H1B and F1 Visa - Married Filing Jointly

[tadaba]

Hi,

I am on H1B visa since 2016 (resident alien) and my wife came to the US in Aug 2019 on F1 visa (non-resident alien). We filled our 2019 taxes with a tax professional as "Married Filing Jointly" status. I remember discussing it with my tax consultant, but not sure if he did explicitly request a "resident alien" status for my wife to IRS (by mailing physical copies of my tax returns and a resident alien status request form).

Given that I received my 2019 tax refunds without any issues, can I e-file my 2020 taxes with TurboTax as "Married Filing Jointly" ? or do I need to mail IRS a physical copy of my returns and a request form to treat my wife as a "resident alien" as she is still on her F1 visa?

[ErnieS0]

You can file together in 2020. If you make this choice, the following rules apply:

• You and your spouse are treated, for federal income tax purposes, as U.S residents for all tax years that the choice is in effect. However, for Social Security and Medicare tax withholding purposes, the nonresident alien may still be treated as a nonresident alien. Refer to Aliens Employed in the U.S. – Social Security Taxes.
• You must file a joint income tax return for the year you make the choice (but you and your spouse can file joint or separate returns in later years).
• Each spouse must report his or her entire worldwide income for the year you make the choice and for all later years, unless the choice is ended or suspended.
• Generally, neither you nor your spouse can claim tax treaty benefits as a resident of a foreign country for a tax year for which the choice is in effect. However, the exception to the saving clause of a tax treaty might allow a tax treaty benefit on certain specified income.

Related Resource:

• Nonresident Alien Spouse

[tadaba]

@ErnieS0 - Thank you for your detailed reply. I know that we can file as "Married Filing Jointly" status, but I want to know about using TurboTax to do "e-file"  for my taxes. Can you please confirm if I am good to e-file? Also, do I need to explicitly claim Social Security and Medicare tax refund for my wife, or is it taken care automatically?

Sorry, I am using TurboTax for the first time, so checking again to be absolutely sure. 

[ErnieS0 · Accepted solution]

Yes. You are good to e-file because you are filing the same as a U.S. citizen or resident alien (which you are). There are no additional steps as to e-file as long as your wife has an ITIN. I assume she does, as you filed in 2019.

Related Resource:

• Will TurboTax accept an ITIN instead of a Social Security number?

[tadaba]

Thank you. She has an SSN, as she was working on-campus as a student assistant. 

Also, do I need to explicitly claim Social Security and Medicare tax benefits for my wife (as a non-resident) on my MFJ status, or is it taken care of automatically? Not sure how it works. 

[npierson7]

If your wife lives in the US since 2019 and she has SSN, she is a resident for tax purposes. 

Social Security and Medicare tax are automatically withheld from employee paychecks. If your wife worked as a contractor, you'll pay those taxes when you file your tax return, the tax software will calculate it without additional actions from you. 

[preetisinghal]

Hi, 

I'm also claiming my spouse who is currently on F-1 visa and non resident alien as U.S. resident alien this year. I see that it's adding additional medicare tax. Since my spouse is on F-1 visa, the FICA taxes are not applicable to him. Is there a way I can fix this?

[tadaba]

Not sure. I did my taxes with a CPA the first time when I claimed my wife (on F1 visa) as a resident alien. 

[DaveF1006]

@preetisinghal  If you you are claiming your husband as a resident alien, he is subject to all US taxes, including FICA taxes. If he is still an exempt individual, he can file as a non-resident and not be required to pay FICA taxes but he is not exempt if you file jointly.  

To be exempt, according to IRS.

• You won't be an exempt individual as a student in the current year if you've been exempt as a teacher, trainee, or student for any part of more  than 5 calendar years unless you meet both of the following requirements:
  • You establish that you don't intend to reside permanently in the United States; and
  • You have substantially complied with the requirements of your visa.

[Parshwa]

From my understanding, if I am on H-1B (resident alien) and wife is on F-1(non-resident alien) and if we want to file jointly, we need to:

• Attach a statement that serves as a declaration that one spouse is a nonresident alien and the other is a U.S. citizen or resident alien, and that you both choose to be treated like U.S. residents. This statement must be signed by both parties.
• Include each spouse’s information, including name, address, SSN (or if you’re married to someone without an SSN, their ITIN). 

How can we e-file with TurboTax? Below is what I read:

Here's how to make this election:

1. Prepare your return in TurboTax.
2. When you get to the Let's get ready to e-file screen, select File by Mail.
3. Attach a statement to your return, signed by each of you that states that one of you is a U.S. citizen and the other is a nonresident alien and that you're electing to both be treated as U.S. residents for tax purposes. Include the full name, address and Social Security number (or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number) of each spouse. This won't affect the immigration status of the nonresident alien.
4. Mail the return to the address on the instruction sheet that prints with the return.

[LoganathanB]

Yes, you can file married filing jointly with your spouse on F1 visa.

You can choose to treat the nonresident spouse as a U.S. resident for tax purposes.

This includes situations in which one of you was not a U.S. resident at the beginning of the tax year but was at the end of the year, and the other was not a U.S. resident at the end of the year.

Please note to include

1. A declaration that on the last day of the tax year one spouse was neither a U.S. citizen nor a U.S. resident and the other spouse was, and that you choose to be treated as U.S. residents for the entire tax year.
2. The name, address, and identification number of each spouse.

Prepare the return and print it.

Mail it to the address on the instruction sheet with the declaration.

Click on the link for more information

Nonresident spouse

[Parshwa]

Yes, agree. So, we can file jointly but it HAS to be through mail and cannot be done online with e-file. Can we get a template on what to write for the declaration statement that on the last day of the tax year one spouse was neither a U.S. citizen nor a U.S. resident and the other spouse was, and that you choose to be treated as U.S. residents for the entire tax year.?

If we can get a sample template, we can just add our details and it becomes easy.

[Vanessa A]

Yes, you are correct.  When you attach a statement, you will need to print and mail your return.

There is not really a template that can be provided, but your set up could be similar to.  The IRS is not so much concerned with formatting as it is with the information you put on the statement. 

Your  name

Your Address

Your TIN or SSN

Your spouses name

Your spouses address

Your spouses TIN or SSN

Then simply state which one of you were a resident and which one was not a resident, but we both choose to be treated as a resident for tax purposes. 

Then both of you sign and date the statement.