Filling Out Form W-4 as a Nonresident Alien on F-1 or OPT: Notice 1392, Line by Line

As a nonresident alien on F-1 or OPT, you fill out the W-4 by different rules than your US coworkers. Here is every step, with a filled example for an OPT hire.

Part of our guide to US taxes on F-1, OPT and H-1B.

To fill out a W-4 for a nonresident alien, use the regular 2026 Form W-4 and follow IRS Notice 1392: your SSN (never an ITIN), "Single or Married filing separately" whatever your marital status, "NRA" written below Step 4(c), and the exempt box left unchecked. Your employer then adds $619.20 per biweekly paycheck (2026) to your wages, for withholding only, under IRS Publication 15-T.

Status as of November 1, 2026: Notice 1392 (Rev. January 2020) is the current revision on the IRS About Notice 1392 page, which lists no recent developments. A January 2027 revision exists only as a draft marked not for filing. The 2026 Form W-4 and the 2026 add-on ($16,100 a year) are in effect; the 2027 add-on is not published. The FICA exemption for nonresident F-1 students on OPT is in effect; the OPT Fair Tax Act (S. 2940 / H.R. 8972), which would end it, is introduced and referred only.

How do you fill out a W-4 as a nonresident alien?

Nonresident aliens complete the standard Form W-4 with IRS Notice 1392's changes: an SSN in Step 1(b), Single or Married filing separately in Step 1(c), Steps 2 and 3 usually blank, "NRA" below Step 4(c), and no exemption claim. Payroll then adds a Pub 15-T amount, $16,100 a year for 2026, before applying the withholding tables.

The withholding tables assume everyone gets a standard deduction, and nonresident aliens generally do not. The current Notice 1392 adjusts the form for three limits nonresidents face: on filing status, on the standard deduction, and on certain credits and deductions.

Are you a nonresident alien for tax purposes?

Probably, if you are on F-1 or OPT in your first five calendar years in the US. Tax residency is not your visa: it turns on the green card and substantial presence tests in IRS Publication 519. F-1 students are "exempt individuals" whose days do not count for up to five calendar years; H-1B days do count, so most H-1B workers become residents once they pass the test. Our guide to filing a dual-status return in your first US year walks through both tests.

W-4 for nonresident alien hires: Notice 1392 step by step

Form W-4 (2026) read with Notice 1392 (Rev. January 2020), as of 2026-11

What the 2026 form changed

The 2026 Form W-4 moved the exemption claim into its own "Exempt from withholding" checkbox below Step 4(c); the 2020 notice still describes claiming it "in the space below Step 4(c)." Either way, leave it unchecked. The 2026 Deductions Worksheet also adds lines for tips, overtime, car-loan interest and seniors, and its lines 11 and 14 net out the $16,100 standard deduction most nonresidents cannot claim, so ask a tax professional before entering anything from it.

How to fill out the W-4 on your first day as an OPT hire

1. Confirm your 2026 tax residency with the substantial presence test in Publication 519, or through your employer's nonresident tax questionnaire.
2. Enter your name and SSN exactly as on your Social Security card. If your number has not arrived, our guide to getting an SSN on OPT explains why SSA will not process an application before your EAD start date. Do not substitute an ITIN.
3. Check "Single or Married filing separately" in Step 1(c), even if you are married.
4. Skip Step 2 unless you hold two jobs at the same time, and skip the IRS Tax Withholding Estimator.
5. Skip Step 3 unless you are from Canada, Mexico, South Korea or India and a tax professional has confirmed you qualify for a credit there.
6. Leave Steps 4(a) and 4(b) blank unless you expect other US-taxable income, or deductions you will actually claim on Form 1040-NR.
7. Write "NRA" below Step 4(c). In an online HR portal, choose the nonresident option; Pub 15-T requires electronic W-4 systems to "provide a field for nonresident aliens to enter nonresident alien status."
8. Leave the "Exempt from withholding" box unchecked.
9. Sign Step 5 and submit the form.
10. Check your first pay stub: federal income tax withheld and, for a nonresident F-1 student on OPT, no Social Security or Medicare.

A filled example: an OPT hire starting November 2, 2026

You start an OPT job on Monday, November 2, 2026, at $80,000 a year, paid biweekly. You are married to an F-2 spouse with no income, your country has no student wage treaty benefit, and this is your third calendar year in F-1 status, so you are a nonresident alien for 2026.

