Form 1040-NR: the nonresident return

Form 1040-NR is the US Nonresident Alien Income Tax Return. It is the personal return of a nonresident alien with US income. It is not the LLC's return, and it is not filed by the LLC. It is filed by the owner, for the owner's own income, and it has its own rules, its own due date, and its own extension. This page explains who files it and when.

Who is a nonresident alien

A nonresident alien is a person who is not a US citizen, has no green card, and does not meet the substantial presence test. The substantial presence test is met by being present in the United States for 31 days in the current year and 183 weighted days over three years. A person who meets the test is treated as a resident for tax purposes. A person who does not meet it, and has no green card, is a nonresident alien.

The test counts days, and the counting is weighted: the current year counts in full, and the two years before it count in part. The arithmetic is set by the test itself, and the result decides which return is owed. An owner who is unsure whether they meet the test should work it out before deciding whether a 1040-NR is needed, because the answer changes the return entirely.

Who files Form 1040-NR

A nonresident alien files Form 1040-NR when they have income effectively connected with a US trade or business, or US-source income on which the tax was not fully satisfied by withholding. A nonresident alien who was not engaged in a US trade or business at any time during the year, and whose tax liability was fully satisfied by withholding at source, is not required to file. Filing may still be worthwhile to claim a refund where withholding took more than the tax owed. Both kinds of income bring the filer into the US return system, but they are taxed differently, as the next section explains.

The LLC and the owner are separate filers. The LLC files its own return: Form 5472 with a pro forma 1120, Form 1065, or Form 1120, depending on its classification. The owner files Form 1040-NR for the owner's own income. Filing the LLC's return does not cover the owner's return, and filing the owner's return does not cover the LLC's. Both are owed when both apply.

Two kinds of income

Income effectively connected with a US trade or business is taxed at the regular brackets, with no standard deduction. That is the income of a business carried on in the United States, and it is taxed in the same graduated way as a resident's income, except that the standard deduction does not apply.

Other US-source investment income is taxed at a flat 30 percent, or at a lower treaty rate where a tax treaty applies. That is the income that is not connected with a US trade or business: investment income from US sources, taxed at the flat rate unless a treaty reduces it. The two kinds of income are reported on the same return, but they are taxed under different rules, and the distinction between them is the first thing to get right on the form.

Due dates

Form 1040-NR is due April 15 if the filer received US wages subject to withholding or has a US office or place of business. Otherwise it is due June 15. For tax year 2026, that means April 15, 2027, a Thursday, or June 15, 2027, a Tuesday. The date depends on the filer's situation, not on the LLC's: wages withheld or a US office means April 15, and neither means June 15.

The two dates are easy to confuse, and the confusion is costly, because a return filed on June 15 that was due April 15 is two months late. Check which date applies before the season opens, and put the right one in the calendar.

Extension: Form 4868

Form 4868 filed by the original due date extends the filing date by six months: to October 15 for a return due April 15, or to December 15 for a return due June 15. The extension covers filing, not payment. Tax that is due must still be paid by the original date, and interest can run on a late payment even when the return itself is filed on time under an extension.

The extension must be filed by the original due date. An extension filed after April 15 does not extend an April 15 return. The form is short, and the deadline for it is the same as the deadline it extends.

The LLC's return and the owner's return

The split between the two returns is the point most often missed. The LLC's return reports the LLC. The owner's return reports the owner. A foreign owner who receives income from the LLC, or who has US-source income of their own, may owe a 1040-NR in addition to whatever the LLC owes. A foreign owner with no US income may owe no 1040-NR at all, while the LLC still owes its Form 5472.

Work out both sides. First, what does the LLC owe, under its classification? Second, what does the owner owe, under the owner's own income and presence? The answers are independent, and both need to be right.

What to do next

Check the substantial presence test, list the US-source income, and note the due date: April 15, 2027 with wages withheld or a US office, otherwise June 15, 2027. Then write to us about the return you need. The order flow is coming. Form 1040-NR costs $149 regular or $199 express; an extension on Form 4868 is $19.

Last reviewed: November 2026. Sources: IRS Instructions for Form 1040-NR