Checked against IRS sources on September 29, 2026.
U.S. tax presence records are easy to underestimate while you are traveling. Then filing season arrives, and suddenly you need exact entry dates, exit dates, and partial-day counts from trips you barely remember.
Short answer: the IRS 2025 Schedule OI, attached to Form 1040-NR, asks in Item G for all dates the taxpayer entered and left the United States during 2025. Item H asks for the number of days, including vacation, nonworkdays, and partial days, the taxpayer was present in the United States during 2023, 2024, and 2025. That makes a year-round travel log much easier than a last-minute reconstruction.
Jetseen helps you track days - always consult a qualified tax professional for advice specific to your situation.
What is Schedule OI?
Schedule OI is the "Other Information" schedule attached to Form 1040-NR.
The 2025 Schedule OI says to attach it to Form 1040-NR and answer all questions. The IRS Form 1040-NR instructions say taxpayers will need to complete applicable items on Schedule OI and include that schedule with Form 1040-NR.
This guide does not tell you whether you must file Form 1040-NR. That is a tax question for a qualified professional.
This guide is narrower: if Schedule OI is part of your filing picture, what travel-day records should you have ready?
What does Schedule OI Item G ask for?
Item G on the 2025 Schedule OI asks the taxpayer to list all dates they entered and left the United States during 2025.
That sounds simple until the year includes:
- short business trips
- weekend visits
- same-day travel
- airport transits
- visa-status changes
- missing boarding passes
- calendar entries with no country context
If you wait until tax time, the hard part is not usually the current trip. It is the ordinary trip from nine months ago that felt too minor to document.
What does Schedule OI Item H ask for?
Item H asks for the number of days, including vacation, nonworkdays, and partial days, the taxpayer was present in the United States during 2023, 2024, and 2025.
That wording is the reason partial-day records matter.
A U.S. travel file should track more than full stays. It should preserve:
- arrival date
- departure date
- same-day U.S. presence
- partial-day presence
- vacation days
- nonworkdays
- workdays, if your advisor asks for them
- notes for any day you think may be excluded under IRS rules
Do not blend those notes into a conclusion. Keep the facts clean and let the tax professional decide how they apply.
How does this relate to the substantial presence test?
The IRS substantial presence test page says a person meets the test for a calendar year if physically present in the United States for at least 31 days during the current year and 183 weighted days across the current year and the two prior years.
The weighted formula counts:
| Year | Count |
|---|---|
| Current year | All days present |
| First year before current year | One-third of days present |
| Second year before current year | One-sixth of days present |
The IRS also says a person is treated as present in the United States on any day they are physically present in the country at any time during the day, with listed exceptions.
That is why Item H asks for three years. The current year's filing question can depend on older presence records.
Do partial days count?
Schedule OI Item H explicitly refers to partial days.
The IRS substantial presence test page also says a person is treated as present in the United States on any day they are physically present in the country at any time during the day, with exceptions.
Do not turn that into a homemade tax conclusion. The IRS lists exceptions, including certain Canada or Mexico commuting days, certain less-than-24-hour transit days, some foreign-vessel crew days, medical-condition days, and exempt-individual days. Those exceptions have their own rules and forms.
The practical recordkeeping point is simpler: track the partial day first. Decide the tax treatment later with advice.
Why should visa records stay separate from tax-day records?
Schedule OI also asks for visa or immigration-status information in other items, but a visa record is not the same thing as a U.S. presence record.
Keep separate files for:
| File | What belongs there |
|---|---|
| Travel presence | Entry date, exit date, partial-day presence, same-day visits |
| Visa or status | Visa type, status change date, documents, expiry notes |
| Tax presence | Year totals, advisor-reviewed exclusions, SPT notes |
| Filing materials | Form 1040-NR and Schedule OI documents |
| Professional advice | Conclusions and filing decisions |
A visa can explain why you entered. It does not automatically answer how a day should count for tax.
What should frequent travelers keep throughout the year?
Build the record while the trip is still fresh.
| Record | Why it helps |
|---|---|
| U.S. entry date | Schedule OI Item G asks for entry dates |
| U.S. exit date | Schedule OI Item G asks for exit dates |
| Presence day count | Schedule OI Item H asks for days present |
| Partial-day note | Item H names partial days |
| Trip purpose | Helps explain work, vacation, transit, or other context |
| Travel documents | Boarding passes, I-94 records where relevant, passport stamps, confirmations |
| Visa or status notes | Keep separate from presence totals |
| Three-year presence summary | Useful because Item H asks about three years |
| Advisor notes | Keep conclusions away from raw travel facts |
There is something unsettling about trying to reconstruct a tax-year travel record from airline receipts and memory. Do the boring part early.
Where Jetseen fits
Jetseen can help you keep the private travel-day timeline that sits beside your tax filing work.
Use Jetseen to keep:
- U.S. entry and exit dates
- country-by-country travel history
- partial-day trip notes
- visa and status notes
- supporting trip documents
- reminders before advisor or filing deadlines
- CSV exports for tax-professional review
Jetseen does not prepare Form 1040-NR, complete Schedule OI, decide whether you are a resident alien or nonresident alien, apply substantial-presence exceptions, determine visa status, or replace tax advice.
If U.S. travel is part of your year, Try Jetseen Free for 14 Days and keep the entry and exit record clean before filing season turns it into a scramble.
Related Jetseen guides
- U.S. Visitor Stay vs Substantial Presence Test: Two Clocks To Track
- Form 8840 Closer Connection Exception: Day-Counting Records To Keep
- Form 8843 and Substantial Presence: Excluded-Day Records To Keep
- Do U.S. Transit Days Count for the Substantial Presence Test?
References
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal or tax advice. Tax residency rules change frequently. Consult a qualified tax professional for advice specific to your situation.
