Question

I am married Indian. Travelled to US with H1B visa. But my wife in India. Can i file as married

Forum|Forum|1 year ago
January 18, 2025
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P

pk12_2

Employee

@krishnan-success21 , Namaste ji

(a) When did you enter the USA with H-1B ? When did you get married ( in 2024 ? )

(b) Does your wife have an income in India ( i.e. is she a wage earner or self-emp[loyed in India ) ?

(c) Are you her total support ?

Generally , under the Tax Treaty between US and India, a US person ( Indian National ), and whom provides total support for his/her spouse in India, can indeed claim her as a dependent. However, MFJ ( Married Filing Joint ) I am not very sure about -- I need to go back and refresh my memory on the text of the treaty and its technical explanations by US side. So while you answer my question s, I will look at the docs.

Namaste ji

pk

K

krishnan-success21Author

Thanks for your response.

I entered to US on November 02, 2024. I married in India on 2020. My wife is not working in india. I am supporting my wife and daughter.

P

pk12_2

Employee

@krishnan-success21 , for Tax Year 2024

1. you would still be a Non-Resident Alien and therefore taxed ONLY on US sourced income.

2. Because your first day in the country ( absent any other visits etc. ) is not Jan 1st 2024, you would not be able to use standard deduction. This means there is no advantage by including your spouse and child on your return ( if you chose to be treated as a resident for tax purposes, were taxed on your world income etc.

Thus you should file as a Non-Resident, be taxed ONLY on US sourced income using form 1040-NR ( not supported by TurboTax ( use tax professional, on-line like SprinTax or similar ).

For Tax year 2025, you will pass the SPT ( Substantial Presence Test ), you should consider your wife + child as dependents ( unless she moves to US, in which case you should be able to file as MFJ -- Married Filing Joint.

Is there more I can dol for you ?

Namaste ji

pk