MFJ with K-1 spouse who has SSN but foreign self-employment income

[JasonBeatriz 0]

Hello all,

 

I’m hoping to get advice from anyone who has been in a similar situation.

I’m a U.S. citizen and I married my wife who is from Brazil in after she entered the U.S. on a K-1 visa. She has a Social Security number, but we have not yet filed for Adjustment of Status.

I’m now trying to file my 2025 taxes. From what I understand, she is still considered a nonresident alien for tax purposes unless we make the election to treat her as a resident and file Married Filing Jointly.

 

 

A few key points

• She did not work in the U.S of course since she does not have authorization.

• Before coming here, she worked in Brazil as a self-employed lawyer

• She does not have a formal tax return, W-2, wage statement, or anything like that from Brazil

• Her income was mostly from client payments/bank transfers, and some payments may have already had Brazilian taxes withheld

• TurboTax seems to allow the resident-spouse election path, but then says we cannot e-file and would have to mail the return

 

My questions are:

1. Has anyone here actually filed Married Filing Jointly in a case like this, with a K-1 spouse who had an SSN but was still a nonresident alien for tax purposes at year-end?

2. Did you make the election to treat your spouse as a U.S. resident for tax purposes?

3. How did you handle the spouse’s small foreign self-employment income if there were no formal tax documents?

4. Did you use TurboTax or another software, or did you end up needing a CPA/EA?

5. For AOS purposes, did you feel MFJ was worth it, or did you file MFS the first year and then MFJ later?

I’m trying to do this correctly, but I also want to keep things as clean as possible for our upcoming AOS filing.

 

 

Thanks in advance to anyone who has been through this.

[Crazy Cat 46,401]

When did you marry?  When did she enter the US?

[wildbug100420 438]

1 hour ago, JasonBeatriz said:

Hello all,

 

I’m hoping to get advice from anyone who has been in a similar situation.

I’m a U.S. citizen and I married my wife who is from Brazil in after she entered the U.S. on a K-1 visa. She has a Social Security number, but we have not yet filed for Adjustment of Status.

I’m now trying to file my 2025 taxes. From what I understand, she is still considered a nonresident alien for tax purposes unless we make the election to treat her as a resident and file Married Filing Jointly.

 

 

A few key points

• She did not work in the U.S of course since she does not have authorization.

• Before coming here, she worked in Brazil as a self-employed lawyer

• She does not have a formal tax return, W-2, wage statement, or anything like that from Brazil

• Her income was mostly from client payments/bank transfers, and some payments may have already had Brazilian taxes withheld

• TurboTax seems to allow the resident-spouse election path, but then says we cannot e-file and would have to mail the return

 

My questions are:

1. Has anyone here actually filed Married Filing Jointly in a case like this, with a K-1 spouse who had an SSN but was still a nonresident alien for tax purposes at year-end?

2. Did you make the election to treat your spouse as a U.S. resident for tax purposes?

3. How did you handle the spouse’s small foreign self-employment income if there were no formal tax documents?

4. Did you use TurboTax or another software, or did you end up needing a CPA/EA?

5. For AOS purposes, did you feel MFJ was worth it, or did you file MFS the first year and then MFJ later?

I’m trying to do this correctly, but I also want to keep things as clean as possible for our upcoming AOS filing.

 

 

Thanks in advance to anyone who has been through this.

Please complete your timelines 

[Crazy Cat 46,401]

I suggest you seek the help of a qualified tax pro who can run the numbers for both MFS and MFJ (assuming you were married at the end of 2025).  In my personal case (wife was CR-1, not a K-1), I filed Married Filing Separately the first 3 years we were married. Otherwise, filing jointly would have required including her significant world-wide income for the entire year.  Since my wife was a Green card holder the minute she arrived in the US, she even filed Married Filing Separately the first year, reporting only the income she received after becoming a legal resident.

I always suggest consulting a tax pro the first year since there are many variables which can determine the best tax strategy.   Good luck.  Don't forget the FBAR, etc., if required for your situation.

Edited 3 hours ago by Crazy Cat

[midwinterrose 286]

We filed MFJ, and opted for my husband to be treated as a resident alien for the entire year.  He had some US income by the end of the year, and he had a a small amount of foreign income from before he moved to the US.

 

As I recall, we used TurboTax or something similar, but had to paper file in order to submit the request to be treated as resident alien for the full year.

 

To report his income we filed form 2555 for Foreign Earned Income, Schedule SE, as it was self employed income, and Schedule F for Profit or Loss from Farming, as it was income from the sale of livestock.  Plus we filed Schedule B to report interest earned on his foreign bank account.

 

It was kind of a hassle, but I was able to prepare it all myself using TurboTax and Google.

[midwinterrose 286]

I think you have to file schedule B to report if either of you have controlling interest in a foreign bank account or trust, regardless of how much is in the account, but I've found that this question can be kind of buried in the TurboTax software, so make sure you search for schedule B if either of you has a foreign bank account.

 

Also:

 

Who Must File the FBAR?

 

A United States person that has a financial interest in or signature authority over foreign financial accounts must file an FBAR if the aggregate value of the foreign financial accounts exceeds $10,000 at any time during the calendar year. The full line item instructions are located at FBAR Line Item Instructions.

 

We've never had to file an FBAR, so can't help you there.