I was told that since I'm an f 1 visa, I can file tax as joint but not married nor can claim more than 1 allowance. Can you please advise if this is true and what is the best option for me to file tax as? Thanks
By yourself, you are a nonresident and you would file a form 1040NR. TurboTax does not support this form, you will need to see another tax provider. If your spouse does not have US income, then there would be no reason for them to file any tax return at all.
If you want to file a joint return, then you need to make an election to treat yourself as a US resident. This means you must report and pay tax on all your worldwide income. Whether you would owe less tax filing a 1040NR married filing separately, or a resident married filing jointly form 1040, would have to be tested.
If you make the election to treat yourself as a full-year Resident, you can file your tax return as Married Filing Jointly. However, that means you need to enter all of your Worldwide income for the entire year on your US 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 you do that, you fill out your W-4 that you give your employer just like it instructs you to do. Just follow the worksheet on the top of the W-4, and you should probably be okay.
By yourself, you are a nonresident and you would file a form 1040NR. TurboTax does not support this form, you will need to see another tax provider. If your spouse does not have US income, then there would be no reason for them to file any tax return at all.
If you want to file a joint return, then you need to make an election to treat yourself as a US resident. This means you must report and pay tax on all your worldwide income. Whether you would owe less tax filing a 1040NR married filing separately, or a resident married filing jointly form 1040, would have to be tested.