It depends. While he technically may not on his own qual...

U.S citizen married to F1 student - does he meet requirements to be considered a resident alien to file a joint tax return?

We were married March 2017 and he gets a small amount of income working as a TA. I just want to know if we can file married jointly without including any extra documents or declaration. Also, he does have a SSN.

posted

It depends. While he technically may not on his own qualify to file as a resident, if you are an American citizen, then you may prepare a statement that says you elect for him to be treated as a resident for tax purposes, which would then make all of his worldwide income taxable. You would then be able to file a joint resident return. Here is an IRS website with more information on this provision: Nonresident Alien Spouse | Internal Revenue Service. Click on link and scroll to following heading:

Election to File Joint Return

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