While we can't arbitrarily make that decision for you (Married Filing Jointly or Married Filing Separately) we can describe the process for both options in detail, and then let you ultimately decide which will be the easiest, and / or most tax-beneficial, based on your individual circumstances. Let's begin that discussion.
If you are a United States
citizen and are married to a non-citizen (Canada or any other country), then you
have some choices on how to file your USA tax return, although current United
States tax laws do not make this process particularly easy.
Option # 1: You can file your US tax return as Married Filing Separately
(which is usually a somewhat unfavorable tax filing status), and just report
your own income there. TurboTax can walk you through this process, and
help you create the necessary Form 1040. If your spouse does not have an ITIN number, or a Social Security number, then this return would have
to further be printed and paper filed. Where the spouse has a valid ITIN or SSN,
then the tax return should be eligible for e-filing.
Option # 2: You can
elect to include your nonresident spouse on your US income tax return (which
may be more or less tax favorable than Married Filing Separately); and file as
Married Filing Jointly; but you would need to file a paper Form 1040 tax return
in order to do so. The somewhat complicated process for completing this
type of tax return is explained at the IRS.gov website here:
https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/u-s-citizens-and-resident-aliens-abroad...
Such a tax return (Option # 2) is best done by a professional tax preparer.
If you choose Option # 1, which is generally easier to do mechanically than Option # 2, but still have difficultly with that, then having the tax
return prepared by a professional is also an option here too.
Please note that this answer assumes that your spouse is indeed legally a
non-US citizen and a nonresident. If your spouse instead were a citizen
or a US resident, then you could just file your US Form 1040 tax return
normally (as Married Filing Jointly, or Married Filing Separately), even though
the spouse may be physically living out of the country; and the above two
options would not apply.
Also, you can read the complete answer to a similar question that was asked
here about a year ago. There is some good information in there as well:
https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/3089728-how-can-i-file-taxes-with-my-new-foreign-spouse-who-doesn-...
Thanks for asking this very important question.
