I am a foreign citizen who moved from US to Canada through inter company transfer in September 2022. I was a tax resident in the US since 2020 and pass the substantial presence test for 2022.
According to IRS (chapter 1 of Pub. 519), I will become a nonresident alien when I leave if I meet both of the following conditions:
- After leaving and for the remainder of the calendar year of my departure, I have a closer connection to a foreign country than to the United States.
- During the next calendar year, I am not a U.S. resident under either the green card test or the substantial presence test, defined earlier.
I satisfied both conditions since I did establish a closer connection with Canada and I know I won't be returning to the US until late 2023, which means:
- January 2022 to September 2022 - I am a resident alien
- September 2022 to December 2022 - I am a non resident alien
I have US source income from both RA and NRA period so I assume I need to prepare my taxes as a dual status alien for 2022.
My question is: can I elected to be treated as a resident alien to file my taxes, or am I obliged to file my taxes as a dual status alien? And how this decision will affect my next year tax filing as a non resident alien?
