Since you meet the substantial presence test and are considered a resident no one needs to make a first-year choice. Instead you will file a joint return and include the statement that you are making the election to treat your nonresident spouse as a resident.
I included the statement in my earlier post. Click here to see the reference (see below) and the statement (see below). You will not be able to e-file but instead print/mail your return with the statement attached.
"If, at the end of your tax year, you are married and one spouse is a U.S. citizen or a U.S. resident within the meaning of Internal Revenue Code (IRC) section 7701(b)(1)(A) and the other is not, you can choose to treat the nonresident spouse as a U.S. resident for tax purposes. This includes situations in which one of you was not a U.S. resident at the beginning of the tax year but was at the end of the year, and the other was not a U.S. resident at the end of the year."
"Attach a statement, signed by both spouses, to your joint return for the first tax year for which the choice applies. It should contain the following information:
- A declaration that on the last day of the tax year one spouse was neither a U.S. citizen nor a U.S. resident within the meaning of IRC section 7701(b)(1)(A) and the other spouse was, and that you choose to be treated as U.S. residents for the entire tax year.
- The name, address, and identification number of each spouse. (If one spouse died, include the name and address of the person making the choice for the deceased spouse.)"
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