Can Dual Status Aliens Filing Jointly

[quanvuhuy]

My details are as follows

- I moved to the US from Australia on 06/18/2021 together with my wife.

- My visa is H1B and my wife is H4

- I have paid all my tax in Australia (AUS financial year is 1 July 2020 - 31 June 2021)

- I earned nothing regarding to US sources when I was in Australia

- I earned nothing from Australia during my stay in the US

From my understanding I am passing Substantial Presence Test and fall under dual-status-alien. Can I file tax married-jointly with my partner in this case? Do I need to file both 1040 and 1040NR for my case?

Kind regards,

Quan Vu.

[SundayInSalem]

TurboTax does not support Form 1040-NR or Form 1040NR-EZ.  However, TurboTax partner Sprintax.com can help you decide what type of return you need to file. They are very helpful and knowledgeable.

Substantial presence

You meet the substantial presence test because you were not on an F, J or other exempt visa holder and were present in the US for more than 183 days. Since you have an H1B visa, I assume you were “engaged in a trade or business” in the US even if you did not have any US income so you will likely file a US tax return.

See Taxation of Nonresident Aliens

Dual-Status

A dual-status alien is a taxpayer who is both a US resident alien and a non-resident alien in the same tax year. Incoming US residents file a Form 1040 along with an attached Form 1040NR to show the income for the part of the year you are a non-resident. This sounds like you. Sprintax can handle those situations.

See Taxation of Dual-Status Aliens

Non-resident Spouse treated as a resident

You did not include any information about the tax status of your spouse. However a married couple can elect to file as US residents if one spouse is a resident at the end of the year and the other was not. All worldwide income would be taxable to the US and you would be eligible for a foreign tax credit for taxes paid to Australia. This is an option. Not a requirement.

See Non-resident Spouse

Learn more from TurboTax at: How should I file my taxes as a dual-status alien?

[quanvuhuy]

Hi Sunday,

Thank you for your response. My income is W2 so yes I will have to file 1040 form. My wife is on H4 visa moved to the US together with me on 18th June. She is also passing Substantial Presence test. If we decide to file tax married-jointly with her. I have to report both her and my Australian income from January to 18th June 2021 right?

Kind regards,

Quan Vu.

[DanielV01 · Accepted solution]

You are not a dual-resident alien because you pass the substantial presence test for 2021.  Because of this, you are considered as a resident for 2021.  A resident reports their worldwide income on Form 1040, 

However, that doesn't mean you will necessarily pay tax on that income.  If your income is less than $108,700, and you were outside of the United States for a total period of 330 of the previous 365 days, you may claim the Foreign Income Exclusion and not pay tax on up to $108,700 of excluded income.  

For more information on this subject, please see the following IRS website:  Substantial Presence Test | Internal Revenue Service