I am a J1 visa holder. My wife is J2 dependent. She doesnt have any income at all. We both are in US for less than 2 years. Can we file Jointly?

[piranavan19]

I also have a one year old daughter. Both have SSN but dont have any income. Can my wife jointly with me or she needs to file seperately ?

[TaxGuyBill]

Less then 2 full years, or less than 2 calendar years?

In other words, did you arrive in 2015 or 2016?  If you arrived in 2016, then as Karen pointed out, you will not be able to file with TurboTax, and will not be able to file a Joint tax return.

[KarenJ · Accepted solution]

As a J1 visa holder in the US less than 2 years, you are still considered a nonresident and will need to file a married filing separately nonresident return (as a non resident you cannot file married filing jointly).  Your wife will not need to file as she has no income.  

TurboTax does not support nonresident returns however they have teamed with Sprintax which can assist you with nonresident returns. Visit the TurboTax/Sprintax site

F and J student visa holders are considered residents after five calendar years in the U.S.

J researchers and professors are generally considered residents after two calendar years in the U.S. 

A foreign national in non-immigrant visa status may be considered a resident for tax purposes as soon as he/she meets the "substantial presence" test for a calendar year (January 1 to December 31). To meet this test, the person must be physically present

in the U.S. on at least:

• 31 days during the current calendar year and
• 183 days during the three-year period that includes the current calendar year and the two years immediately preceding. The individual should count: all the days he/she was present in the U.S. in the current year, 1/3 of the days present in the U.S. the preceding year, and 1/6 of the days present the year before that.

Days That Are Not Counted:

• A J-1 professor or researcher who is complying with the requirements

  of the visa, does not count days for the first two calendar

  years.

• An F-1 or J-1 student, who is complying with the requirements

  of their visa, does not count days for the first five calendar

  years. 

[man_in_boat]

We are with my wife on J visas (J1 & J2 respectively) for 5 years. She does not have any income. Should we still file separately?

Thanks

[debatosh]

Me and my wife have entered into the third calendar year and are being considered resident for tax purposes.

Can we file jointly for the year 2024? The last two calendar years (2022 and 2023), we filed separately as is the law for J Research Scholar visas.

[DMarkM1]

Yes, since you are both considered resident for tax purposes you may file as married filing jointly. You will need social security numbers or/Individual Taxpayer Identification numbers (ITIN).  Here is a link on tax ID numbers.