H1B and F1 Visa - Married Filing Jointly

Forum|Forum|5 years ago
March 14, 2021
12 replies
123 views

Hi,

I am on H1B visa since 2016 (resident alien) and my wife came to the US in Aug 2019 on F1 visa (non-resident alien). We filled our 2019 taxes with a tax professional as "Married Filing Jointly" status. I remember discussing it with my tax consultant, but not sure if he did explicitly request a "resident alien" status for my wife to IRS (by mailing physical copies of my tax returns and a resident alien status request form).

Given that I received my 2019 tax refunds without any issues, can I e-file my 2020 taxes with TurboTax as "Married Filing Jointly" ? or do I need to mail IRS a physical copy of my returns and a request form to treat my wife as a "resident alien" as she is still on her F1 visa?

Best answer by ErnieS0

Yes. You are good to e-file because you are filing the same as a U.S. citizen or resident alien (which you are). There are no additional steps as to e-file as long as your wife has an ITIN. I assume she does, as you filed in 2019.

Related Resource:

Will TurboTax accept an ITIN instead of a Social Security number?

ErnieS0

Level 15

You can file together in 2020. If you make this choice, the following rules apply:

You and your spouse are treated, for federal income tax purposes, as U.S residents for all tax years that the choice is in effect. However, for Social Security and Medicare tax withholding purposes, the nonresident alien may still be treated as a nonresident alien. Refer to Aliens Employed in the U.S. – Social Security Taxes.
You must file a joint income tax return for the year you make the choice (but you and your spouse can file joint or separate returns in later years).
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.
Generally, neither you nor your spouse can claim tax treaty benefits as a resident of a foreign country for a tax year for which the choice is in effect. However, the exception to the saving clause of a tax treaty might allow a tax treaty benefit on certain specified income.

Related Resource:

Nonresident Alien Spouse

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tadadaAuthor

Level 2

Sorry, I am using TurboTax for the first time, so checking again to be absolutely sure.

preetisinghal

Level 2

Hi,

I'm also claiming my spouse who is currently on F-1 visa and non resident alien as U.S. resident alien this year. I see that it's adding additional medicare tax. Since my spouse is on F-1 visa, the FICA taxes are not applicable to him. Is there a way I can fix this?

ErnieS0Answer

Level 15

Related Resource:

Will TurboTax accept an ITIN instead of a Social Security number?

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tadadaAuthor

Level 2

Thank you. She has an SSN, as she was working on-campus as a student assistant.

Also, do I need to explicitly claim Social Security and Medicare tax benefits for my wife (as a non-resident) on my MFJ status, or is it taken care of automatically? Not sure how it works.

npierson777

Level 10

If your wife lives in the US since 2019 and she has SSN, she is a resident for tax purposes.

Social Security and Medicare tax are automatically withheld from employee paychecks. If your wife worked as a contractor, you'll pay those taxes when you file your tax return, the tax software will calculate it without additional actions from you.