprintax Nonresident Tax Webinars are available, they will be published on the ISSS Calendar. 

In addition to assisting students with federal tax filing, Sprintax now offers a new product called Sprintax Forms. This software helps to assist international students who have secured off-campus employment (through CPT or OPT, for example) with generating their pre-employment tax documents as they begin their employment. Sprintax Forms software can determine residency for tax purposes, FICA exemption, and tax treaty eligibility, as well generate the pre-employment tax forms that students may need during their onboarding process, such as the W-4, the 8233 tax treaty document, and the W8-BEN to certify foreign status. This product may be especially helpful for international students who will be working for an employer who hasn’t hired many international students in the past and is not sure which forms are required. Once the forms have been generated, all the student needs to do is sign them and provide them to their employer.

Sprintax Forms is not included with the ISSS Access Code, but can be purchased by the student if interested. There is a free tax residency determination and FICA exemption calculation before any charges, which is also useful to know. For assistance on the Sprintax Forms process, you can access the Sprintax Forms OPT/CPT Guide which will provide you with information on the pre-employment tax forms for OPT/CPT as well as a walkthrough of the SprintaxTDS Personal process. You can also watch a webinar recording overview to learn more about tax while on OPT/CPT.

All prices listed are estimates and are ultimately determined by Sprintax. Prices subject to change. Please contact Sprintax directly for final pricing.  

• After you enter all required information into Sprintax, it will generate a total cost for your services.
• After you type in the access code that ISSS provided to you, the cost for your federal tax forms for the current tax year along with Form 8843 for you and any dependents will be waived. If you are only filing your current federal tax forms and have requested no further services from Sprintax, the software will be free for you to use. You will not see the $0 until you enter the current year access code!
• If you plan to use Sprintax for any of the following additional services, there will be an associated charge at your own expense:
  • State Tax Return (per state): $44.95
  • Amended returns: $79.95
  • FICA (Social Security / Medicare) Return: $15.95
    • Please note that before you use Sprintax to request a refund of your FICA taxes, you must request the refund from your payroll department and you must receive a refusal to refund the FICA taxes in writing.
  • ITIN Application: $15.95
  • Post-Filing Support Service: $19.95 each or combined Full Post Filing Service (Fed and state)  $24.95
  • Sprintax Forms (pre-employment tax documents): $19.95

Sprintax Online Chat System
If you have a question at any time while you are using Sprintax, take advantage of their 24/7 live chat function for online assistance with a tax professional.
 
Email Sprintax
You may also email Sprintax directly at hello@sprintax.com.
 
Sprintax also has additional online resources:

• Sprintax videos on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/c/SprintaxUSA
• Sprintax blog https://blog.sprintax.com/
• Sprintax FAQs https://taxprep.sprintax.com/faq.html

Contact Sprintax directly if you need an alternative means of accessing the Sprintax product. In addition, the IRS has information about tax filing for people with disabilities at https://www.irs.gov/individuals/more-information-for-people-with-disabilities.