My wife and I move to the US midyear 2018. To be treated fullyear residents can we just efile joint return or should we mail printed return with statement of such choice?

[anrkay4za]

P.S. We are eligible to make this choice.

[KarenJ · Accepted solution]

If at least one of you were in the US for at least 183 days in 2018, you can file a full year resident return as married filing jointly if you print your return and attach a statement (see below for information on this statement), to your return before mailing.  You cannot e-file.

You will both need to report your worldwide income for calendar year 2018.  You can use the foreign tax credit to help offset double taxation.

If only one of you was in the US for at least 183 days in 2018, then you need to use the statement, Nonresident Spouse Treated as a Resident, on page 9 of Publication 519.

If both of you were in the US for more than 183 days in 2018, then you need to use the statement, Choosing Resident Alien Status on page 8 of Publication 519.

Publication 519

[anrkay4za]

Thanks! This is helpful.

I have a follow-up questions.

Indeed, during the time that I was resident of a foreign country I had a job that paid me wage. It's clear to me that I have to report that earned income. But the question is whether I can file it as FEC on Line 1 of Form 1040, instead of reporting that income in Form 2555, to be then eligible to apply for EIC and ACTC?

[KarenJ]

You need to report the income in the foreign earned income section of TurboTax, however you can indicate a few screens later that you do not want to claim the foreign earned income exclusion.  It will still keep track of your foreign income.  Then you should go to the foreign tax credit section of TurboTax to enter the income again as well as the tax credit.  The foreign wages should flow to line 1 of the 1040.