I came to US from Canada to work in August, 2024 with my spouse. We both have income from Jan to July in Canada. We both have W2 from 2024 (salary from August) and we will continue to work here for the next few years. We did not meet the substantial presence test for 2024 since we don't live here for more than 183 days. I tried to do 1040NR and it is not very favourable since we don't qualify standard deduction and can not do married filed jointly as non resident.
I read on IRS website that there is this first year choice and it seems we will be treated as dual tax resident and it specifically said we still can not get standard deduction or married filed jointly since neither of us are US resident. (
https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/taxation-of-dual-status-individuals)
So I wonder if there is a way we can elect to be treated as tax resident to be able to file jointly and get some standard deduction (even prorated). If so, how can we do that?
