Form 8843 is the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) statement that alien individuals use to explain why days spent in the United States should not count toward the substantial presence test. It applies to exempt individuals, such as teachers, trainees, students and certain professional athletes, and to people who could not leave the country because of a medical condition. On FillingPDF you can fill out Form 8843 online and download or print the completed PDF; the IRS publishes the official form and instructions at www.irs.gov/Form8843.
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What is 8843?
Form 8843, Statement for Exempt Individuals and Individuals With a Medical Condition, is the IRS form on which an alien individual explains the basis of a claim that certain days of presence in the United States can be excluded when applying the substantial presence test. It is marked "For use by alien individuals only" and carries OMB No. 1545-0074.
The substantial presence test decides whether you are treated as a U.S. resident. 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 2025, 2024 and 2023, counting all days in 2025, one-third of the days in 2024 and one-sixth of the days in 2023. Form 8843 supports the exclusion of days for two reasons: you were an exempt individual, or you were unable to leave because of a medical condition or medical problem that arose while you were in the United States.
The form has five parts: Part I, General Information; Part II, Teachers and Trainees; Part III, Students; Part IV, Professional Athletes; and Part V, Individuals With a Medical Condition or Medical Problem. You complete Part I plus only the part that matches your reason.
Form 8843 does not claim the closer connection to a foreign country exception to the substantial presence test. The instructions say that exception requires Form 8840.
Who needs to file 8843?
If you are an alien individual (other than a foreign government-related individual), you must file Form 8843 when you claim that you can exclude days of presence in the United States for the substantial presence test because you were an exempt individual or were unable to leave the United States because of a medical condition or medical problem.
The IRS instructions describe these groups:
- Teachers and trainees: people temporarily present under a "J" or "Q" visa (other than as a student) who substantially comply with the visa requirements. Complete Parts I and II.
- Students: people temporarily present under an "F," "J," "M" or "Q" visa who substantially comply with the visa requirements. Complete Parts I and III.
- Professional athletes: people temporarily present to compete in a charitable sports event. Complete Parts I and IV.
- Individuals with a medical condition: complete Part I and lines 17a through 17c of Part V, and have a physician or other medical official complete line 18.
Exclusions: a foreign government-related individual present under an "A" or "G" visa, other than "A-3" or "G-5," is not required to file Form 8843. Someone under an "A-3" or "G-5" visa must count every day of presence. Teachers, trainees and students who were exempt for too many prior years may be barred from excluding days, subject to the exception in the instructions.
When to file 8843
File Form 8843 by the due date, including extensions, of your 2025 Form 1040-NR. If you file a 2025 Form 1040-NR, attach Form 8843 to it and mail the return by its due date to the address in the tax return instructions.
If you do not have to file a 2025 tax return, mail Form 8843 by itself by the due date (including extensions) for filing Form 1040-NR.
Timing matters. 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. Failing to exclude those days could make you a U.S. resident under the substantial presence test. You will not be penalized if you show by clear and convincing evidence that you took reasonable actions to learn the filing requirements and significant steps to comply with them.
Documents you need
- Form 1040-NR, if you file a 2025 return: Form 8843 is attached to it. If you file no return, the form is mailed by itself.
- A statement showing the new visa type and the date it was acquired, if the visa type you held in any year listed on line 7 or line 11 changed.
- A statement with sufficient facts to establish that you do not intend to reside permanently in the United States, if you checked Yes on line 12.
- Information verifying that a foreign employer paid all your 2025 compensation and all prior-year compensation while you were a teacher or trainee, if you rely on the Exception in the instructions.
- A statement verifying that all net proceeds of the charitable sports event(s) were contributed to the organization(s) listed on line 16, for professional athletes.
- The physician's or other medical official's statement on line 18, completed and signed, for individuals claiming days excluded for a medical condition or medical problem.
How to fill out 8843
Enter your name, TIN and tax year
Print your first name and initial, last name and U.S. taxpayer identification number (TIN), if any. For calendar year 2025, leave the tax year dates alone; if you use a different tax year, enter its beginning and ending dates.
Add addresses only if filing alone
Fill in your address in your country of residence and your address in the United States only if you are filing Form 8843 by itself and not with your U.S. tax return.
Complete visa and status lines 1a and 1b
Line 1a: enter your visa type (for example F-1, J-1 or H1-B) and the date of your most recent entry. Line 1b: enter your current nonimmigrant status; if it changed, add the date of change and previous status.
Enter citizenship and passport details
Line 2: list each country of which you were a citizen during the tax year. Line 3a: list the countries that issued your passport. Line 3b: enter your passport number(s).
Report your days of presence
Line 4a: enter the actual days present in the United States in 2025, 2024 and 2023. Line 4b: enter the days in 2025 you claim you can exclude for the substantial presence test.
