Foreign Spouse with green card

Forum|Forum|6 years ago
July 18, 2020
2 replies
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Hi my wife obtained a green card during 2019 and I was wondering if I had to include a declaration to the irs that I am a us citizen and my wife was a nonresident alien? I’m not sure if I am suppose to do this or not, I was just reading about this On the irs’s website for the first time tonight. My wife obtained her green card before starting any work and didn’t make any money before she became a permanent resident. So I was wondering if that declaration only applied to non residents or if it also applies to someone that obtained a green card a few months before the end of the calendar year?

Best answer by Opus 17

If your spouse is a US permanent resident with a green card, then she is a resident taxpayer regardless of whether she has lived in the United States or not. She is required to file a tax return that reports all of her worldwide income and pays US income tax on it. This is part of the price of having the privileges associated with being a US permanent resident. She can claim a credit or deduction on her tax return if she paid for an income tax on the same income.

Naturally, it is almost always better for married couples to file a joint return as many deductions are limited or disallowed when married filing separately. Because your spouse is a US resident for income tax purposes if she has a green card, regardless of where she actually lived, you can file a regular joint tax return using form 1040. No special rules or declarations are required.

anything you may have read about how to file a tax return if your spouse is a nonresident alien does not apply in your situation because the green card makes your spouse a US resident for taxes, even if she does not live in the US.

O

Opus 17

Answer

Level 15

If your spouse is a US permanent resident with a green card, then she is a resident taxpayer regardless of whether she has lived in the United States or not. She is required to file a tax return that reports all of her worldwide income and pays US income tax on it. This is part of the price of having the privileges associated with being a US permanent resident. She can claim a credit or deduction on her tax return if she paid for an income tax on the same income.

Naturally, it is almost always better for married couples to file a joint return as many deductions are limited or disallowed when married filing separately. Because your spouse is a US resident for income tax purposes if she has a green card, regardless of where she actually lived, you can file a regular joint tax return using form 1040. No special rules or declarations are required.

anything you may have read about how to file a tax return if your spouse is a nonresident alien does not apply in your situation because the green card makes your spouse a US resident for taxes, even if she does not live in the US.