Yes. Non-citizens living or working in the United States generally do pay taxes, and the IRS applies the same core taxes—federal income tax, Social Security, and Medicare—regardless of immigration status. What changes from person to person is how much of your income the IRS can reach and which forms you file. That turns on whether the IRS treats you as a resident alien or a non-resident alien for tax purposes, a classification that has nothing to do with your visa type or whether you’re authorized to work.
How the IRS Decides Which Non-Citizens Owe What
Every non-citizen falls into one of two tax categories: resident alien or non-resident alien. The distinction matters because resident aliens are taxed on worldwide income, the same as U.S. citizens, while non-resident aliens are taxed only on U.S.-source income and income effectively connected with a U.S. trade or business.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 7701 Definitions
The Green Card Test
If you hold a Permanent Resident Card at any point during the calendar year, you are a resident alien for tax purposes, full stop. The IRS taxes your worldwide income just as it would a citizen’s.2Internal Revenue Service. Determining an Individuals Tax Residency Status
The Substantial Presence Test
Without a green card, you can still be classified as a resident alien if you spend enough time in the country. You meet the substantial presence test when you are physically present in the U.S. for at least 31 days during the current year and at least 183 days over a three-year window. That calculation counts all days in the current year, one-third of days from the prior year, and one-sixth of days from the year before that.3Internal Revenue Service. Substantial Presence Test
Several visa categories get a pass on counting days. Students on F, J, M, or Q visas generally do not count their U.S. days toward the test. Neither do foreign government officials on A or G visas, teachers and trainees on J or Q visas, or professional athletes in charitable sporting events. If you exclude days under any of these rules, you must file Form 8843 with your return or mail it to the IRS by the return’s due date.3Internal Revenue Service. Substantial Presence Test
The Closer Connection Exception
Even if you technically meet the substantial presence test, you can still be treated as a non-resident if you were present fewer than 183 days in the current year, kept a tax home in a foreign country the entire year, and had a closer connection to that country than to the U.S. You also cannot have applied for or taken steps toward a green card. Claiming the exception requires filing Form 8840 by the return’s due date; miss that deadline and you lose the exception unless you can show clear and convincing evidence you tried to comply.4Internal Revenue Service. Closer Connection Exception to the Substantial Presence Test
Federal Income Tax
Resident aliens pay federal income tax on worldwide income at the same graduated rates as citizens, running from 10% on the lowest bracket to 37% on income above the top threshold for 2026.5Internal Revenue Service. Federal Income Tax Rates and Brackets Employers withhold income tax from each paycheck, so most wage earners never have to write a check directly.
Non-resident aliens pay the same graduated rates on income effectively connected with a U.S. trade or business, such as wages from a U.S. employer. Passive U.S.-source income that isn’t connected to a business—dividends, interest, rents, royalties—is taxed at a flat 30% rate, with no deductions allowed against it. A tax treaty between the U.S. and your home country can reduce that rate, sometimes to zero, depending on the income type.6Internal Revenue Service. Nonresident Aliens
Social Security and Medicare
Most non-citizen workers owe payroll taxes under the Federal Insurance Contributions Act. The employee share is 6.2% for Social Security (on wages up to $184,500 in 2026) plus 1.45% for Medicare, or 7.65% of gross wages. Employers match that, bringing the combined tax on each dollar of wages to 15.3%.7Social Security Administration. Contribution and Benefit Base Resident aliens owe FICA on the same terms as citizens.8Internal Revenue Service. Alien Liability for Social Security and Medicare Taxes of Foreign Teachers, Foreign Researchers and Other Foreign Professionals
There are two important exceptions. Non-resident alien students on F-1, J-1, or M-1 visas who have been in the U.S. for fewer than five calendar years are exempt from Social Security and Medicare taxes on wages, provided the work is authorized by USCIS and connected to the visa’s purpose. That covers on-campus jobs up to 20 hours a week (40 during summer breaks) and authorized practical training. The exemption does not cover F-2, J-2, or M-2 dependents, and it ends the moment the student becomes a resident alien.9Internal Revenue Service. Foreign Student Liability for Social Security and Medicare Taxes By contrast, H-1B workers, H-1A and H-1C nurses, and O-1 or TN professionals owe FICA from day one, resident or not.8Internal Revenue Service. Alien Liability for Social Security and Medicare Taxes of Foreign Teachers, Foreign Researchers and Other Foreign Professionals
The second exception involves totalization agreements. The U.S. has Social Security agreements with 30 countries, including Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, Australia, and South Korea.10Social Security Administration. Country List 3 – International Programs If you’re from one of those countries and your employer temporarily assigns you to the U.S., the agreement generally lets you keep paying into your home country’s system instead of paying twice.
