I am on H1B and fullfill substantial presence test and my wife is on F1 visa. So can we file tax as MFJ?

[mustafasn2003]

Also can I claim AOTC?

[npierson7]

You can file your taxes as MFJ. You are resident alien for tax purposes and your wife is non-resident alien. If you elect to file jointly with your wife, you will need to apply for an ITIN for her and treat your spouse as a resident alien for tax purposes. To obtain an ITIN, you must complete IRS Form W-7, IRS Application for Individual Taxpayer Identification Number.

You can claim the AOTC  if her ITIN is issued on or applied for before the due date of the return (including extensions).

You can find more information here:

American Opportunity Tax Credit

[mustafasn2003]

Thank you for the response. See already has SSN. Do I need to attach a separate sign document to IRS with our residential status?. Also college is saying they do not provide 1098-t for international student but they have provided expense detail for the year 2020 can I use that for if I have a audit from IRS?

[LinaJ2020]

Yes, you can claim MFJ.  You would need to make an election to claim your nonresident spouse as a resident.  TurboTax does not provide any tools or forms to assist you to make the election, unfortunately.  You would need to follow IRS's instructions to attach the statement to your 2020 tax return.  You cannot e-file.  Instead, print out all your tax forms along with the statement and paper-file.  Click here to see Nonresident to resident

You can claim AOTC if you meet all the requirements.  To see if you eligible, click here: AOTC eligibility

If you did not receive a Form 1098-T, you can still claim the credit if you qualify.  In program, you will follow the directions of Form 1098-T and tell the program you do not receive one and follow prompts to enter your expenses.

Here are the steps:

• Sign in to your account, select Pick up where you left off
• At the right upper corner, in the search box, type in "1098t" and Enter
• Select Jump to 1098t
• Follow prompts
• On screen, Did You get a 1098-T from abc for 2020?, select No
• Next screen, OK, let's see if you qualify for an exception, select I qualify for an exception
• Follow prompt to enter info

@mustafasn2003