Does "married filing jointly" require a certification to foreigners?

Forum|Forum|7 years ago
June 1, 2019
4 replies
37 views

Hi, I got H1B visa in 2016 and my wife got H4 as my spouse.

She still stays outside of the U.S. but I heard that I can still file a "married filing jointly". Is this correct? She has no income in the country.

In this case, do I need to submit a marriage certification to IRS or should I report the married status somewhere before I file the tax return form?

TurboTax Deluxe Online

Best answer by Bsch4477

No documentation of marriage is required. You both need tax identification numbers---social security number or ITIN--to file, however.

kay2Author

Level 2

I have lived full year in 2016, I was holding OPT visa and got H1B in June, 2016.

TaxGuyBill

Level 13

Where you ever in the US before 2016? If so, what are the exact dates (and in what type of visa, if any)?

What are the exact dates you lived in the US in 2016?

TaxGuyBill

Level 13

You do not need to send a marriage certificate, but you DO need to make an election to treat her as a Resident. You can not make this election within TurboTax, so you need to manually make the election and mail it with your tax return.
<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://www.irs.gov/publications/p519/ch01.html#en_US_2016_publink1000222193">https://www.irs.gov/publications/p519/ch01.html#en_US_2016_publink1000222193</a>

If she has ANY income from ANYWHERE in the world, it will need to be added to the tax return.