@stegsaurus Having read through this thread and generally agreeing with my colleague @Opus 17 ,
1. You wife (a Honduran citizen & GC of US ) will be considered a Resident ( for tax purposes ) f...
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@stegsaurus Having read through this thread and generally agreeing with my colleague @Opus 17 ,
1. You wife (a Honduran citizen & GC of US ) will be considered a Resident ( for tax purposes ) for the year 2025. We are talking about Tax resident which is based only on SPT ( 183 days present counting all the days in current year + 1/3rd the days present in the first prior year + 1/6th the days present in the 2nd prior year) and/or GC. It also requires that one meets at least 31 days in the current year to count days present.
2. For 2024 since she was in the US less than 31 days, none counted. And of course till GC, SPT is used each year for tax residency status.
3. Also note that the start date of the residency status is important ---- this is because to use the standard deduction you must be a tax resident for the full 365 days of the year.
4. For a person whom meets SPT and GC in the same year, Tax Residency starts on the earliest date. Thus for your wife , meeting SPT meant she was a resident for the year starting Jan 1. See --> Residency starting and ending dates | Internal Revenue Service
"If you meet both the green card test and the substantial presence test in the same year, your residency starting date is the earlier of:
The first day you are present in the United States during the year you pass the substantial presence test, or
The first day you are present in the U.S. as a lawful permanent resident (green card holder)."
5. As a tax resident (and then a GC), she is considered a US person and therefore subject to FBAR and FATCA regs. And yes your conclusions are generally correct. Note though that for FBAR, the requirement is not only for bank account you own but also have signature authority over ( in many countries, the children are often nominee / signature authority over aging parents accounts -- just in case of emergencies ).
6. Since you are married ( and assuming that you , yourself is a US person ) during 2025, your best tax filing status is indeed MFJ for federal filing.
I think my colleague @Opus 17 has covered all the bases and the above is just additional support.
Is there more one of us can do for you ?