A nonresident alien W-4 is not a separate IRS form. It’s the standard Form W-4 (Employee’s Withholding Certificate) completed with three modifications the IRS requires of workers who don’t qualify as U.S. tax residents: check “Single” or “Married filing separately” regardless of your actual marital status, write “Nonresident Alien” or “NRA” in the space below Step 4(c), and leave Step 3 (dependents) blank unless you fall into a narrow list of exceptions. These entries flag your file in payroll so your employer withholds more federal income tax each pay period, compensating for the fact that nonresident aliens generally can’t claim the standard deduction.1Internal Revenue Service. Notice 1392 – Supplemental Form W-4 Instructions for Nonresident Aliens
First, Confirm You’re Actually a Nonresident Alien
The IRS uses two tests. Fail both and you’re a nonresident alien for tax purposes; pass either and you file a normal W-4.
The Green Card Test is the simple one. If you held a lawful permanent resident card (Form I-551) at any point during the calendar year, you’re a tax resident, no matter how few days you spent in the country.2Internal Revenue Service. U.S. Tax Residency – Green Card Test
The Substantial Presence Test counts days. You meet it if you were physically in the U.S. for at least 31 days in the current year and at least 183 days across a three-year lookback, using a weighted formula: each current-year day counts fully, each prior-year day as one-third, and each day two years back as one-sixth.3Internal Revenue Service. Substantial Presence Test So 120 days a year for three years works out to 120 + 40 + 20 = 180, just under the threshold.
Certain visa categories can exclude days from this count. Foreign government personnel on A or G visas, teachers and trainees on J or Q visas, and students on F, J, M, or Q visas are “exempt individuals” for day-counting purposes. Students generally keep this status for up to five calendar years; teachers and trainees for roughly two.4Internal Revenue Service. Foreign Student Liability for Social Security and Medicare Taxes After that window, your days start counting toward the 183-day threshold, and you’ll likely become a resident for tax purposes.
How to Fill Out the W-4 as a Nonresident Alien
Before you start, you need a Social Security Number or an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number. If you’re not eligible for an SSN, file Form W-7 to get an ITIN. Processing takes about seven weeks, or nine to eleven weeks during tax season (January 15 through April 30) or if you apply from overseas.5Internal Revenue Service. How to Apply for an ITIN
The specific instructions live in IRS Notice 1392, which is worth downloading before you complete the form.6Internal Revenue Service. About Notice 1392, Supplemental Form W-4 Instructions for Nonresident Aliens Three entries differ from a resident’s W-4:
Step 1(c), filing status. Check “Single” or “Married filing separately,” whatever your real marital status. Nonresident aliens cannot select “Married filing jointly” or “Head of household.”1Internal Revenue Service. Notice 1392 – Supplemental Form W-4 Instructions for Nonresident Aliens
Below Step 4(c), the NRA notation. Write “Nonresident Alien” or “NRA” in the space just under the Step 4(c) entry line. This is the signal that tells payroll to apply the special withholding rules. Skip it and your employer will withhold at the standard resident rate, which is under-withholding for you.1Internal Revenue Service. Notice 1392 – Supplemental Form W-4 Instructions for Nonresident Aliens
Step 3, dependents. Leave it blank. The only nonresident aliens who can claim dependents on a U.S. return are residents of Canada, Mexico, or South Korea, and students or business apprentices from India.7Internal Revenue Service. Nonresident Aliens – Dependents If you’re not in one of those groups, this section doesn’t apply to you.
Step 2, which handles multiple jobs and working-spouse adjustments, should generally be left alone as well. Most nonresident aliens have limited circumstances where filling it in is appropriate; Publication 519 covers the uncommon cases.8Internal Revenue Service. About Publication 519, U.S. Tax Guide for Aliens
Sign, date, and hand the form to your employer’s payroll or HR department. They keep it on file; nothing goes to the IRS.
