Originally Posted by
ManOntheLand
BTW I began filing 1040NR (non-resident alien return) a couple years ago, and the IRS completely accepted it no problem. I have a good friend who submitted a 1040NR to the Bankruptcy Court to comply with the requirement of being current on tax filings. The Trustee obviously thought the 1040NR was odd, and asked a question about it at the hearing. But the bankruptcy went through a few days later, no problem.
After obtaining my IRS Individual Master File through FOIA request, I saw that my mailing/filing requirement code reflects that they expect a 1040NR return from me not a 1040. To auntie it really doesn't seem to matter what I call myself; if they receive a 1099 or W-2 they will still presume I have a tax obligation. Nonetheless, I think it is important to get your foreign status established so that any debate can be properly focused on whether or not your payment received was income that was "effectively connected to a trade or business in the U.S." or from a "U.S. source". Since auntie would prefer that Americans think the tax falls on all of us "just because",I believe the declared non-resident alien status of an American living in America is valuable in that auntie does not want a discussion of this topic in court. I think it is good insurance from auntie's harassment in terms of staying out of court.