Dear all,
As a married couple, we're having troubles figuring out if we will be able to file jointly or not for 2020 (in order to enter the proper tax withholding status right now). Our situation is as follows:
- Him: H1-B visa holder, working in the US since January 2020.
- Her: will arrive in the US in April 2020 with a J1 visa for a 6-month-long unpaid internship (i.e. till end of September 2020), then will switch to H4. She will have no income anywhere the whole year.
Our understanding is that as a student with a J1 visa, she will be considered as an "exempt individual" and the days she will spend in the US with a J1 visa won't count for the substantial presence test. (https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/substantial-presence-test). Is that right?
If that period won't count for that test, then she will not be considered as a resident in 2020; and, therefore, we won't be able to file our tax return jointly. Is that still correct?
However, we may still be able to get some money back from his taxes (as much money as if we filed jointly?) by claiming her as a dependent when filing the tax return at the end of the year. Still correct?
Are we missing anything?
Thank you in advance for the help!