Which Forms to File
Resident aliens file Form 1040, the same return citizens use. Non-resident aliens file Form 1040-NR. On the 1040-NR, effectively connected income goes on the main pages and is taxed at graduated rates; passive U.S.-source income goes on Schedule NEC at the flat 30% rate (or a lower treaty rate).11Internal Revenue Service. Taxation of Nonresident Aliens
Deadlines for non-resident aliens depend on the type of income. If you have wages subject to U.S. withholding or a U.S. office or place of business, your return is due April 15. Otherwise, you have until June 15. Either way, Form 4868 buys an automatic extension if filed by the original due date.11Internal Revenue Service. Taxation of Nonresident Aliens
Non-resident aliens cannot claim the standard deduction. You’re limited to itemized deductions tied to your effectively connected income, such as state and local income taxes and charitable contributions to U.S. nonprofits. Students and business apprentices from India get a narrow exception under Article 21 of the U.S.-India income tax treaty.12Internal Revenue Service. Nonresident – Figuring Your Tax
If You Can’t Get a Social Security Number: The ITIN
A non-citizen who has a federal tax filing obligation but can’t get a Social Security number needs an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number. The ITIN is a nine-digit number used only for tax purposes. It does not authorize work and does not affect immigration status.
You apply on Form W-7, which asks for your legal name as it will appear on your return, mailing address, country of citizenship, and date of birth, along with your reason for applying.13Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form W-7 Most first-time applicants must bundle the W-7 with a federal tax return and mail both to the IRS ITIN Operation in Austin, Texas.14Internal Revenue Service. Where to File Forms Beginning With the Letter W
A valid passport is the only single document the IRS accepts, because it proves both identity and foreign status. Without a passport, you’ll need at least two documents from the IRS-approved list, such as a national ID card, foreign birth certificate, or foreign voter registration card. Originals or certified copies from the issuing agency only.13Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form W-7 If mailing your passport to the IRS feels risky, a Certified Acceptance Agent can review your originals in person and forward a certificate of accuracy so you keep the document.15Internal Revenue Service. ITIN Acceptance Agents
Allow at least seven weeks for processing, or nine to eleven weeks during peak filing season (January 15 to April 30) or if you file from overseas.16Internal Revenue Service. Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) An ITIN that hasn’t appeared on a return in three consecutive tax years expires on December 31 of the third year and must be renewed on a new Form W-7 before you file again.17Internal Revenue Service. How to Renew an ITIN
Credits: What Non-Citizens Can and Can’t Claim
Paying taxes and claiming tax breaks are two different questions. Access to credits depends on your residency status and, crucially, whether you have a Social Security number or an ITIN.
The Earned Income Tax Credit requires a valid Social Security number for you, your spouse if filing jointly, and any qualifying child, issued before the return’s due date. An ITIN doesn’t satisfy the requirement.18Internal Revenue Service. Who Qualifies for the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) The Child Tax Credit and Additional Child Tax Credit follow the same rule: each qualifying child needs a valid SSN.19Internal Revenue Service. Child Tax Credit
There is a partial fallback. The Credit for Other Dependents, worth up to $500 per qualifying dependent, accepts an ITIN or ATIN for the dependent. So a child with an ITIN instead of an SSN may still trigger this smaller credit.19Internal Revenue Service. Child Tax Credit Non-resident aliens face further limits: no earned income credit, no credit for the elderly or disabled, and no education credits unless they elect to be taxed as a resident jointly with a citizen or resident spouse.
Foreign Accounts: A Trap for New Residents
Once you’re a resident alien, the IRS treats your accounts abroad the same as a citizen’s. Two separate reporting rules apply. The Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR, FinCEN Form 114) is required if the combined value of your foreign financial accounts exceeds $10,000 at any point during the calendar year, filed electronically through the BSA E-Filing System. Non-willful violations can carry penalties up to $10,000 per account; willful violations can reach the greater of $100,000 or 50% of the account balance.20Internal Revenue Service. Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR)21Internal Revenue Service. Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR)
Form 8938, the FATCA report, attaches to your tax return and kicks in at higher thresholds: $50,000 on the last day of the year or $75,000 at any time during the year for an unmarried U.S. resident, doubled for a joint return.22Internal Revenue Service. Do I Need to File Form 8938, Statement of Specified Foreign Financial Assets Both rules can apply to the same accounts in the same year. New resident aliens routinely miss this because they’ve held the accounts back home for years and don’t realize crossing into resident status made those accounts reportable.
Why Filing Still Matters If You Owe Nothing
Tax filing history shows up in immigration proceedings. USCIS looks at good moral character over the five years preceding a naturalization application and through the Oath of Allegiance, and consistent tax filing and payment are part of that assessment.23U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Chapter 9 – Good Moral Character Missing returns, underreported income, or unpaid back taxes can weigh against an application. The same concern reaches adjustment of status and some visa renewals. Filing every required return, even a zero return, builds a clean record; fixing a gap before you submit an immigration application is far easier than explaining it later to an officer.