Filing Taxes with AOS pending

[ETM8986 12]

I've been reading the forums and but still not sure about what I should do re: taxes.

Husband (USC) says MFS is preferable (so he files, I don't) and much simpler because TurboTax apparently doesn't allow for us to do a MFJ. 

 

For context, he has no income as he is a FT student. 

 

I came on a K1 in August, AOS still pending. So I don't meet either the GC or substantial presence test. I do have a SSN.

 

Would there be any advantage in electing to be considered a resident alien and file taxes this round? (For example, I am looking to going back to school and to be considered for in-state tuition I have to be a resident for at least one year prior to enrolment but I doubt that would move back the clock or anything)

 

Or would it really be a lot easier for me to just not file taxes this year and leave it at that?

 

I don't really get the foreign income exclusion either - my home country does not have a tax treaty with US. If anyone can explain that more simply than the interactive tax assistant on the IRS site or the 99-page Tax Guide for Aliens (Publication 519) I would be so grateful.

Thanks for everyone's help and apologies for asking such numbskull type questions. I'm just hopelessly confused now.

[OldUser 8,400]

Your husband doesn't want to get a bigger tax break, and potentially bigger return? Typically MFJ results in more money saved VS MFS. I always filed MFJ using Turbotax, even when I was going through AOS. What issue is he facing?

 

Only one person would be filing taxes when filing as MFJ anyways. He'd just include your name and SSN plus any applicable income.

Edited Friday at 12:15 AM by OldUser

[Gabriel5454 23]

13 hours ago, ETM8986 said:

I've been reading the forums and but still not sure about what I should do re: taxes.

Husband (USC) says MFS is preferable (so he files, I don't) and much simpler because TurboTax apparently doesn't allow for us to do a MFJ. 

 

For context, he has no income as he is a FT student. 

 

I came on a K1 in August, AOS still pending. So I don't meet either the GC or substantial presence test. I do have a SSN.

MFJ almost always means a larger refund, and also means that you and your spouse would be eligible for a number of credits that they would otherwise not apply if applying MFS.

13 hours ago, ETM8986 said:

 

Would there be any advantage in electing to be considered a resident alien and file taxes this round? (For example, I am looking to going back to school and to be considered for in-state tuition I have to be a resident for at least one year prior to enrolment but I doubt that would move back the clock or anything)

You have to check with your state and university rules but where I live, how you file taxes has no effect on the residency determination.  More important is how long you have been living in the state, if you are currently working in the state, do you own property in the state, why you moved to the state, etc.

13 hours ago, ETM8986 said:

 

I don't really get the foreign income exclusion either - my home country does not have a tax treaty with US. If anyone can explain that more simply than the interactive tax assistant on the IRS site or the 99-page Tax Guide for Aliens (Publication 519) I would be so grateful.

Have you looked into the Foreign tax credit?

[ETM8986 12]

Thanks @OldUser and @Gabriel5454 for your replies. 

Well my husband is adamant that he's filing MFS this year so I'm backing off on this one. But thank you very much for taking time to respond.

 

From what I gather,

1. It wouldn't make much difference whether MFJ or MFS (I have no idea how he arrived at that conclusion, but perhaps TurboTax said so)

2. He doesn't want to have to mail anything in (if I read correctly, electing to be treated as a tax resident requires paper filing, or at the minimum mail in the letter of election).

 

We have a lot on our plate at the moment... So I can't blame the poor man wanting to keep things simple. 

[ETM8986 12]

On 3/21/2025 at 8:14 AM, OldUser said:

Your husband doesn't want to get a bigger tax break, and potentially bigger return? Typically MFJ results in more money saved VS MFS. I always filed MFJ using Turbotax, even when I was going through AOS. What issue is he facing?

 

Only one person would be filing taxes when filing as MFJ anyways. He'd just include your name and SSN plus any applicable income.

 

The difficulty was selecting my status as a non-resident alien or something along those lines. (He knows I have an SSN.) I don't know what options there are. He is using the FreeTurboTax edition if that makes any difference.

On 3/21/2025 at 10:07 PM, Gabriel5454 said:

 

Have you looked into the Foreign tax credit?

 

Thanks - I'll have a look!

[OldUser 8,400]

4 minutes ago, ETM8986 said:

From what I gather,

1. It wouldn't make much difference whether MFJ or MFS (I have no idea how he arrived at that conclusion, but perhaps TurboTax said so)

 

The standard deduction for MFS is $14,600. The standard deduction for MFJ is $29,200. So he'd not be paying taxes on about $15K if filing jointly. 

[OldUser 8,400]

19 minutes ago, OldUser said:

The standard deduction for MFS is $14,600. The standard deduction for MFJ is $29,200. So he'd not be paying taxes on about $15K if filing jointly. 

* 15K extra I meant