I am in US and working in H1B Visa and wife has h4 Visa she came to USA on Oct and went back to India on Nov, Now she is not in USA, Can I file tax as married jointly?

[mca09528]

• I am in US and working in H1B and wife has h4 Visa she came to USA on Oct-2018 and went back to India on Nov-2018, Now she is not in USA, Can I file tax as married jointly? I came here on April 2018.

• Can I apply here ITIN even she is not in USA?

• Will I get more tax return If I will file jointly?

• She is working in India so will it cause any problem If I will file as jointly in USA?

• What are the income source I have to declare her? 

[LinaJ2018 · Accepted solution]

Yes, you can file jointly with her.  As a resident yourself, you can treat her as a resident by making an election.  You would just need to add a statement along with your Form 1040.  See Nonresident to resident

Yes, you can apply ITIN when she is not in the US.  As long as you have all her original certified required documents.

Generally, filing jointly allows you to claim more benefits than filing separately.

For tax purposes, filing jointly with your spouse does not violate any regulations. 

If you are treating her as a resident, you are required to report her worldwide income including any earned and unearned income like wages, interest, rental income.