Do not give Form W-9: for U.S.-performed contractor work, give Form W-8BEN unless you qualify to claim a treaty exemption on Form 8233, expect Form 1042-S for any amount, and file the applicable nonresident return even below $375.
“I am an F-1 student on CPT (nonresident alien for tax purposes) working as an independent contractor and will earn under $375 total. What form should I give my employer instead of a W-9? Should I expect a 1099 or a 1042-S? Does earning less than $375 change my withholding or filing requirements, and would switching to W-2 status make the paperwork simpler?”
Summary
The small payment does not create a special $375 rule, but the process is manageable once the payer uses the foreign-person system. First make sure this exact client and period are covered by your CPT authorization.
Your paperwork has three possible branches, depending on treaty eligibility and whether the real working relationship is contractor or employee work.
Give the payer Form W-8BEN—not Form W-9—to establish your foreign status. Without a personal-services treaty exemption, the payer generally takes 30% from gross U.S.-performed service pay and reports income code 17 on for any amount (Form W-8BEN instructions; 2026 Publication 515; 2026 Form 1042-S instructions).
If an income-tax treaty article exempts your independent services and you meet every condition, give Form 8233 with a U.S. TIN to claim the exemption; reportable treaty-exempt pay still goes on Form 1042-S. Separately, IRC 861(a)(3) removes withholding only if all of its 90-day, $3,000, and foreign-payer/foreign-office conditions are met (Form 8233 instructions; 2026 Publication 515).
This usually simplifies your pay paperwork to Form W-4 under Notice 1392, payroll withholding, and Form W-2. But the IRS control-and-independence facts—not convenience—decide classification; authorized practical-training wages are generally exempt from Social Security and Medicare while you remain an F-1 nonresident and the work serves the visa's purpose (IRS worker-classification and F-1 FICA guidance).
These branches assume you perform the services in the United States and remain a nonresident alien for federal tax purposes.
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Watch out for
Next steps
Follow these in order so your work authorization, payer setup, year-end form, and federal return match.
Before doing more work
Match the job to your CPT authorization
Read the CPT authorization on your signed Form I-20. It must cover this specific client/employer and dates; if not, stop working under that authorization until the DSO authorizes that employer and period, because DHS requires CPT authorization before work starts: https://studyinthestates.dhs.gov/sevis-help-hub/student-records/fm-student-employment/f-1-curricular-practical-training-cpt.
Requirements
Before choosing a tax form
Classify the real working relationship
Apply the IRS control-and-independence test at https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/independent-contractor-self-employed-or-employee. If the business has the right to control what you do and how, the facts may require employee treatment; the parties cannot choose W-2 or contractor status only for convenience. Form SS-8 is the IRS determination process if classification is genuinely disputed.
Requirements
Before payment
Give the correct federal form
In the ordinary contractor branch, give Form W-8BEN directly to the payer—not Form W-9—using https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw8ben.pdf. If a treaty article actually exempts the services, give Form 8233 from https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f8233.pdf; the payer reviews it, sends a copy to the IRS within 5 days of acceptance, and waits at least 10 days after mailing before honoring it. If the facts require employee status, use Form W-4 with Notice 1392: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/n1392.pdf.
Requirements
After 2026 ends
Collect the right year-end statement
As a contractor, expect 2026 Form 1042-S with income code 17—not Form 1099-NEC—by March 15, 2027, even when U.S.-source nonemployee pay is under $375. As an employee, expect Form W-2 by February 1, 2027; qualifying authorized F-1 nonresident wages are generally exempt from Social Security and Medicare tax.
Requirements
In 2027
File the 2026 nonresident federal forms
For contractor-only income with no employee wages subject to U.S. withholding, file Form 1040-NR with Schedule 1, Schedule C, Schedule OI, and Form 8843 by June 15, 2027; start at https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-form-1040-nr. If you received employee wages subject to U.S. income-tax withholding, the deadline is April 15, 2027. Under $375 is not an exception; a fully treaty-exempt/no-section-871-income case may fit the separate F/J/M/Q no-taxable-income exception, but Form 8843 remains required.
Requirements
Legal sources
This answer rests on IRS forms and publications, DHS CPT guidance, and IRS worker-classification and foreign-student payroll guidance.
Instructions for Form W-8BEN
W-8BEN establishes foreign beneficial-owner status; a U.S. personal-services exemption claim instead uses Form 8233 or W-4.
Who Must Provide Form W-8BEN, pp. 1-2
You must give Form W-8BEN to the withholding agent or payer if you are a nonresident alien who is the beneficial owner of an amount subject to withholding, or if you are an account holder of an FFI documenting yourself as a nonresident alien. You are a nonresident alien individual who claims exemption from withholding on compensation for independent or dependent personal services performed in the United States. Instead, provide Form 8233 or Form W-4.
