When is my US tax return due as a new resident or a nonresident?

Checked on 2026-10-25

Residents file Form 1040 and pay by April 15 of the following year; if your home and main place of business are outside the US, filing is automatically extended to June 15. Nonresidents with US wages subject to withholding file Form 1040-NR by April 15, others by June 15. Form 4868 extends filing by 6 months, but not payment.

Key facts

What	The rule	Source
Residents (calendar year)	Form 1040 or 1040-SR; file and pay by April 15 of the following year	26 U.S.C. 6072(a); IRS, Taxation of U.S. resident aliens
Residents living abroad	Automatic extension to file until June 15 if your main place of business and your home are outside the US and Puerto Rico on April 15	IRS, Taxation of U.S. resident aliens; Publication 519, ch. 7
Nonresidents with US wages subject to withholding	Form 1040-NR by April 15 (for 2025: April 15, 2026)	Publication 519, ch. 7
Nonresidents without such wages	Form 1040-NR by June 15 (for 2025: June 15, 2026)	26 U.S.C. 6072(c); Publication 519, ch. 7
Extension	Form 4868, filed by the regular due date: 6 more months to file (October 15, or December 15 if your regular date is June 15)	Publication 519, ch. 7
Payment	An extension to file doesn’t extend the time to pay; unpaid tax after the original due date carries interest and possibly penalties	Publication 519, ch. 7
Weekend or holiday	The due date moves to the next day that isn’t a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday	Publication 519, ch. 7

Which return and which date

Publication 519 says the return you file, and when, depends on your status at the end of the tax year. Residents file Form 1040 (or 1040-SR). Nonresidents who must file use Form 1040-NR. In a dual-status year, the IRS says you file Form 1040 if you are a resident on 31 December, and Form 1040-NR if you are not.

The law sets April 15 as the general due date for calendar-year income tax returns and June 15 for nonresidents whose wages aren’t subject to US withholding. The IRS gives the 2025-year dates as April 15, 2026 and June 15, 2026.

Extensions

Residents can get an automatic 6-month extension to October 15 by filing Form 4868 by the due date. If you qualify for the June 15 date because you live abroad, Publication 519 says you can still file Form 4868 by June 15 to get until October 15, and taxpayers out of the country can ask by letter for a discretionary 2 more months (to December 15). Nonresidents with a June 15 due date can extend to December 15 with Form 4868.

None of these extensions change when the tax must be paid.

Publication 519 warns that a green card holder who is required to file as a resident and fails to do so may be regarded under immigration law as having abandoned permanent resident status.
Nonresident F, J, M or Q students, teachers or trainees with no taxable income generally don’t need to file Form 1040-NR, but may need Form 8843 (Publication 519, ch. 1 and 7).

Sources

26 U.S.C. 6072, Time for filing income tax returns (United States Code, 2024 Edition, govinfo) checked 2026-10-25
IRS: Taxation of U.S. resident aliens (Forms and due dates) checked 2026-10-25
IRS Publication 519 (2025), U.S. Tax Guide for Aliens, chapter 7 (Filing Information) checked 2026-10-25
IRS: Taxation of dual-status individuals (Resident vs. nonresident filing procedures) checked 2026-10-25

Change history

2026-10-25: Page created

This is general information, not legal advice, and Lumen is not a law firm. Rules change and offices differ: check the official sources above before you act. Found something wrong or out of date? Write to support@lumen.observer.