What Form 8843 is for
Form 8843 is a statement, not a tax calculation. You use it to tell the IRS why some of your days in the United States should not count toward the substantial presence test. That test decides whether you are treated as a U.S. resident for 2025. Exclude enough days and you stay outside it.
It is for alien individuals only. That covers teachers and trainees on a J or Q visa, students on an F, J, M or Q visa, professional athletes here to compete in a charitable sports event, and anyone who could not leave the country because of a medical condition or medical problem that started while they were here.
Who has to file Form 8843?
File Form 8843 if you are an alien individual and you want to explain why you can exclude days of presence in the United States from the substantial presence test. Two reasons work. You were an exempt individual, or you were unable to leave the United States because of a medical condition or medical problem. Foreign government-related individuals are outside this group. If you are present under any A or G class visa other than A-3 or G-5, you are not required to file.
- A teacher or trainee temporarily here under a J or Q visa, other than as a student
- A student temporarily here under an F, J, M or Q visa
- A professional athlete temporarily here to compete in a charitable sports event
- An A-3 or G-5 visa holder must count every day of presence
What is the substantial presence test?
The test decides whether you count as a U.S. resident for 2025. You meet it if you were physically present in the United States for at least 31 days during 2025, and at least 183 days over the period 2025, 2024 and 2023. For the 183-day figure, every 2025 day counts in full, each 2024 day counts as 1/3 and each 2023 day counts as 1/6. Form 8843 is where you subtract the days that do not count.
- Days you regularly commuted to work from a residence in Canada or Mexico
- Days under 24 hours while traveling between two places outside the United States
- Days as a regular crew member of a foreign vessel in international transport
- Days you could not leave because of a medical condition that arose here
- Days under a NATO visa as a member of a force or civilian component
- Days you were an exempt individual
When and where do you file Form 8843?
The form usually travels with your return. If you are filing a 2025 Form 1040-NR, attach Form 8843 to it and mail the return by the due date, including extensions, to the address shown in your tax return instructions.
If you do not have to file a 2025 tax return, mail Form 8843 on its own to the Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service Center, Austin, TX 73301-0215. The timing is the same, the due date for filing Form 1040-NR including extensions. When you send the form by itself, fill in your address in your country of residence and your U.S. address, and sign it at the bottom.
Which parts do you fill out?
Everyone completes Part I. After that, use the part that fits your situation. Teachers and trainees complete Part II. Students complete Part III. Professional athletes complete Part IV. If a medical condition kept you here, complete lines 17a through 17c of Part V and have your physician or other medical official complete line 18. A Q visa narrows the work. Teachers and trainees do Part I and only lines 6 through 8, students do Part I and only lines 10 through 14.
If you attach Form 8843 to Form 1040-NR and you gave the same information on Schedule OI (Form 1040-NR), you can skip lines 1a through 4a. Enter "Information provided on Form 1040-NR" on line 1a, then complete line 4b and the rest of the form. Filing Form 8843 separately means completing every entry on it.
Limits on excluding days
Your earlier years matter. You cannot exclude 2025 days as a teacher or trainee if you were exempt as a teacher, trainee or student for any part of 2 of the 6 prior calendar years, 2019 through 2024, unless you meet the exception. The exception needs all four of these: you were exempt for 3 or fewer of those 6 years, a foreign employer paid all your 2025 compensation, you were here as a teacher or trainee in any of the 6 prior years, and a foreign employer paid all your compensation in each of those years.
Students face a different cutoff. If you were exempt as a teacher, trainee or student for any part of more than 5 calendar years, you cannot exclude 2025 days as a student unless you establish that you do not intend to reside permanently in the United States. Days tied to a medical condition also fall away in three situations, listed below.
- You entered or returned to the United States for medical treatment
- The condition existed before you arrived and you knew about it
- You were able to leave later but stayed past a reasonable period for making arrangements
What happens if you file late?
No dollar penalty is stated. The cost shows up elsewhere. If you do not file Form 8843 on time, you may not exclude the days you were present as a professional athlete or because of a medical condition or medical problem that arose while you were in the United States. Those days then count, and counting them could leave you treated as a U.S. resident under the substantial presence test. You will not be penalized if you can show by clear and convincing evidence that you took reasonable actions to become aware of the filing requirements and significant steps to comply with them.
Form 8843 line by line
| Line | What goes there |
|---|---|
| 1a | Your nonimmigrant visa type, such as F-1, J-1 or H1-B, and the date of your most recent entry to the United States. |
| 1b | Your current nonimmigrant status as of the last day of the tax year. If it changed while you were here, add the date of change and your previous status. |
| 4a | The actual number of days you were physically present in the United States during 2025, 2024 and 2023. |
| 4b | The number of days in 2025 you claim you can exclude for purposes of the substantial presence test. |
| 5 | Teachers: name, address and telephone number of the academic institution where you taught in 2025. |
| 6 | Trainees: name, address and phone of the program director. With a Q visa, give the cultural exchange program director. |
| 7 | The type of J or Q visa you held in 2019 through 2024. If it changed, attach a statement with the new type and the date you got it. |
| 8 | Yes or no: were you exempt as a teacher, trainee or student for any part of 2 of the preceding 6 calendar years, 2019 through 2024? |
| 9 | Students: name, address and telephone number of the academic institution you attended during 2025. |
| 11 | The type of F, J, M or Q visa you held in 2019 through 2024. If it changed, attach a statement with the new type and the date. |
| 12 | Yes or no: were you exempt as a teacher, trainee or student for any part of more than 5 calendar years? Yes means you attach a statement. |
| 13 | Yes or no: during 2025 did you apply, take steps to apply, or have a pending application for lawful permanent resident status? Explain on line 14. |
| Part IV | Athletes: the charitable sports events and dates, plus the charities and their EINs, with a statement verifying all net proceeds went to them. |
| Part V | Lines 17a to 17c: the medical condition, the date you meant to leave and the date you left. Line 18 is the physician's statement. |
Source: IRS, Form 8843 (Rev. 2025). This page explains the form in plain English. It is not tax advice.