Instructions for Form 8233
Form 8233 is the independent contractor's treaty-exemption form.
Compensation for Independent Personal Services
For compensation you receive for independent personal services, complete Form 8233 to claim a tax treaty withholding exemption for part or all of that income.
Publication 515 (2026)
This is the ordinary withholding rule for an NRA independent contractor's U.S.-performed services.
Pay for Personal Services Performed—30% rate, p. 50
You must withhold at the statutory rate of 30% on all payments unless the alien enters into a withholding agreement or receives a final payment exemption (discussed later).
IRS NRA withholding and reporting guidance
The 1042-S rule applies even below $375.
Nonemployee compensation
United States (U.S.) source nonemployee compensation for any amount is reportable on Form 1042-S, Foreign Person’s U.S. Source Income Subject to Withholding.
2026 Instructions for Form 1042-S
This gives the contractor income code and exact recipient deadline for 2026 pay.
Income Codes; When To File
Use code 17 for payments for independent personal services performed by a foreign person (including payments made to an entity). IRIS will be available beginning January 1, 2026, and must be used to e-file 2026 Forms 1042-S (due March 15, 2027).
Publication 515 (2026), IRC 861(a)(3)
The small-payment exception has day-count and payer conditions too.
Exception 1, p. 53
The labor or services are performed by a nonresident alien temporarily present in the United States for a period or periods not exceeding a total of 90 days during the tax year; The total pay does not exceed $3,000; The pay is for labor or services performed as an employee of, or under a contract with: A nonresident alien individual, foreign partnership, or foreign corporation that is not engaged in a trade or business in the United States; A U.S. citizen or resident alien individual, a domestic partnership, or a domestic corporation, if the labor or services are performed for an office or place of business maintained in a foreign country or in a territory of the United States by this individual, partnership, or corporation.
2025 Instructions for Form 1040-NR
Taxable U.S. contractor activity triggers Form 1040-NR without a $375 floor.
Table A—Who Must File, p. 7
You must file Form 1040-NR if any of the following conditions apply to you. You were a nonresident alien engaged in a trade or business in the United States during 2025.
2025 Instructions for Form 1040-NR
This supplies the employee and contractor-only deadline formulas.
When and Where Should You File?, p. 12
If you were an employee and received wages subject to U.S. income tax withholding, file Form 1040-NR by the 15th day of the 4th month after your tax year ends. If you didn’t receive wages as an employee subject to U.S. income tax withholding, file Form 1040-NR by the 15th day of the 6th month after your tax year ends.
Publication 519 (2025)
This establishes the self-employment-tax exclusion and its totalization exception.
Self-Employment Tax
Nonresident aliens are not subject to self-employment tax unless an international social security agreement in effect determines that they are covered under the U.S. social security system.
Form 8843 (2025)
An F-1 exempt individual attaches Form 8843 to Form 1040-NR.
When and Where To File, p. 3
If you are filing a 2025 Form 1040-NR, attach Form 8843 to it.
IRS worker-classification guidance
Employee versus contractor status follows the whole relationship, not convenience.
Common Law Rules
In determining whether the person providing service is an employee or an independent contractor, all information that provides evidence of the degree of control and independence must be considered.
Notice 1392
This gives the employee form and treaty-exemption branch.
Supplemental Form W-4 Instructions
Nonresident aliens must complete Form W-4 using the modified instructions provided later, so that employers can withhold the correct amount of federal income tax from compensation paid for personal services performed in the United States. If you are claiming a tax treaty withholding exemption, do not complete Form W-4. Instead, complete Form 8233, Exemption from Withholding on Compensation for Independent (and Certain Dependent) Personal Services of a Nonresident Alien Individual, and give it to each withholding agent from whom amounts will be received.
IRS foreign-student FICA guidance
Authorized practical-training wages are generally FICA-exempt while the student remains an NRA.
F-1, J-1 and M-1 students
These nonresident alien students are exempt from Social Security Tax and Medicare Tax on wages paid to them for services performed within the U.S. To qualify for the exemption, the services performed need to be allowed by USCIS for these nonimmigrant statuses, and such services are performed to carry out the purposes for which such visas were issued to them.
DHS Study in the States—F-1 CPT
The named employer and dates must be authorized before work starts.
CPT authorization
Authorization is for one specific employer and for a specific period of time. CPT must be authorized before the student can begin work.
2026 General Instructions for Forms W-2 and W-3
This is the employee's exact W-2 deadline for 2026 pay.
Furnishing Forms W-2 to employees
Generally, you must furnish Copies B, C, and 2 of Form W-2 to your employees by February 1, 2027.
These are the official federal rules as published on the cited dates; tax and immigration rules can change.
This is general information about official processes, not legal advice, and SettleKit is not a law firm.
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