Form 1040-NR is the US tax return filed by non-US persons with US-source income or a US property sale. It's how you recover FIRPTA withholding, excess KDP royalty withholding, and backup withholding — and an ITIN is required to file it.
Get Your ITIN to File 1040-NR — $99 →Form 1040-NR is the US tax return for non-resident aliens. File it to recover FIRPTA withholding on property sales, excess royalty withholding from Amazon KDP or AdSense, or backup withholding from platforms. You cannot file it without an ITIN. You can claim refunds for up to 3 prior years. Deadline: typically June 15 for non-residents.
Form 1040-NR, U.S. Nonresident Alien Income Tax Return, is the IRS annual income tax return for non-resident aliens. "Non-resident alien" means a person who is not a US citizen and does not meet the IRS "substantial presence test" for US residency.
Form 1040-NR is structurally similar to the regular Form 1040 (used by US citizens and residents) but has different sections for US-source versus foreign-source income, treaty benefit claims, and FIRPTA transactions.
| Situation | Must File 1040-NR? |
|---|---|
| Sold US real estate (FIRPTA applies) | ✅ Yes — to claim refund of excess withholding |
| Earned US royalties (KDP, AdSense, patents) with withholding | ✅ Yes — to recover excess withheld at 30% |
| Subject to backup withholding on platform payments | ✅ Yes — to recover backup withholding |
| Operated US LLC engaged in US trade or business | ✅ Yes — report income connected with US business |
| Freelanced on Upwork/Fiverr with service income from outside USA | Generally No — foreign-source service income not taxable |
| Received dividends from US stocks (fully withheld) | No — unless claiming a treaty refund of over-withheld amounts |
The most common reason non-US persons file Form 1040-NR is to recover excess withholding. Here's how each type of recovery works:
15% was withheld at closing when you sold US real estate. Your actual capital gains tax may be lower. File 1040-NR to report the actual gain, calculate the true tax, and claim a refund of excess. Use Form 1042-S from closing as documentation of withholding.
Amazon KDP and YouTube AdSense withheld 30% on US-viewer royalties before you submitted a W-8BEN with ITIN. Now that you have an ITIN, you can file 1040-NR to report those royalties and claim treaty-reduced rates. The 1042-S issued by Amazon/Google documents the withholding. File for up to 3 prior years.
Upwork or Fiverr withheld 24% backup withholding on your service payments before you submitted a valid W-8BEN. Service income performed outside the USA is not US-source income — file 1040-NR to report it as non-US-source (therefore untaxable) and claim a full refund of the backup withholding.
The IRS cannot process Form 1040-NR without a US Taxpayer Identification Number in the top right corner. For non-US persons without an SSN, that TIN is your ITIN. A return filed without a TIN is considered incomplete and is rejected without processing — meaning your refund claim fails.
Apply for your ITIN with ITIN Plus before you file. If the filing deadline is approaching, have your tax advisor file for an extension (Form 4868) while your ITIN application is in processing. Once your ITIN arrives, complete and file the 1040-NR before the extended deadline.
ITIN Plus: IRS Certified Acceptance Agent, remote passport certification, 7–11 weeks. $99.
Apply for ITIN — $99 →