Wife in India entire year. Can I file married jointly?

[H1BIndian]

I was on F1 visa from 2011- 2017. My wife on F2 visa from 2015. Then I was on H1B from 2017 Oct. My wife stayed back in India with F2 visa. In  2018 my wife was entirely in India. She has ITIN. On March 2019 we went for divorce. 

1. Can I file the tax return as married jointly for the tax year 2018?

2. Or filing separately is appropriate for me? 

[DanielV01 · Accepted solution]

You can file married filing joint in 2018 if you wish.  If you have not done so previously, you would mail in your return with a statement that you wish to have her treated as a resident for tax purposes.  She will be required in this case to report all of her worldwide income on your US return, and she must sign the return also.  (If you have made this election in the past, you do not need to re-send the election again.  You may e-file, but she must still be able to sign the return).

Your marital status for the tax year is determined by your status on December 31, 2018.  If you are now divorced, you will file as single next year.  This year you will file as Married.  You may choose to file joint, or select Married Filing Separate and claim her as a dependent if she has no US income.  You may also claim Head of Household if you have qualifying children living with you.