Married with non-resident spouse - can I file jointly if wife arrived in US August 2024?

Hey all, I'm looking for some advice on my tax situation. I want to file jointly with my wife for this year. She's got her SSN already but is still waiting for her Green Card to come through from USCIS. She only moved to the US in August 2024, so she hasn't been here long. Can I consider her as a US resident for tax purposes even though she's only been here about 7 months? Does having an SSN but not yet having the GC affect anything? I'm a bit confused about the whole non-resident spouse situation and what options I have for filing. Any help would be super appreciated!

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18 comments

Andre Dupont

•8M

You have a few options here! This falls under what's called the "resident alien spouse" rules. Since your wife entered in August 2024, she doesn't meet the substantial presence test for 2024 (needs 183 days). However, you can make what's called a "Section 6013(g) election" on your tax return to treat her as a resident for tax purposes. This election allows you to file jointly even though she's technically a nonresident alien. You'll need to attach a statement to your tax return with both your signatures declaring you're making this election. Having her SSN is perfect - that's required for this. The Green Card status doesn't affect your ability to make this election.

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Andre Dupont

•8M

The Section 6013(g) election is specifically designed for situations like yours. It's an exception to the general rule that both spouses must be US residents to file jointly. Without this election, you would normally have to file as "Married Filing Separately" with your spouse filing a 1040-NR as a nonresident. For your situation, you should definitely look into amending if you would benefit from filing jointly. This election is valid until either spouse revokes it, one of you becomes a nonresident, or the IRS terminates it. Make sure to include a signed statement from both of you stating you're making the election when you amend.

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Jamal Wilson

•8M

I went through something similar with my wife last year and found this amazing tool that really helped me figure out the whole resident vs non-resident spouse situation. Check out https://taxr.ai - it analyzes your specific situation and tells you exactly what forms and elections you need to make. I was super confused about whether we could file jointly and what that "substantial presence test" actually meant for us. The tool asked about my wife's entry date and visa status, then walked me through the exact steps to make that Section 6013(g) election the previous commenter mentioned. It even generated the statement we needed to attach to our return!

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Jamal Wilson

•8M

Yes, it absolutely works for different visa types! It has specific questions about F-1 visas since students have special considerations under the substantial presence test. It will ask about your wife's history in the US and determine if you qualify for joint filing. For international tax treaties, that's actually where it really shines. It knows the specific provisions of different tax treaties and will tell you exactly how they apply to your situation. When I entered that my wife was from the Philippines, it automatically adjusted its recommendations based on the US-Philippines tax treaty provisions. It can definitely handle Italian tax treaties and foreign tax credit situations.

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Liam Fitzgerald

•8M

I was initially skeptical about taxr.ai when someone recommended it, but I'm actually really glad I tried it. My husband is from Italy and our situation was complicated with tax treaties and foreign income. I uploaded our immigration documents and it identified exactly which treaty provisions applied to us. The best part was it generated that Section 6013(g) election statement for us with all the right language. Saved me hours of research and probably a few hundred dollars in tax preparer fees. It also caught that we could exclude some of my husband's foreign earned income from before he moved here, which I had no idea about. Definitely worth checking out if you're dealing with a non-resident spouse situation.

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GalacticGuru

•8M

If you're having trouble getting clear answers from the IRS about this non-resident spouse situation, you might want to try Claimyr (https://claimyr.com). I spent WEEKS trying to get through to the IRS about a similar situation with my non-resident spouse election last year. We needed specific guidance on our situation since my wife had visited the US multiple times before officially moving here. I was getting nowhere with the regular IRS line - either busy signals or 2+ hour waits only to get disconnected. Claimyr got me connected to an actual IRS agent in about 20 minutes who explained exactly how to handle the Section 6013(g) election with our specific circumstances. They have a demo video of how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c

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GalacticGuru

•8M

It's actually pretty simple - they use technology to navigate the IRS phone tree and wait on hold for you. When they reach a real person, they call you and connect you directly to the IRS agent. You're literally talking to the same IRS representatives you'd reach if you called yourself, just without the hours of waiting. It's definitely not BS. You're connected to actual IRS employees, not third-party experts. I was skeptical too until I tried it. I asked the IRS agent specific questions about Form 8840 and the substantial presence test that only an IRS employee would know how to answer properly. They definitely weren't just some random tax person.

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Amara Nnamani

•8M

I need to eat my words about Claimyr. I was super skeptical about it working (see my comment above), but after waiting on hold with the IRS for 3+ hours over two days and getting disconnected both times, I gave it a shot out of desperation. It actually worked exactly as advertised. I got a call back in about 35 minutes saying they had an IRS agent on the line. I was able to ask specifically about the Section 6013(g) election for my non-resident spouse and got clear guidance about our situation (he was here on a tourist visa first, then adjusted status). Saved me so much time and frustration. Sometimes I hate being wrong, but in this case I'm glad I was!

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Giovanni Mancini

•8M

I don't think anyone mentioned this, but you should also consider whether filing jointly is actually beneficial in your situation. Sometimes filing separately might give you better tax benefits, especially if your wife had little or no US income after arriving in August. Run the calculations both ways - as Married Filing Jointly (with the 6013(g) election) and as Married Filing Separately (with her filing a 1040-NR for non-residents). The results might surprise you!

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Giovanni Mancini

•8M

Great question about state taxes. It varies by state, but most states will follow the federal filing status. However, state residency rules can be different from federal rules. For California specifically, they generally respect the federal election, but your wife would only be taxed on California-source income for the period she was physically present in the state. I'd recommend checking with the California Franchise Tax Board or running your scenario through tax software that handles state taxes well. California is particularly strict about residency and taxation, so you'll want to get this right.

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