{"id":175429,"date":"2020-08-27T16:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-08-27T20:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ibkrcampus.com\/trading-lessons\/do-i-really-need-to-file-a-us-tax-return\/"},"modified":"2026-06-26T14:40:45","modified_gmt":"2026-06-26T18:40:45","slug":"do-i-really-need-to-file-a-us-tax-return","status":"publish","type":"trading-lessons","link":"https:\/\/www.interactivebrokers.com\/campus\/trading-lessons\/do-i-really-need-to-file-a-us-tax-return\/","title":{"rendered":"Do I Really Need to File a US Tax Return?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>New to Interactive Brokers?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button has-custom-width wp-block-button__width-50\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/ndcdyn.interactivebrokers.com\/mkt\/?src=taUSTAXNonResAcc&amp;url=%2FUniversal%2FApplication\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Open Account<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\u2018Do I need to file a US tax return?\u2019 The answer can be fairly straightforward, but once you get away from having only investment income &#8211; Interest, Dividends, Payments in Lieu and securities transactions &#8211; the answer gets much more complex.\n\nHowever, this is an area where it is best to consult a tax advisor about your personal situation.\n\n\u2022 If you have a standard bank account that earns interest on a deposit &#8211; the general answer is that no filing is required.\n\u2022 If you have a brokerage account with interest, dividends and trading activity the general answer is also no.\n\u2022 If you own a publicly traded partnership (PTP) and have distributions &#8211; then the answer is maybe.\n\nThe US tax withheld from dividends, interest and other items is usually close to the amount that would be due in tax. This is especially true if you live in a treaty country and a lower withholding rate has been applied. It is possible that filing a US non-resident return (form 1040NR) would net a small refund, However, the administrative burden of filing, unless you had very large payments would outweigh the benefit.\n<h4>Partnerships<\/h4>\n\u2022 If you own a PTP and a large distribution was paid out and withheld (because it is business income) then the answer is maybe. You would need to again weigh the administrative burden of filing, getting a US Individual Tax Identification Number (ITIN) for a small amount of returned tax is cost efficient.\n<h4>Direct interest in a US business<\/h4>\n\u2022 If you own a more direct interest in a US business, it is likely you will need to file tax. However, this is where your tax advisor can play a vital role in evaluating what is necessary.\n\u2022 Rents paid directly to a non-US person are required to be withheld upon. This is where a US tax filing is usually necessary.\n<h4>Students<\/h4>\n\u2022 Student grants, stipends and teaching fellowships often require that they file. Many educational institutions have offices to assist with US tax filings for non-residents.\n\nRemember that it is both a tax question and a cost question. If you need to hire someone to prepare a US return for you and if it costs $100 and the refund is $20 it is not sensible to file.","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u2018Do I need to file a US tax return?\u2019  The answer can be fairly straightforward, but once you get away from having only investment income &#8211; Interest, Dividends, Payments in Lieu and securities transactions &#8211; the answer gets much more complex.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":221500,"parent":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":true,"footnotes":""},"contributors-categories":[13576],"traders-academy":[13125,13128,13132],"class_list":["post-175429","trading-lessons","type-trading-lessons","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","contributors-categories-interactive-brokers","traders-academy-beginner-trading","traders-academy-level","traders-academy-trading-lesson"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.9 (Yoast SEO v28.6) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Archives | Traders&#039; Academy | IBKR Campus<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The answer can be fairly straightforward, but once you get away from having only investment income - Interest, 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