2/24/23 Update: We have special instructions about how to report taxable scholarship and fellowship information - see the bottom section for more details.
Step 2: Prepare Your Return - Residents
NOTE: Please scroll down to find the TaxSlayer software link.
Make sure you use this link to create your TaxSlayer account!
If you go straight to the TaxSlayer website you may be asked to pay for your return. You’ll have to come back here and start all over again to get your return prepared for free.
Here’s where you turn all of that preparation into action!
TaxSlayer has good built-in guide for preparing a tax return for U.S. tax residents. We didn’t see much value in duplicating their efforts, so we’ve streamlined the tax return preparation process / guide support that we are providing for residents.
As we find any areas where the TaxSlayer guide is not doing a great job of helping you prepare your return, we’ll create special circumstances guides for those.
General Tax Prepration Process for Residents:
Confirm your federal tax residency status for 2022
Determine if you need to file a tax return
Use our basic resident guide to get into TaxSlayer and get started with the TaxSlayer built-in guide
This guide also has state guidance
Prepare your return using the TaxSlayer guide
Update your return with any special circumstances scenarios
NOTE: We are still updating a few guides for tax year 2022.
The resident basic scenario guide is essentially complete. We still need to update the state section for California and Maryland tax returns, but all other sections are done. The special circumstances guides for MN property tax refunds and working in multiple states are not yet updated. Old guides will show a -2021 in their titles, while current year guides will not have a year listed.
Prepare Your Return - Residents
3 - Use our basic resident guide to get started in TaxSlayer
This guide will get you into TaxSlayer, and get you started with their built-in guide. This also walks through basic state returns, so if you lived and worked in just one state, this is the only guide you should need to prepare your return.
There are still a few situations where we think some extra help with TaxSlayer is needed, and we have special circumstances guides for those. These don’t apply to everyone, so review this list to see if any other special circumstances situations apply to you. If they do then you’ll want to use the appropriate guide to update your return.
MN Property Tax Refund
If you rented an apartment and received a Certificate of Rent Paid (CRP), you might be eligible for a property tax refund. Use this scenario to find out and prepare that return if you are.
Working in multiple states
If you worked in multiple U.S. states during 2022, this scenario will help you properly prepare your state returns for those states..
Some states don’t have an income tax, and we’ll let you know which ones those are.
1 - Confirm your federal tax residency for 2022
Are you a U.S. citizen, national, or permanent resident (have a green card)? If so, you are a U.S. tax resident.
If you are not, then the easiest way to confirm your residency is to use our free Am I A Nonresident Alien? tool.
To use this tool you will need your visa and U.S. entry and exit dates. You can download the past 10 years of your travel history based on your passport here: https://i94.cbp.dhs.gov/I94/#/home. You should double check this data as it may not be complete, but it will give you a good start.
You’ll need your passport, visa, and entry/exit info for your return, too.
If it turns out you are a nonresident alien, jump over to our resident tax preparation page: Step 2 - Prepare Your Tax Return - Nonresidents
2 - Determine if you need to file a U.S. income tax return
This question is a little bit more involved for U.S. tax residents. Your requirement to file is based on three factors: gross income, filing status, and age.
Gross income means all income you receive in the form of money, goods, property, and services. The U.S. taxes the worldwide income of its residents, so it doesn’t matter if the income is from U.S. sources or not.
Marital status is based on your status on December 31, 2022. Remember married is married, it doesn’t matter who your spouse is or where they are living. If you are legally married you are considered married for tax purposes.
If you meet the criteria in this table then you need to file.
If you don’t, then there is one other check to make - dependency.
4 - Prepare your return using the TaxSlayer Bulit-in Guide
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Please note that approx. 75% of NRVTAP members will turn out to not be eligible for a property tax refund. The MN Dept. of Revenue is diligent about auditing these returns, so please carefully review the below information before filing a return to claim a refund. We strongly encourage you to make an appointment and review your information with one of our trained volunteers if you believe you qualify.