Complete Part II for teachers and trainees
Line 5: for teachers, give the name, address and telephone number of the institution. Line 6: for trainees, give the program director's details. Line 7: list your J or Q visa type for 2019 through 2024. Line 8: check Yes or No.
Complete Part III for students
Line 9: enter the academic institution's name, address and telephone number. Line 10: enter the program director's details. Line 11: list your F, J, M or Q visa type for 2019 through 2024. Answer lines 12 and 13, and explain a Yes on line 13 in line 14.
Complete Part IV for professional athletes
Line 15: enter the charitable sports event(s) and dates of competition. Line 16: enter the name(s) and employer identification number(s) of the charitable organization(s) that benefited.
Describe a medical condition in Part V
Line 17a: describe the medical condition or problem that prevented you from leaving. Line 17b: enter the date you intended to leave. Line 17c: enter the date you actually left.
Have the physician complete line 18
Enter your name as taxpayer in the certification. The physician or other medical official adds name, address, telephone number, signature and date.
Prepare the required statements
Attach the visa-change statement, the line 12 statement, the athlete net-proceeds statement, or the foreign-employer information, whichever applies to your situation.
Review, sign and download the PDF
Sign and date under penalties of perjury only if you file the form by itself. Check every line, then download or print the completed PDF from FillingPDF and send it as described under How to submit.
How to submit 8843
There are two ways to send Form 8843, depending on whether you file a tax return.
- With Form 1040-NR: attach Form 8843 to your 2025 Form 1040-NR and mail the return by the due date (including extensions) to the address shown in the tax return instructions. In this case you do not need to fill in the address boxes or sign Form 8843 separately.
- By itself: if you do not have to file a 2025 tax return, mail the form to Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service Center, Austin, TX 73301-0215, by the due date (including extensions) for filing Form 1040-NR. Fill in your addresses, complete every entry, and sign and date the form.
Attach any statements the form requires, such as the visa-change statement, the statement for line 12, the net-proceeds statement for professional athletes or the foreign-employer information for the teacher and trainee exception. The form and instructions name no online filing channel and no fee. FillingPDF lets you fill out and download the PDF; submission follows the channels above.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Filling in the address boxes or signing separately when Form 8843 is attached to Form 1040-NR; those entries are only for filing the form by itself.
- Skipping lines 1a through 4a without entering "Information provided on Form 1040-NR" on line 1a when the same information is on Form 1040-NR.
- Completing all of Part II or Part III with a "Q" visa; the instructions say to complete Part I and only lines 6 through 8 (teachers and trainees) or lines 10 through 14 (students).
- Excluding days as a teacher or trainee after being exempt as a teacher, trainee or student in 2 of the 6 prior calendar years without meeting all four conditions of the Exception.
- Checking Yes on line 12 without attaching a statement of facts showing you do not intend to reside permanently in the United States.
- Claiming medical days when you entered the United States for medical treatment or the condition existed before arrival and you knew of it.
- Leaving line 18 without the physician's or other medical official's certification, name, address, telephone number, signature and date.
- Filing late and still counting on excluding athlete or medical-condition days; late filing can cost you the exclusion.
- Filing Form 8843 to claim the closer connection exception, which requires Form 8840.
Frequently asked questions
What is Form 8843 used for?
Form 8843 is the IRS statement that an alien individual files to explain why certain days in the United States should be excluded for the substantial presence test. The reason is that you were an exempt individual or could not leave because of a medical condition or medical problem.
Who has to file Form 8843?
Alien individuals who claim excluded days as exempt individuals (teachers, trainees, students, professional athletes in charitable sports events) or because of a medical condition. Foreign government-related individuals under an A or G visa, other than A-3 or G-5, are not required to file.
Where do I mail Form 8843?
With a 2025 Form 1040-NR, attach it and mail the return to the address in the return instructions. Without a return, mail it to Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service Center, Austin, TX 73301-0215, by the Form 1040-NR due date including extensions.
What is the deadline for Form 8843?
The due date, including extensions, for filing Form 1040-NR. This applies whether you attach the form to your return or mail it by itself because you have no return to file.
What happens if I file Form 8843 late?
You may not exclude days present as a professional athlete or because of a medical condition, which could make you a U.S. resident under the substantial presence test. No penalty applies if you show by clear and convincing evidence that you took reasonable actions to comply.
Do I need to fill in every line if I attach it to Form 1040-NR?
Not lines 1a through 4a, if Form 1040-NR gives the same information. Enter "Information provided on Form 1040-NR" on line 1a, then complete line 4b and the rest of Form 8843. Filed separately, you must complete all entries.
Can I fill out Form 8843 online?
Yes. You can fill out the PDF online on FillingPDF and download or print it. FillingPDF is an independent service and does not file the form with the IRS; you mail it through the channels the IRS instructions give.
Do I need a doctor to complete Form 8843?
Only for the medical condition exclusion. You complete Part I and lines 17a through 17c, and your physician or other medical official completes the line 18 certification. Other filers skip Part V entirely.
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