Doug wrote:

- quote -

This answer does not address the question asked that relates
to deducting student loan interest. Eligible NRAs may take a
deduction for student loan interest.

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bevits[at]gmail.com wrote:

- quote -

First off, it is a deduction and not a credit. Only
nonresident aliens who are single or able to file as a
Qualifying Widower with Dependent Child may claim the
student loan interest deduction. If you are married: no
deduction.

You may only deduct qualified interest you paid. That is why
it is called the "Student Loan Interest Deduction." You can
read about the definition of qualified student loan interest
and who is eligible (there are income limitations) in IRS
Pub 970.

The maximum deduction in 2003, 2004 and 2005 is $2500.
2003 and 2004 versions of Pub 970 may be found at
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-prior/p970-2003.pdf
Just change the year to get the 2004 version.
2005 is at: http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p970.pdf

You file a Form 1040X for each year you want to amend.

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Nonresident Aliens are not able to claim education credits.

You are a NRA in 2005 since your days stay in US was less
than 183 days ( when you were in F1--including OPT--status,
you days staying in US doesn't count)

Please refer to Pub 519 for NRA tax issues.

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I entered the US in 2002 on an F1. I recently transitioned
to an H1 on October 1, 2005. This is the summary of my stay
in the US so far:

2002 - Entered US on Dec 27 2002 on F1 - Days in US - 4
2003 - F1 - Days in US - 358
2004 - F1 - Days in US - 342
2005 - F1 (Pre-completion OPT * ) till Sept. 30, 2005 - 273 Days OPT
2005 - H1B from Oct 01, 2005 - Days on H1B - 92

* I was on pre-completion OPT since I started working in Jan
2005 but I graduated only in December 2005. I was working on
my thesis during the time and was not a full-time student. I
was not required to be a full-time student either as I was
in the final two semesters of study.

I filed 1040NR EZ for 2002, 2003 and 2004. I have claimed
Tax treaty (Article 21(2) ) benefits from India in 2003 and
2004.

I took an educational loan from a bank in India and have
been making payments since from whatever income I was
getting, first an a research assistant at my university and
now as an full time employee.

My questions are:

1. Can I get a student loan interest credit for any of the
years 2003,2004, 2005?
2. Does this cover only the "interest" part of the loan
repayment or even the loan repayment amounts?
3. If the answers to the above two question are yes, then
what do I need to do to claim the credit for 2003 and 2004
as I did not claim them with my taxes in those two years.

Thanks,
Vittal

<< ================================================== ===== > << The foregoing is intended for educational purposes only > << and does NOT constitute legal OR professional advice. > << > << The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting > << messages to this newsgroup are at www.asktax.org. > << Copyright (2006) - All rights reserved. > << ================================================== ===== >