Itemized Deductions — Nonresident Aliens: U.S. Taxes for Noncitizens (2025 IRS Guide)

This guide covers “Itemized Deductions — Nonresident Aliens” within u.s. taxes for noncitizens. The following material presents the IRS treatment of this topic, including the qualifications, exceptions, and examples in the source section. Read the rules alongside the facts of your own situation before deciding what to report, deduct, or document.

Adapted from Publication 519 (2025), U.S. Tax Guide for Aliens, published by the Internal Revenue Service. This guide retains the source edition’s years, amounts, deadlines, and examples. It is guidance for that edition, not a statement that the same figures apply to every tax year.

Context for these rules

Nonresident aliens can claim some of the same itemized deductions that resident aliens can claim. However, nonresident aliens can claim itemized deductions only if they have income effectively connected with their U.S. trade or business.

There may be limitations that impact the amount of itemized deductions you can claim on Schedule A. See the Instructions for Schedule A (Form 1040) or Instructions for Schedule A (Form 1040-NR) in the Instructions for Form 1040-NR.

Itemized Deductions — Nonresident Aliens

You can deduct certain itemized deductions if you receive income effectively connected with your U.S. trade or business. You can generally only include deductions and losses that are properly allocated and apportioned to income effectively connected with a U.S. trade or business. You cannot include deductions and/or losses that relate to exempt income or to income that is not effectively connected with a U.S. trade or business. However, you can deduct certain charitable contributions and casualty and theft losses even if they do not relate to your effectively connected income. Use Schedule A (Form 1040-NR) to claim itemized deductions. See the Instructions for Form 1040-NR for more information.

Standard deduction.

Nonresident aliens cannot claim the standard deduction. However, there is a special rule, described next, for certain nonresident aliens from India.

Students and business apprentices from India.

A special rule applies to students and business apprentices who are eligible for the benefits of Article 21(2) of the United States-India Income Tax Treaty. You can claim the standard deduction, provided you do not claim itemized deductions.

Use Worksheet 5-1 to figure your standard deduction for 2025. If you are married and your spouse files a return and itemizes deductions, you cannot take the standard deduction.

Disaster tax relief.

If you are a student or business apprentice eligible for the benefits of Article 21(2) of the United States-India Income Tax Treaty who was affected by certain major federally declared disasters in 2025 (go to IRS.gov/DisasterTaxRelief and FEMA.gov/Disasters), you may be able to elect to increase your standard deduction by any qualified disaster-related personal casualty losses on your 2025 tax return. Use Worksheet 5-1 to calculate your standard deduction for 2025. See the 2025 Form 4684 and its instructions for more information on the tax benefits for qualified disaster-related personal casualty losses.

State and local income taxes.

You can deduct state and local income taxes you paid on income that is effectively connected with a trade or business in the United States. Your deduction is limited to a combined total deduction of $10,000 ($5,000 if married filing separately). If you received a refund or rebate in 2025 of taxes you paid in an earlier year, do not reduce your deduction by that amount. Instead, you must include the refund or rebate in income if you deducted the taxes in the earlier year and the deduction reduced your tax. See Recoveries in Pub. 525 for details on how to figure the amount to include in income.

Charitable contributions.

You can deduct your charitable contributions or gifts to qualified organizations subject to certain limits. Qualified organizations include organizations that are religious, charitable, educational, scientific, or literary in nature, or that work to prevent cruelty to children or animals. Certain organizations that promote national or international amateur sports competition are also qualified organizations.

For more information on deducting charitable contributions, see Gifts to U.S. Charities under Instructions for Schedule A (Form 1040-NR) in the Instructions for Form 1040-NR.

Foreign organizations.

Contributions made directly to a foreign organization are not deductible. However, you can deduct contributions to a U.S. organization that transfers funds to a charitable foreign organization if the U.S. organization controls the use of the funds or if the foreign organization is only an administrative arm of the U.S. organization.

Under a limited number of income tax treaties, you may be eligible to deduct contributions to a charitable foreign organization. See Pub. 526 for details.

Worksheet 5-1. 2025 Standard Deduction Worksheet for Students and Business Apprentices From India

Casualty and theft losses.

You may be able to deduct casualty and theft losses on your tax return.

Caution:

You can only deduct a nonbusiness casualty or theft loss if it is attributable to a federally declared disaster.

If your casualty or theft loss is attributable to a federally declared disaster, you can deduct your loss even though your property is not connected with a U.S. trade or business. The property can be personal-use property or income-producing property not connected with a U.S. trade or business. The property must be located in the United States at the time of the casualty or theft. You can deduct theft losses only in the year in which you discover the loss. Use Form 4684 and its instructions to figure your deductible casualty and theft losses. For more information, see Pub. 547.

Other itemized deductions.

You may be allowed to deduct some other itemized deductions not discussed earlier. These include the following.

• Net qualified disaster losses.

• Casualty and theft losses of income-producing property.

• Deduction for repayment of amounts under a claim of right if over $3,000. See Pub. 525 for details.

• Certain unrecovered investment in a pension.

• Impairment-related work expenses of a disabled person.

For more information, see the instructions for line 7 under Instructions for Schedule A (Form 1040-NR) in the Instructions for Form 1040-NR. Also see Pub. 529.

Net qualified disaster losses.

See the Instructions for Form 4684 for more information on net qualified disaster losses. To determine if you were affected by a major federally declared disaster, go to IRS.gov/DisasterTaxRelief.

Losses from income-producing property.

These losses are not subject to the limitations that apply to personal-use property. Use Section B of Form 4684 to figure your deduction for these losses.

Using the guidance

Keep the documents that establish the dates, amounts, and circumstances described above. References to other chapters, forms, worksheets, or earlier and later sections refer to the linked IRS publication. Check the full publication and its updates before relying on a rule for a different tax year or a situation not addressed here.

Sources and further reading

• Publication 519 (2025), U.S. Tax Guide for Aliens: Figuring Your Tax — Itemized Deductions — Nonresident Aliens — Internal Revenue Service; 2025 edition.

The cited U.S. government text is in the public domain. Source accessed October 28, 2026. Fynoptic has organized this material for educational use and is independent of, and not endorsed by, the IRS.