There are 3 tax treaties that you can claim if you are an Indian citizen.
- Independent personal services, where the payer can be Any contractor. There is no limit in terms of usage, however, in order to be eligible to claim the tax treaty benefit, your presence in the US during the relevant tax year should not exceed 90 days (it is not mandatory to be consecutive 90 days). The maximum amount you can claim is unlimited;
- Teaching or research, where the payer must be an US Governmental Agency, Non-profit organization, College, University or other Educational institution, Academic Research Institution. The period of usage is 730 days. The maximum amount you can claim is again unlimited. However, please be aware that this tax treaty is a bit more specific. If you surpass your 2 years of stay in the US (based on your visa type), you would not qualify for this tax treaty even for the first 2 years, and you would have to return all the refunds you have received from the tax office. In Sprintax, you would be warned about this scenario;
- Compensation during study or training, where the payer can be Any contractor. The tax treaty article is 21(2) and the period of usage is 1825 days. The maximum amount you can claim is USD13,850 for 2023. This is the tax treaty allowing the Indian citizens use the Standard deduction.
N.B Please be aware that whether you can use the certain tax treaty or not depends not only on your visa type but also your income documents received as well as the period of time spent in the US, your country of residence etc.