Can my foreign spouse be claimed as a dependent?

[angmarie95]

My husband just moved to the US in June 2019 on a K1 visa. We got married August 2019. He’s now just received his green card (Feb 2020), therefore the whole time he has been here he has not worked and had no other worldly income. We will be applying for a SSN before  i do my taxes. I am just unsure how to go about filing, I was assuming married filing jointly, but I was wondering if there was any way he can be listed as a dependent since I’ve been sponsoring/supporting him? Or is that not possible since he is my spouse?

[KarenJ2]

Your question was cut off.  If you are asking if you can file a MFJ return in 2019 using TurboTax, there may be an election you can make.  Your husband will need to pass the Substantial Presence Test and have been in the US for 183 days, counting days according to the test (see below).  If he does not pass the SPT for 2019, he can use the First-Year Choice.

IRS Residency Starting and Ending Dates. See First Year Choice

You will need to manually write the Resident Alien Status Choice election on a piece of paper and staple it to the back of your federal return.  You will have to mail your return. You cannot e-file.

Please see Publication 519, page 8 for more information and an example of the choice.  You will both need to declare your worldwide income for calendar year 2019.  Your husband can use foreign tax credit on the return to help offset double taxation.

Substantial presence test:   

You would be a US resident in 2019 if met the 183 days in the US using the following calculation, count all the days of in 2019 that you were in the US, count 1/3 of the days you were in the US in 2018 and count 1/6 of the days you were in the US in 2017.  If the days add up to 183 US days or more, then you are a US resident for tax purposes. in 2019.  If you were a resident for all of 2019, you can file a US resident return with TurboTax.  

[angmarie95]

Sorry I don’t know why it got cut off like that, I edited it so hopefully the full question is in view now.

[KarenJ2]

Your question was cut off.  If you are asking if you can file a MFJ return in 2019 using TurboTax, there may be an election you can make.  Your husband will need to pass the Substantial Presence Test and have been in the US for 183 days, counting days according to the test (see below).  If he does not pass the SPT for 2019, he can use the First-Year Choice.

IRS Residency Starting and Ending Dates. See First Year Choice

You will need to manually write the Resident Alien Status Choice election on a piece of paper and staple it to the back of your federal return.  You will have to mail your return. You cannot e-file.

Please see Publication 519, page 8 for more information and an example of the choice.  You will both need to declare your worldwide income for calendar year 2019.  Your husband can use foreign tax credit on the return to help offset double taxation.

Substantial presence test:   

You would be a US resident in 2019 if met the 183 days in the US using the following calculation, count all the days of in 2019 that you were in the US, count 1/3 of the days you were in the US in 2018 and count 1/6 of the days you were in the US in 2017.  If the days add up to 183 US days or more, then you are a US resident for tax purposes. in 2019.  If you were a resident for all of 2019, you can file a US resident return with TurboTax.