I've been in US on an H1 visa since 2014, and my wife is here on an F1 Visa. Can I do married filing jointly through turbo tax ?

[debarchan-contac]

I am a H1 visa and I am considered a resident for tax purposes and my wife is on a F1 Visa employed through an opt-ead. I understand that F1 are treated as NRA's and usually do not owe any FICA taxes. Is it possible for me to file my taxes through TurboTax ?

I did some digging and found this link which gives a few details : https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/nonresident-alien-spouse

[pk · Accepted solution]

Assuming that you are a resident for tax purposes and spouse is a Non-resident alien with F-2 visa ( and  in substantial compliance of visa terms).  if you want to file Married Filing Joint ( MFJ ), you need an ITIN for her  and  you would neeed to request ( signed by both of you ) that she wants to be treated as a resident alien for the whole year.  Note that once you do that  she will be treated  like a resident and  FICA taxes  may apply  (depending on circumstances and facts -- although in her case because of OPT/EAD still in effect  there may be no risk of that )..  In this case you can file using TurboTax

If on the other hand you do not want to file MFJ -- then you as a resident for tax purposes  can file using TurboTax while your spouse as a non-resident alien will need to file  form 1040-NR  ( NOT supported by  TurboTax --- Sprint Tax is the TurboTax partner for this type of  returns ).

When did you enter the country ? When did you wife enter the country with F-1 visa  or is it that she  entered the country on H-4 visa  with you and then later changed to F-1?

[debarchan-contac]

Thanks PK, she did enter the country on a H-4 Visa and later changed to F-1.