L-1 Visa holder married to F-1 student. File taxes jointly?

[ikarpunter]

Hi All,

I came to the US on an L-1 visa in December 2023 with a start date of January 1st, 2024 with my employer. My wife was in the US before I came, working on F-1 OPT for her employer and we need to file taxes for her.

I have a couple of things to ask:

1. Can she file taxes as a resident under "Married filing jointly"? She has been claiming exemptions on Social security and FICA, which I assume will go away if she files under MFJ. Can somebody throw some light on this subject?

2. I received no W-2 from my employer for 2023. Should I be filing any forms with IRS for 2023, however?

Please advise. Thanks,

[Vanessa A]

If you did not have income in 2023 in the US, you do not have any US filing requirements.

How long before you did your wife get here?  Is she considered a US Resident or Non-Resident Alien?  If she is on an F1-OPT visa and she is exempt from taxes, she is most likely been here less than 5 years and would need to file as a Non-Resident Alien.  If this is the case, then TurboTax does not handle form 1040NR.  You can use Sprintax.com to file the 1040NR.