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@guil95864 a few questions first
(a) when did you enter this country ( 2018 or 2019 ); which country are you from ?
(b) where does your spouse live: is she working / earning an income in that country ?
(c) are you still in school or are awaiting your work visa ( H1-B or similar ) or using EAD for OPT etc >
I will circle back once I hear from you .
@pk
(a) I was a J1 holder for 2 months in 2015 and then F1 holder since 2018 (I filed taxes as resident last year). I am from Peru.
(b) I married my wife (also from Peru) in May2023 and she did not live in the US during 2023, she obtained her F2 visa in Dec 2023. She moved in with me in Jan 2024. During 2023, she was a small business owner and paid taxes in our home country.
(c) I have an EAD under STEM OPT.
@guil95864 , please may I come back to you by the end of my day ( Mexico )? I need to look up a little about Peru's taxation regime -- know that US and Peru does not have a double taxation treaty.
I need to understand how Peru would tax your wife's income before I take a position on whether it will be better for you to file a Married Fling Joint or Married Filing Separate.
hasta luego
@guil95864 , on going through Peru's tax regs./scheme for domiciled persons and looking at the tax brackets/deductions, ( including the standard income units that can be excluded from taxable income), I think it may be more tax beneficial for you to file as Married Filing Separate ( MFS) -- the only disadvantage thereby are : (1) you get the standard deduction of a single, (2) you have to provide her details as NRA and (3) you have to file by mail..
If you choose this path, you prepare the return as MFS, use a dummy Social Security/ ITIN for purposes of satisfying the software,, once done, choose file by mail, print the return. Now snopake ( erase) the dummy TIN ( SSN or ITIN ) and replace with " NRA", sign, date and mail in the return.
If you choose the other path i.e. want to file as Married Filing Joint( MFJ) , :
(I)Prepare return as per usual, using dummy TIN ( SSN/ITIN block) , replacing this "dummy TIN" with "NRA" as for MFS above;
(II)Choose file by mail as above, print sign/date by both filers
(III) Include a written request signed by both that the spouse/wife wants to be treated as resident for tax purposes for the year
(IV) Include her world income along with yours for the calendar year 2023; you also have to file a form 1116 for Foreign Tax credit for the taxes she has paid to Peru -- while dollar for dollar taxes paid is recognized the allowable amount for the current year would be limited by a ratio of total foreign income to Total World income;
(V) if she does not have an ITIN yet ( by the date of filing ) then you have to include a request for issuance of ITIN ( instead of SSN) form W-7 along with all the required documents proving eligibility.
(VI) The benefit of MFJ filing status is that you get the full / larger standard deduction and thereby reduce you tax liability.
Is there more I can do for you ?
pk
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