Tax help for military filers

You can choose to treat the nonresident as a U.S. resident and file a joint tax return.

Please be aware, that each spouse must report his or her entire worldwide income for the year you make the choice and for all later years, unless the choice is ended or suspended.

To make the choice attach a statement to your paper return (you can't e-file), signed by both spouses, to your joint return for the first tax year for which the choice applies. It should contain the following information:

1. A declaration that one spouse was a nonresident alien and the other spouse a U.S. citizen or resident alien on the last day of the tax year, and that you choose to be treated as U.S. residents for the entire tax year
2. 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.)

Please see IRS Nonresident Alien Spouse for more details.

You will need to print your return and have to apply for an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) for your spouse. Please see How do I apply for an ITIN?

If you were married in 2020 and choose not to file a joint return then you will have to file as married filing separately unless you qualify for head of household. You mentioned a child, therefore you might qualify for this status. 

Your nonresident alien spouse cannot qualify you as a head of household,  but you can qualify if you paid more than half the cost of keeping up the home in which you lived and your unmarried child, grandchild, stepchild, foster child, or adopted child also lived for more than half the year.

If you file married filing separately you will not be able to e-file your tax return, you will have to print and mail the return. When TurboTax asks for your spouse's Social Security Number (SSN) then enter as a placeholder SSN (we suggest 999-88-9999, 999-88-9998 or 999-88-9987, as those numbers won’t produce any TurboTax program errors in a review check). After you printed your return your will have to white out the placeholder SSN and write "NRA" (for nonresident alien).

Please see How do I print and mail my return in TurboTax Online? for additional information.