Form 1040: Fill & Download for Free

Yes students and business apprentices from India can claim the standard deduction provided that you or your spouse do not file a return where you itemize deductions.For most aliens, the standard deduction is only available if you file form 1040 which would mean you are a US citizen or resident. If you do not qualify as a US resident, then you file form 1040NRhttp://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p519.pdf which still allows itemized deductions, but not a standard deduction on the form.That creates some confusion for non-resident students from India, because the form does not have a place to allow the standard deduction. What you need to do is on page 3 (schedule A) of form 1040NR on line 14 under miscellaneous deductions enter the amount of the standard deduction and in the description write "standard deduction under Article 21(2) of US-India tax treaty".There is a worksheet in Publication 519 from the IRS http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p519.pdf that will help you calculate your standard deduction.One final thought is that even though the F1 visa days in the US don't count toward substantial presence, you may still be able to qualify for dual status under the first year choice rules since you were in the US for more than 31 days, assuming you intend to stay in the US for 2012. If you were married on or prior to Dec 31, 2011, and intend to stay during 2012 or your spouse is a US resident or citizen for 2011, you can file as a resident alien for the entire year.

Assuming you were not actually present in the US during a significant portion of 2011, you will need to file a Form 1040NR. You can find the form on the IRS website at http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1040nr.pdf and instructions at http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i1040nr.pdf. The form is due to the IRS by April 17, 2012.If you were in the US during the past 3 years, read the section in the instructions on "substantial presence" to see if you should be filing a form 1040 instead.You should have received a Form 1042S for your US connected income and will use that information to complete the 1040NR form. You might also consider hiring a US tax professional to assist you if the instructions and forms are confusing to you.

You can claim found money to the IRS. Income need not be legitimate or legal to be declared to the IRS, declaring it is required by law, and declaring it to the IRS will not make it legitimate or legal."Found" money would qualify as other income reported on Line 21, along with illegal income.Illegal activities. Income from illegal activities, such as money from dealing illegal drugs, must be included in your income on Form 1040, line 21, or on Schedule C or Schedule C-EZ (Form 1040) if from your self-employment activity.Source: Publication 525 (2012), Taxable and Nontaxable IncomeFound cash would be more similar in nature to embezzlement income than drug income, which is also reported on Line 21.Putting a figure on line 21 does not indicate illegal income, it's a catch-all for many types of miscellaneous income. The reporting requirement would be much more nefarious if they had an explicit line number for illegal income.The IRS return is confidential. It can be disclosed under court order, but they can't alert law enforcement unless it involves terrorism, so in theory no agency would know to file a court order to have it disclosed.That assumes you trust the IRS. The IRS has a criminal division that often engages in asset forfeiture profit-sharing with the Department of Justice on many criminal proceedings, so there's a clear conflict of interest.What's unclear is if they want to audit the amount of illegal income, whether you can claim the 5th Amendment against self-incrimination.The process of legitimizing found cash does not involve the IRS, but by declaring it you will at least not be charged with tax evasion in addition to any other crime there may be for not reporting found cash.If you wish to instead report cash found and try to obtain legal right to it, that is a different question. See Lost, mislaid, and abandoned property. You would not want to pay taxes on it until you have secured legal rights to it, but that means you may not take control of the funds (you owe taxes the moment you take control of the funds). Using a lawyer and an escrow service would be recommended.If you did pay taxes on it, you would not receive a refund in order to return the cash to the rightful owner or to satisfy a government forfeiture order, you'd get a deduction against future taxes, which may make you insolvent.