Residency status of NRA spouse for the state tax return (GA)

[tyk]

For tax year 2024, I was a resident alien, and my spouse was a nonresident alien. For the federal return, we are going to treat my NRA spouse as a resident for US income tax purposes and choose Married Filing Jointly in Form 1040. For GA state tax return, however, could we still treat my NRA spouse as a resident for tax purposes and choose Married Filing Jointly in Georgia Form 500? My spouse and I lived in GA the entire year (2024) and had no any income out of GA. Thank you.

[Vanessa A · Accepted solution]

Yes, you can also file jointly for your GA return.  GA residency is based on the number of days you live in a state, not whether or not you are a resident alien or non-resident alien. 

[tyk]

Hi Vanessa, Thank you for your response. Because my spouse is an international student with F1 visa, will that affect Residency Status of GA for the tax purposes?

[KrisD15 · Accepted solution]

No, if you file Married Filing Jointly for your Federal return, unless your spouse is working/earning in a different US state than you, your spouse would be considered "domiciled" in the same state as you if also filing jointly for the state. 

Georgia requires you to file Married Filing Jointly since that is how you filed the Federal return. Both you and your spouse would be considered residents for the Georgia return. 

[tyk]

@KrisD15 Thank you so much for your help. My spouse and I lived in GA the whole year (2024) and our income are all from GA. So, even though my NRA spouse is an international student with an F1 visa, we can still be considered residents for the Georgia tax return and file as Married Filing Jointly?

[DaveF1006]

Yes, this is correct.

@tyk 

[tyk]

@DaveF1006 Appreciate your answer. I have one more question. For GA state tax return, is a statement of election to treat NRA spouse as resident for tax purposes required to be attached, similar to the federal one?

[Vanessa A]

No.  Since it is based off of being domiciled in GA, the rules are different.  The state of GA does not require the statement of residency to be attached.  They are assuming you are a resident (and your spouse) when you file a resident return. 

[tyk]

@Vanessa A Thank you very much!