I am married Indian. Travelled to US with H1B visa. But my wife in India. Can i file as married

[pk]

@krishnan-success21 , Namaste ji

(a) When did you enter the USA with H-1B ?  When did you get married  ( in 2024 ? )

(b) Does your wife have an income  in India  ( i.e. is she a wage earner  or self-emp[loyed in India ) ?

(c) Are you her total support ?

Generally , under  the Tax Treaty  between US and India,  a  US person ( Indian National ),  and whom provides total support for his/her spouse  in India, can  indeed claim her as a dependent.  However,  MFJ  ( Married Filing Joint ) I am not very sure about -- I need to go back and refresh my memory on the text of the treaty and  its technical  explanations by US side.   So while you answer my question s, I will look at the  docs.

Namaste ji

pk

[krishnan-success21]

Thanks for your response.

I entered to US on November 02, 2024. I married in India on 2020. My wife is not working in india. I am supporting my wife and daughter.

[pk]

@krishnan-success21 , for Tax Year 2024

1.  you would still be a Non-Resident Alien and therefore taxed ONLY on US sourced income.

2. Because  your  first day in the country ( absent any other visits etc. )  is not Jan 1st 2024,  you would not be able to use standard deduction. This means there is no advantage  by including your spouse and child  on your return ( if you chose  to be treated as a resident for tax purposes, were taxed on your world income etc.

Thus  you should file as a Non-Resident, be taxed ONLY on US sourced income using form 1040-NR ( not supported by TurboTax ( use  tax professional,  on-line like  SprinTax or similar ).

For Tax year 2025, you will pass the  SPT ( Substantial Presence Test ),  you  should  consider  your wife  + child as dependents ( unless  she moves to US, in which case you should be able to file as MFJ -- Married Filing Joint.

Is there more I can dol for you ?

Namaste ji

pk