W4 witholdings for H1B-F1

[soccer_dude10]

I recently got married 15 days back and my tax situation is as follows. I was on a F1 visa till October 2015 after which my H1B visa kicked in. So I'll be a resident alien for tax purposes. My wife is on an F1 Visa hence treated as a non-resident alien for tax purposes. We plan to file our returns as "Married filing separately" since she will be treated as resident alien for tax purposes and subject to FICA withholdings if we file our returns jointly.The questions I have are as follows: 

1) My current deductions on W4 is 3.(A-1, B-1 and E-1 for head of household). Should I change my number of deductions to 2( only A & B) since I do not qualify for "Head of household" status anymore? 

2) Also in the W4 withholding certificate should I check the "Married" checkbox for "Married but withhold at higher single rate" box? 

3)Is filing as "Married filing separately" or filing jointly recommended despite the additional FICA witholdings?

Please advise on the above.

[bine22]

how long have you been on F1?

[soccer_dude10]

I have been on F1 since August 2012.

[bine22]

You are still a non-resident alien for 2015. As a non-resident alien you should only have 1 exemption on the W4 and also write "non-resident alien" on it. You never qualified for head of household status so far.

If you want to file separately, you both would file as non-resident alien for 2015.

Once you meet the Substantial Presence Test in 2016, you can make the first year choice for 2015 and then make the choice to treat you and your wife as resident aliens, but you then have to file a joint return for 2015.

To decide which is best, prepare your returns both ways and see which is better.