Start with your tax residence and income type. A German passport alone does not settle your U.S. filing duties.
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Start with your income records and withholding forms. We review the treaty position with your Form 1040-NR.
If you need an ITIN, application plans are available separately. The ITIN application fee excludes the U.S. tax return.
Form 1040-NR for your U.S. income.
Includes:
A move, exchange visit or property investment can put you in two tax systems. Begin with the U.S. green card and substantial presence tests, then check treaty residence. Article 4 of the Germany convention deals with residence; it is not a rule that every German citizen files the same return.Pub. 519IRS
Prepare a travel calendar before choosing a form. Include arrival and departure dates, earlier U.S. visits and your visa status. Certain student and teacher days receive special treatment under U.S. rules, but an excluded day does not make all income tax-free. Our 1040 versus 1040-NR guide explains the starting point.Pub. 519
If a treaty tie-breaker changes your filing position, check the disclosure rules too. Publication 519 describes treaty residence positions and Form 8833. Do not claim a treaty position merely because a payroll form offers a country dropdown.Pub. 519
Article 6 allows the country where real property is located to tax its income. Article 13 allows that country to tax gains from selling the property. For a German resident with a U.S. rental or a U.S. property sale, the treaty therefore does not provide a blanket exemption from U.S. tax.IRS
Keep rent statements separate from the sale closing statement. Purchase cost, improvements, rental expenses and earlier depreciation records answer different questions. A seller also needs the withholding record. A withholding payment is not the same calculation as the final return.Pub. 519IRS
Rental owners should examine the election to treat qualifying property income as effectively connected income, rather than assuming gross rent is their final taxable amount. The Form 1040-NR instructions explain the election and its continuing effect. For a sale, start with our FIRPTA forms and certificate guide.IRS
Article 20 addresses visiting professors, teachers, students and trainees. The Germany treaty describes qualifying foreign-source support for a student or business apprentice visiting for full-time education or training. That support rule is different from payment for services.IRS
The later protocol changed the visiting professor and teacher provision. Its technical explanation describes a limited exemption for qualifying teaching or research and excludes research mainly for a private person's benefit. Read the convention with its amendment; an old copy of Article 20 alone is incomplete.IRS
Ask your school which document reports each payment: wages, scholarship support and foreign support should not be combined into one total called student income. Where eligible, Form 8233 is used for certain treaty exemptions on compensation. A tax return may still be required even when income is treaty-exempt.IRSIRS
These are preparation prompts, not a promise that every listed document applies to every German taxpayer. A worker with only wages has a different return from a landlord or visiting researcher.
Review U.S. day counts and any relevant treaty residence position.Pub. 519
Identify the applicable article and retain the payment records supporting it.IRS
Compare the information forms with the return and any properly supported treaty claim.IRS
Use your SSN or ITIN; attach a qualifying first-time W-7 package when needed.IRS
No. Treaty eligibility depends on residence, the income article and its conditions.IRS
Article 13 allows the United States to tax gains on U.S. real property.IRS
Potentially. Check Article 20 as amended by the protocol, including the visit and research conditions.IRS
Only if you have a federal tax purpose and cannot obtain an SSN. An existing valid SSN should be used instead.IRS
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Every IRS fact on this page comes from IRS.gov or the other official pages listed below and was checked on October 3, 2026. Nolly.com's own prices are the only exception. Nolly.com is a private company and is not part of the IRS.
Nolly Services Inc, d/b/a Nolly.com, appears on the IRS page Acceptance agents – Canada. Nolly.com is a private company and isn't part of the IRS.
Checked against IRS.gov on October 3, 2026. General information, not tax advice.
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