To be eligible for a MN Property Tax Refund:
1 - You must have been physically present in MN for at least 183 days during 2022. For a single visit, that means you must have arrived on or before July 2nd.
2 - You must have rented/owned/occupied/maintained an abode that was subject to property taxes for some part of 2022. An abode is a legal way of saying a place that has sleeping, cooking, bathing facilities, so dorms do not usually qualify. Some school owned or co-op housing units don’t pay property taxes. If you don’t pay the taxes, you can’t get a refund on them. Generally if you lived in a qualifying situation you should receive a certificate of rent paid (CRP) by Jan. 31. If you did not, ask your landlord for this form, or why it was not provided.
3 - You must not be a dependent - you must have provided over 1/2 of your own support. Most international students are dependents. If you aren’t sure if you would qualify or not, we’ve created the following worksheet that you can use to evaluate if you are a dependent. See IRS Publication 17 for the full definition if you are uncertain.
If you are eligible for the property tax refund, you must determine your household income. This includes nontaxable income such as: treaty exempt income, scholarships and fellowships, tuition waivers and reductions, fee waivers, and COVID emergency grants. The worksheet also walks you through determining these amounts.
Once you know you are eligible for a refund, and have determined your nontaxable income, you can use the guide to prepare your MN property tax refund return.
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This guide is for you if you worked in Minnesota AND another U.S. state. If you only worked in Minnesota you do not need to use this scenario (and doing so will incorrectly prepare your return).
First you will need to determine your Minnesota residency, which is different than your federal tax residency. This will depend on how long you were in Minnesota, what your living situation was while you were here, and what happened to the place you were staying when you left. We’ve put together a worksheet that will walk you through determining your MN residency.
Once you determine your MN residency, you can use the guide to update your return.
5 - Update your return using any special circumstances scenarios that apply
Dependency
Can your parents (or someone else) claim you as a dependent? Here are the general rules for that:
For the person who could claim you, you must be their son, daughter, stepchild, foster child, brother, sister, half brother, half sister, stepbrother, stepsister, or a descendant of any of them. You must also:
You must be (a) under age 19 at the end of the year; (b) under age 24 at the end of the year, a full-time student; or (c) any age if permanently and totally disabled.
You must have lived with the person who claims you for more than half of the year. Note that there are exceptions for temporary absences (such as school), as well if the person of divorced or separated
You must not have provided over half of your own support.
If you live with someone all year, but are not related to them in the ways listed above, a person may be able to claim you as a dependent if:
No one can claim you under the requirements of 1.
The person you lived with provided over 1/2 of your financial support for 2022
Your income is less than $4,400.
If you aren’t quite sure about your situation, please contact us at taxassistance@nrvtap.com and we can help you understand your situation. You should also contact the person who you think might be able to claim you as a dependent.
If you can be claimed (even if you are not actually claimed) as a dependent, see the table to the right to determine if you are required to file a tax return.
Here are a few very unusual circumstances where you still might be required to file:
Even if you aren’t REQUIRED to file based on the above tables, sometimes you still SHOULD file. Who falls into this category?
You had tax withheld from your pay or other income. If box 2 on your W-2 isn’t zero, then you should file!
You made tax payments directly to the IRS / a state Dept. of Revenue, or last year you told them to keep your refund for next year (rare).
You are eligible for refundable credits, such as the earned income credit, additional child tax credit, or American Opportunity Credit. Note that most of these credits are not available if you can be claimed as a dependent.
You are required to file a state return.
Video Demo for a Basic Resident Tax Return coming soon!
Basic Resident Scenario for All U.S. Tax Residents:
Make sure you use this link to create your TaxSlayer account!
If you go straight to the TaxSlayer website you may be asked to pay for your return. You’ll have to come back here and start all over again to get your return prepared for free.
How to enter taxable scholarships / fellowships:
The shorthand version is: Go to TaxSlayer, then Federal / Income / Less Common Income / Other Compensation / Scholarships and Grant. Enter the amount of your taxable scholarships / fellowships.
We’ll put a screenshot-based guide out for this shortly.