Hi

I posted this yeasterday but now I updated some details and I hope someone can help me on this. I have read a lot dual-status topics in this forum but still got confused.

Background: Single
2003.09~2006.01.02 on F1 and OPT
2006.01.03 ~ present on H1B (In 2006, only out of the US for two weeks)
No Treaty between my country and the US

As you may have noticed, my H1B effective date was 2006.01.03.
That means Jan.01 and Jan.02 I was still on F1/OPT. Do I have to file as a dual status tax return this year?
If I do, how do I put my income for those two days? They were holidays though.
Or should I divided my salary divided by 365 and then times 2? What about my income from interest?


What confuses me here is in the question Saurabh000 posted on Jan.25,2007, in which he/she started the H1B from March and he/she MUST file dual-status return.
However, in the question OnTheFly posted on Feb.28,2006, in which she started her H1B on Jan.15,2006(Similar situation as mine.) but the answer was that she MUST file as a resident.

Can anyone help me on my situation?

Thanks a lot

I believe I already answered this question.

It is possible I gave some faulty guidance, but, generally, if you convert from F-1 to H-1B on or after 2 July 2006, you can file as a non-resident alien or as dual-status (your choice).

If you convert on or before 1 July 2006, you MUST file as a dual-status alien UNLESS...

You are married, in which case you have the OPTION of filing as a resident alien.

Topic 852 - Dual Status Alien

You are a dual–status alien if you are both a resident alien and a nonresident alien during the same tax year. This usually occurs in the year you arrive in or depart from the United States. In determining your United States income tax liability for a year you are a dual–status alien, different rules apply for the part of the year you are a resident alien and the part of the year you are a nonresident alien.

For your first year as a resident alien, your residency starting date determines the period for which you will be taxed as a resident alien and the period for which you will be taxed as a nonresident alien. You may qualify as a resident alien under either the substantial presence test or the green card test. If you meet the substantial presence test, your residency starting date is generally the first day you are present in the United States during that calendar year.


According to this paragraph, shouldn't omarket be able to file as a resident? Since the date of residence starts on the 1st, when he/she was present

Look at the first sentence:

You are a dual–status alien if you are both a resident alien and a nonresident alien during the same tax year.

That fact overrides everything else. You cannot be a resident alien if you spend even one day in non-resident alien status during the calendar year.

I have had this tenet confirmed by experts in the field of international taxation.