Substantial Presence Test

• I was told that the Closer Connection test requires the IRS to make a ruling on your case. This is a Form 8840. Assuming that the connection to the foreign country is unambiguous and the connection to the US is extremely tenuous, how long does this ruling take? How often does the IRS find against the person making the claim?

Don't know, but if irs rules against, you then resort to MAP and apply from the other country.

• What is the deadline for filing Form 8840 for the 2016 tax year? Can this form be filed before the calendar year end of 2016?

Form 8840 filed before the end of the year would be problematic and would not be accepted as things can change before the end of the year. I believe that it has to be filed by June 30,but read the instructions. It is in there.

• Is the requirement for the Closer Connection ruling repeated for every tax year in which the substantial presence test is met, or once they rule does that ruling apply for a few years forward? Every year must be done.

Note that someone who doesn't meet the substantial presence test may still be resident in the US as they are not resident elsewhere. Residency isn't simple.

I don't know the answer.

How often does the IRS find

I don't know the answer.

As long as you are not working in the US, the deadline is 6/15/17 for tax year 2016. Otherwise it is the same day the 1040NR is due. Can

No.

You need to file it for any tax year that you pass the SPT. So... if you consistently spend at least 121 days a year in the US but less than

As a reminder, the closer connection exception is a 3 pronged test.

1. Spend less than 183 days on US soil in the current tax year.
2. Your tax home is not in the U.S.
3. Establish a closer connection.

Information on the definition of tax home is in Chapter 26 of IRS Pub 17 or Chapter 1 of IRS Pub 519. Lastly, if it appears that you may be a resident of the US and a resident of a foreign country, you would need to look at the tax treaty (if one exists) to find the tie breaker rules.

I am trying to help someone with a Form 8840 filing to establish that she was not a US resident based on conditions above and others discussed in this thread. The Form 8840 asks that it be filed with a 1040, but the whole point of the 8840 form is to prove to the US government that the person is not a US tax resident and therefore no 1040 filing is required. Can the Form 8840 be filed on its own?

Look at the words next to the signature block on page 2 of the 8840.