Your W-4: "Single or Married filing separately" in Step 1(c), not jointly. Steps 2, 3, 4(a) and 4(b) blank. "NRA" below Step 4(c), $0 in Step 4(c), exempt box unchecked.

What payroll does with each paycheck (2026, Pub 15-T Table 2)

At this salary the extra $619.20 falls in the 22% band, so it raises federal withholding by about $136 a paycheck, about $3,542 over a full year, against a resident coworker filing single at the same pay (our arithmetic: $16,100 x 22%, using the 2026 brackets in Rev. Proc. 2025-32).

That is not a penalty. On a full year of $80,000 with no itemized deductions, 2026 federal tax is $12,312 for a nonresident with no standard deduction and $8,770 for an eligible Indian student who takes the $16,100 deduction (our arithmetic). The gap is the same $3,542: the add-on approximates what you will owe on Form 1040-NR.

One wrinkle for a November start. Payroll figures each paycheck as if you earned that rate all year, so with only a few 2026 paychecks you will likely be over-withheld. The excess comes back on Form 1040-NR, due 2027-04-15 for tax year 2026 when wages had withholding (our arithmetic; the 2026 instructions are not yet posted), with Form 8843 attached.

Why does my paycheck withhold more as a nonresident?

Two things push it up: the single-or-separate filing status Notice 1392 requires even if you are married, and the add-on employers apply under IRS Publication 15-T (2026), which is "added to wages solely for calculating income tax withholding" and never shown on your W-2.

Nonresident alien add-on by pay period, Pub 15-T Table 2 (2026), as of 2026-11

Table 2 applies if you submitted a 2020-or-later W-4 or were first paid in 2020 or later; the smaller Table 1 covers only older forms. The 2027 amounts are not published. Pub 15-T also skips the add-on for a bonus withheld at the 22% optional flat rate for supplemental wages.

Misconception: you add the nonresident amount yourself in Step 4(c). You do not; Pub 15-T tells the employer to add it to your wages. Step 4(c) is extra tax per paycheck, so typing $619.20 there would withhold $619.20 more tax every paycheck, on top of the roughly $136 the add-on already produces at $80,000 (our arithmetic). Write "NRA" and leave Step 4(c) at $0 unless you want extra withheld for another reason.

If your stub shows Social Security or Medicare and you are a nonresident F-1 student on OPT, that is a payroll setup problem, not a W-4 problem. The IRS foreign student FICA page points you to your employer first; our guide to getting wrongly withheld FICA back with Forms 843 and 8316 covers the rest.

Can F-1 students claim exempt on the W-4?

No. Notice 1392 says: "Do not claim that you are exempt from withholding ... (even if you meet both of the conditions to claim exemption from withholding listed in the instructions to the Form W-4)." That catches students, because someone with no US income last year looks like a textbook exempt filer on the form's own test.

The notice's narrow exemptions from wage withholding (foreign-employer pay of $3,000 or less during a stay of 90 days or less, foreign vessel crews, Canadian or Mexican transportation workers, certain US possession residents, H-2A workers) do not fit a typical OPT job, and none is claimed with the W-4 box.

A treaty exemption uses a different form. China's Article 20 exempts up to $5,000 a year of personal-service income for the time reasonably necessary, per Publication 519, and the notice says to claim treaty withholding exemptions on Form 8233. India's treaty has no such wage exemption.

Do Indian students fill the W-4 differently?

Partly, in two places. Pub 15-T says "Nonresident alien students from India and business apprentices from India aren't subject to this procedure," meaning the add-on, because Article 21(2) of the US-India treaty lets eligible students claim the standard deduction (IRS Publication 901). Notice 1392 also lists India among the countries whose nonresidents may be able to use Step 3.

Everything else stays the same: Single or Married filing separately, "NRA" below Step 4(c), no exemption. Payroll typically learns of treaty eligibility through a nonresident tax questionnaire. The publications we checked do not address OPT by name, so whether Article 21(2) covers your OPT year is a question for a tax professional. If the add-on was applied anyway, the excess comes back when you file; see our explainer on the India-US treaty standard deduction for F-1 students.

When should you submit a new W-4? Becoming a resident or switching to H-1B

Notice 1392 applies only while you are a nonresident alien; after that, the regular W-4 instructions apply.

