LumenCan I file a joint US tax return if my spouse is a nonresident or we moved mid-year?
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Yes, by election. If at year end one spouse is a US citizen or resident and the other is a nonresident or dual-status, you can both choose to be treated as US residents for the entire year. You must file jointly that year, both are taxed on worldwide income, and neither can claim treaty nonresidence.
Key facts
| What | IRS guidance says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Default for a dual-status year | No joint return, unless you elect to file jointly with a US citizen or resident spouse | IRS, Taxation of dual-status individuals |
| Nonresident spouse treated as resident | If at the end of the year one spouse is a US citizen or resident and the other a nonresident, you can choose to treat the nonresident spouse as a resident | Publication 519, Nonresident Spouse Treated as a Resident |
| Both arrived during the year | A spouse who was nonresident at the start of the year and resident at the end, married to a US citizen or resident at year end, can choose with the spouse to be resident for the whole year | Publication 519, Choosing Resident Alien Status |
| Effect | Both spouses are residents for the entire tax year for income tax purposes and are taxed on worldwide income | Publication 519, ch. 1 |
| Filing | A joint return is required for the year of the choice | Publication 519, ch. 1 |
| Treaties | Under the nonresident-spouse choice, neither spouse can claim under a tax treaty not to be a US resident | Publication 519, Nonresident Spouse Treated as a Resident |
| Single at year end | You can’t make the choice | Publication 519, Choosing Resident Alien Status |
Two versions of the choice
Nonresident spouse treated as a resident. Publication 519 says this applies when, on the last day of the tax year, one spouse is a US citizen or resident and the other is a nonresident. You must file jointly for the year you make the choice, but can file joint or separate returns in later years. The choice stays in effect for later years until it is suspended (a year in which neither spouse is a US citizen or resident at any time) or ended by revocation, death, legal separation, or by the IRS for inadequate records. Once ended, neither spouse can make it again.
Choosing resident alien status. This is for a dual-status spouse who was a nonresident at the start of the year and is a resident (or citizen) at the end, married to a US citizen or resident at year end, with the spouse joining in. It includes couples where both were nonresidents at the start and both are residents at the end. Publication 519 says neither spouse can make this choice for any later tax year, even after separation, divorce or remarriage.
Under either choice, the special dual-status rules and restrictions (no standard deduction, and so on) don’t apply to the joint return.
How to make the choice
Publication 519 says you check the box in the Filing Status section of Form 1040 or 1040-SR, enter the name of the nonresident or dual-status spouse, and attach a statement signed by both spouses. The statement declares that you qualify and choose to be treated as US residents for the entire tax year, and gives each spouse’s name, address and taxpayer identification number (SSN or ITIN). You can also make the choice on an amended joint return (Form 1040-X), generally within 3 years from filing the original return or 2 years from paying the tax, whichever is later; you must then also amend any later returns already filed.
Related questions
- The statement must give each spouse’s taxpayer identification number, an SSN or an ITIN, so a spouse who can’t get an SSN needs an ITIN (Publication 519, Choosing Resident Alien Status).
Sources
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