Filing Taxes During AOS

[RPete 73]

The tax world is very confusing. My timeline is as follows:

11 July -arrived in US

1 Aug - married

8 Sept - Filed AOS

10 Nov - Biometrics

26 Feb - Recieved EAD

23 Mar - Recieved SSN

 

We want to file married filing jointly, but aren’t sure if I fit the requirements for a resident alien for tax purposes. Can anyone help us out with this? I worked in Canada up until my trip the US so I have some Canadian income (already filed Canadian taxes)

 

thanks

[Locito 85]

Have you checked the IRS website how to do a substantial presence test? https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/substantial-presence-test

[Huckleberry&Koala 184]

1 hour ago, RPete said:

The tax world is very confusing. My timeline is as follows:

11 July -arrived in US

1 Aug - married

8 Sept - Filed AOS

10 Nov - Biometrics

26 Feb - Recieved EAD

23 Mar - Recieved SSN

 

We want to file married filing jointly, but aren’t sure if I fit the requirements for a resident alien for tax purposes. Can anyone help us out with this? I worked in Canada up until my trip the US so I have some Canadian income (already filed Canadian taxes)

 

thanks

Since you are married, you'll be filing as married. Whether filing married separately or married jointly is your choice but it should be married, you shouldn't file as single since you are married. Most people file as jointly.

[RPete 73]

16 minutes ago, Huckleberry&Koala said:

Since you are married, you'll be filing as married. Whether filing married separately or married jointly is your choice but it should be married, you shouldn't file as single since you are married. Most people file as jointly.

But if I file as married filing jointly, I don’t understand if I qualify as a resident or am still considered a non resident alien. 

[Huckleberry&Koala 184]

23 minutes ago, RPete said:

But if I file as married filing jointly, I don’t understand if I qualify as a resident or am still considered a non resident alien. 

Based on your timeline you provided in the post, you should be a resident but please check substantial presence test from the link that @Locito  provided earlier to make sure.

[Chancy 6,233]

29 minutes ago, RPete said:

But if I file as married filing jointly, I don’t understand if I qualify as a resident or am still considered a non resident alien. 

 

If you are the spouse of a US citizen, you have the option to be treated as a US resident for tax purposes, regardless of the number of days you spent in the US during the tax year.  If you elect to be treated as a US resident, you must file jointly for that tax year.  Details here -- https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/nonresident-alien-spouse

 

Whether you SHOULD take this option is a question for you and your financial advisor.

 

[Wuozopo 4,285]

4 hours ago, RPete said:

The tax world is very confusing. My timeline is as follows:

11 July -arrived in US

1 Aug - married

8 Sept - Filed AOS

10 Nov - Biometrics

26 Feb - Recieved EAD

23 Mar - Recieved SSN

 

We want to file married filing jointly, but aren’t sure if I fit the requirements for a resident alien for tax purposes. Can anyone help us out with this? I worked in Canada up until my trip the US so I have some Canadian income (already filed Canadian taxes)

 

thanks

Even if you don’t qualify on greencard test or substantial presence, you still get the perk of being treated as a resident alien for tax purposes because of marriage to a USC. You are to write your own statement as described by the IRS, both sign, and include with your tax return. Your spouse will benefit from having you on the return, unless her income is super low like less than $12,400 which means she has no tax to pay anyway so she can’t get any lower than zero.  You may also qualify for the stimulus payments. Those are worked out on a worksheet for Line 30. Try TurboTax Deluxe that you download and  install or purchase on CD on sale. Then you can create various returns to try it out and just “save as”  with a different file name. Then you don’t have to eliminate the first to try a second. 

Edited March 28, 2021 by Wuozopo

[Gapols 3]

Try using turbotax. They normally suggest the best filing (status) option for you. I'm a J-1 visa holder before but eversince we got married, We always file married filing jointly.

 

[RPete 73]

17 hours ago, Gapols said:

Try using turbotax. They normally suggest the best filing (status) option for you. I'm a J-1 visa holder before but eversince we got married, We always file married filing jointly.

 

@Wuozopo

@Chancy

@Huckleberry&Koala

 

thank you guys for your help!