Life events and the W-4, as of 2026-11

A worked H-1B first-year timeline. Say your H-1B change of status takes effect October 1, 2026. Your earlier F-1 days do not count, and October 1 through December 31 is 92 days, below 183, so you would typically stay a nonresident for 2026 unless you make Pub 519's first-year choice (our arithmetic). Your Notice 1392 W-4 keeps working through December, but Social Security and Medicare start with H-1B status. If you stay in the US on H-1B through 2027, you would generally pass the test that year, and Pub 519 then generally dates residency from your first day present that year (our reading). When to switch to a regular W-4 is a timing question for a tax professional. Our overview of how H-1B status affects your taxes covers the wider switch, and if your offer includes equity, see RSU vesting tax withholding for nonresident aliens.

Is a new Notice 1392 coming? The January 2027 draft

The IRS has posted a draft Notice 1392 (Rev. January 2027). It is a draft: the IRS cover page says not to file drafts and that changes can still happen. The current notice governs until a final revision is released.

Current notice vs draft, as of 2026-11

Common mistakes

• Checking "Married filing jointly" or entering an ITIN in Step 1(b). The notice rules out both; ask payroll how it handles a pending SSN.
• Checking the exempt box because you owed no US tax last year as a student.
• Forgetting "NRA" or the portal's nonresident field. Payroll may then withhold as for a resident, and you may owe on Form 1040-NR.
• Typing the add-on into Step 4(c). That field is extra tax, not extra wages; the employer already adds the wage amount.
• Accepting FICA on an OPT paycheck without asking. For a nonresident F-1 student it is generally an error.
• Keeping the nonresident W-4 after you become a resident, or switching before your residency is settled.

Frequently asked questions

How do nonresident aliens fill out a W-4?

Follow IRS Notice 1392 (current revision January 2020) on top of the 2026 Form W-4. Enter your SSN, never an ITIN, check Single or Married filing separately whatever your marital status, leave Steps 2 and 3 blank in most cases, write "NRA" below Step 4(c), and leave the exempt box unchecked. Your employer then adds the Pub 15-T amount, $16,100 a year for 2026, to your wages before figuring withholding.

Can F-1 students claim exempt on the W-4?

No. Notice 1392 tells nonresident aliens not to claim exemption even if they meet both conditions in the W-4 instructions, so on the 2026 form the exempt box stays unchecked. A treaty exemption, such as China's Article 20 for up to $5,000 a year of personal-service income, is claimed on Form 8233 instead, and the student FICA exemption is not on the W-4 at all.

Why does my paycheck withhold more as a nonresident?

Nonresident aliens generally cannot claim the standard deduction, so Pub 15-T tells employers to add an amount to your wages before applying the tables: $619.20 per biweekly paycheck, or $16,100 a year, in 2026. The add-on is used only to figure withholding and never appears on your W-2.

Do Indian students fill the W-4 differently?

Partly. Students and business apprentices from India eligible for Article 21(2) of the US-India treaty may claim the standard deduction, so Pub 15-T says the add-on does not apply to them, and Notice 1392 lets nonresidents from India use Step 3 in some cases. They still check Single or Married filing separately and write "NRA" below Step 4(c). There is no $5,000 India student wage exemption.

Should I update my W-4 when I become a resident?

Usually, yes. Notice 1392 applies only to nonresident aliens, so once you are a resident alien for tax purposes (for example after passing the substantial presence test on H-1B, or after your five exempt calendar years as a student) the regular W-4 instructions apply, and a new W-4 is how payroll learns of the change. The switch year can be dual-status, so confirm timing with a tax professional who handles nonresident returns.

Sources

• IRS Notice 1392 (Rev. January 2020), About Notice 1392 and the January 2027 draft
• Form W-4 (2026) and IRS Publication 15-T (2026)
• IRS Publication 519 and IRS Publication 901
• IRS foreign student FICA page
• Rev. Proc. 2025-32 and the Form 1040-NR instructions
• H.R. 8972, OPT Fair Tax Act (introduced)

How we checked this: we read Notice 1392 (Rev. January 2020), the January 2027 draft, the 2026 Form W-4, Pub 15-T (2026), Pub 519 and Pub 901 on irs.gov in early November 2026, and took the 2026 brackets from Rev. Proc. 2025-32; figures labelled "our arithmetic" or "our reading" are our own calculations or interpretation.

This is general information, not legal or tax advice: your own I-20, EAD and pay records govern, your DSO answers F-1, OPT and SEVIS questions, and a tax professional who handles nonresident returns should confirm your residency and treaty position.

Once payroll is set up correctly, the bigger question is usually the job itself. If you are on OPT or STEM OPT and looking for employers that sponsor H-1B, F1Jobs can walk you through how our job-search help for international students works.