It depends -
If you where never a US citizen or resident for all of 2017, then you would only need to file a US nonresident income tax return if you have any US-sourced income (using Form 1040NR, U.S. Nonresident Alien Income Tax Return.)
For 2018, if this is your first year in the USA, your US filing status will be determined by your visa type and if you meet certain IRS tests - Green Card Test or the substantial presence test .
If you do not meet these tests for the first year in the USA, you will be considered a nonresident alien and will file a Form 1040NR which is not supported by TurboTax. Here is a link to the IRS website for Form 1040NR, U.S. Nonresident Alien Income Tax Return. In this situation, you will only report your US sourced income on your Form 1040NR.
If you are a Nonresident Alien who will become a Resident Alien under the Substantial Presence test in the year following this taxable year, you may elect to be treated as a Dual Status Alien for this taxable year and a Resident Alien for the next taxable year if you meet certain tests. Refer to the First Year Choice area, under Dual-Status Aliens, of Chapter 1 in Publication 519, U.S. Tax Guide for Aliens.
If you meet the Green Card Test or the substantial presence test for this year, you will be considered a dual-status alien. In this situation, you would report only US sourced income before the date of your residency and all worldwide income after the date of your residency. (TurboTax does not support dual status filings.)
See this link for additional information US Tax Guide for Aliens.
It depends -
If you where never a US citizen or resident for all of 2017, then you would only need to file a US nonresident income tax return if you have any US-sourced income (using Form 1040NR, U.S. Nonresident Alien Income Tax Return.)
For 2018, if this is your first year in the USA, your US filing status will be determined by your visa type and if you meet certain IRS tests - Green Card Test or the substantial presence test .
If you do not meet these tests for the first year in the USA, you will be considered a nonresident alien and will file a Form 1040NR which is not supported by TurboTax. Here is a link to the IRS website for Form 1040NR, U.S. Nonresident Alien Income Tax Return. In this situation, you will only report your US sourced income on your Form 1040NR.
If you are a Nonresident Alien who will become a Resident Alien under the Substantial Presence test in the year following this taxable year, you may elect to be treated as a Dual Status Alien for this taxable year and a Resident Alien for the next taxable year if you meet certain tests. Refer to the First Year Choice area, under Dual-Status Aliens, of Chapter 1 in Publication 519, U.S. Tax Guide for Aliens.
If you meet the Green Card Test or the substantial presence test for this year, you will be considered a dual-status alien. In this situation, you would report only US sourced income before the date of your residency and all worldwide income after the date of your residency. (TurboTax does not support dual status filings.)
See this link for additional information US Tax Guide for Aliens.
Thank you, this was really helpful. Do you know if it is possible to file a Dual-Status tax return at the same time as filing as "Married filing jointly"? Or for the Dual status you're obliged to file individually?
You would not be able to file a dual status return jointly. However, if you are a dual status filer, you can make an additional election to treat both you and your spouse as full year residents and file a full year resident return jointly.
This would require a declaration statement and this information can be found at this link <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://www.irs.gov/publications/p519#en_US_2017_publink1000222181">https://www.irs.gov/publications/p519#en_US_2017_publink1000222181</a>