Can I File Married Filing Jointly if my Spouse changed her status from H4 to F1?

[hamzakh93]

Hi, 

I am currently on an H1B visa and my wife was on an H4 visa starting July 2021. In Nov 2022, she left the country and entered back in Jan 2023 on an F1 visa to pursue graduate school.  I have a couple of questions regarding our tax status:

1. For 2022, I am sure (but want to confirm) that we can file our taxes as Married Filing Jointly since she was on an H4 the entire year, and her status changed in 2023?

2. For 2023, can we file jointly since she will be on a non-resident visa? I read the following IRS article on this topic but I am not a 100% sure: https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/nonresident-spouse

Thanks

[ErnieS0]

Yes. Since you are a U.S. resident for tax purposes, you can elect to file jointly with your spouse. The IRS will tax all your worldwide income. Filing together will probably be beneficial if your spouse is a student with little or no income.

Your other choice is to file separately. In that case, your spouse may not have to file a return if she had no income.