When You Need Form 8233 Instead
If your country has an income tax treaty with the U.S. and you want to claim a withholding exemption on your wages, you need Form 8233 rather than (or in addition to) Form W-4. The W-4 handles graduated withholding. Form 8233 tells your employer to reduce or eliminate withholding on treaty-exempt compensation.9Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 8233
This matters most for international students and scholars with fellowship or scholarship income, and for workers whose treaty exempts the first portion of their wages. If you earn both treaty-exempt income and non-exempt wages from the same employer, the exempt part goes on Form 8233 and the rest is handled by your W-4 with the NRA entries.9Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 8233 You need an SSN or ITIN to claim treaty benefits.10Internal Revenue Service. Claiming Tax Treaty Benefits
Treaty terms vary. Some exempt wages entirely if you spent fewer than 183 days in the U.S. during the year and your employer is foreign-based. Others cap the exempt amount at a dollar threshold. Publication 901 lists the specifics for each country.11Internal Revenue Service. Publication 901, U.S. Tax Treaties
What Your Employer Does With the Form
When payroll sees the “NRA” notation, they consult IRS Publication 15-T. The mechanism is straightforward: before running your wages through the standard withholding tables, the employer adds a fixed dollar amount to your taxable wages for the pay period. That inflates the figure the withholding calculation uses, and more tax comes out.12Internal Revenue Service. Publication 15-T (2026)
For 2026, a biweekly-paid employee who filed a pre-2020 W-4 gets an extra $453.80 added to each pay period’s wages, or $11,800 annualized.12Internal Revenue Service. Publication 15-T (2026) The reason is that nonresident aliens generally can’t claim the standard deduction, which for a single filer in 2026 is $16,100.13Internal Revenue Service. IRS Releases Tax Inflation Adjustments for Tax Year 2026 Resident employees get that deduction baked into the tables, so the IRS closes the gap for nonresident aliens by pushing the computed wage figure up.14Internal Revenue Service. Nonresident – Figuring Your Tax
Your pay stub should show noticeably higher federal withholding than a resident coworker earning the same salary. If it doesn’t after a pay cycle or two, follow up with payroll. An employer who misses the NRA notation is under-withholding, and you’ll owe the difference at filing time.
The India Carve-Out
Students and business apprentices from India can claim the full U.S. standard deduction under Article 21 of the U.S.-India income tax treaty.14Internal Revenue Service. Nonresident – Figuring Your Tax They’re also the only international students who can take the standard deduction instead of itemizing on Form 1040-NR.15Internal Revenue Service. Tax Treaties If that’s you, the extra NRA withholding will likely produce a larger refund at filing time, since your actual tax liability is lower than what the withholding tables assume. Some Indian students add a note in Step 4(c) requesting reduced additional withholding to avoid over-withholding all year, but getting the number right takes careful math.
When Your Status Changes, Redo the Form
Many nonresident aliens eventually become tax residents, either by getting a green card or by accumulating enough days to pass the Substantial Presence Test. When that happens, submit a new, standard W-4 to your employer without the NRA modifications. Your employer must begin using the updated withholding no later than the first payroll period ending on or after the 30th day from receiving the replacement form.16Internal Revenue Service. Withholding Certificate and Exemption for Nonresident Alien Employees
If the switch happens mid-year, you have what the IRS calls a dual-status tax year. The nonresident portion follows NRA withholding and taxes U.S.-source income only; the resident portion uses standard withholding and covers worldwide income.17Internal Revenue Service. Publication 519 (2025), U.S. Tax Guide for Aliens Dual-status returns get complicated, and it’s worth speaking with a tax professional who handles international filings in the year your status changes.
State Withholding Is Separate
The NRA modifications only affect federal income tax. If you work in a state with an income tax, that state may require its own withholding form with its own rules for nonresident aliens. Some states piggyback on the federal W-4; others have entirely independent forms. Ask payroll what your state requires, because under-withholding at the state level costs you the same way it does federally.