Hi can someone give me an informed answer please? Can someone tell me whether I have to pay taxes for the year 2009 and since which year was my foreign income taxable. Do I need to file a return in 2009 and if so as what - a Resident Alien or Non Resident Alien?

I am a citizen of India and have been in the US since Sept 2000

My F-1 visa was issued in Aug 2000: I studied in the U.S. from Sept 2000 to Nov 2004 including my OPT period.

In March of 2004 I started working overseas non US based company on a rotating schedule. I spent spent a total of 168 days in the US in 2004. Income earned was from a money market account and bank interest as well as wages as a Teaching Assistant.

I obtained B1/B2 visa in Jan 2005 and continued to work for the foreign/ non US based company and worked with them till Nov 2005 and then transferred to another foreign based/ non US based company worked with them from Dec 2005 till Dec 2007. I was rotating out of the US and was always in the US for less than 31 days at a time during the year 2005. I accumulated a total of 111 days in the US during 2005. In 2006 I was in the US on one occasion for a stretch of 36 days and accumulated a total of 161 days in the US. Income earned was from a money market account and bank interest exceeding $3500 for each of the years 2005 and 2006. I worked on a B1/B2 visa for the years 2005, 2006 and till Dec 19, 2007.

I obtained an H4 Visa in Dec 2007, as my wife was on an H1-B visa and was including my name on her green card application. I traveled on my H4 visa in and out of the US and joined another foreign based non US based company in Jan 2008 and am currently still employed with them. In Nov-Dec 2008 I was home for 31 continuous days, while I continued to rotate out of the US. I accumulated a total of 142 days in the US in 2007. Income earned was from a money market account and bank interest exceeding $3500 for each of the years 2007 and 2008. I am still employed overseas for a non US based company working on a H-4 visa.

Each of my employers have always paid tax on my behalf in the country where I worked. My wife has always filed her taxes married filing separately from 2004 to 2009.

Since your wife is resident for the year 2008, you can file 2008 return jointly as residents.

If your wife files a separate return, then you are nonresident if you did not complete SPT in 2008 and you are resident if you completed SPT in 2009.

How many days were you in the U.S. in 2008?

Have you been working in a country that has a treaty with the U.S.

I was in the US for an accumulated total of 164 days. In Nov-Dec 2008 I was in the US for 31 continuous days.
I work in Indonesia, which has a tax treaty with the US.

I filed for an extension. I meet the SPT for 2008 and would like to know whether my foreign earned income is taxable. Can someone please advise. Thanks.

If you file resident return, you must report the worldwide income for the year. If you paid taxes in the foreign country, you will claim credit for taxes paid in the foreign country by filing Form 1116 or can file form 2555 Foreign Earned Income Exclusion..
Read: Your U.S. Tax Return: U.S. Citizen or Resident with Foreign Income (http://taxipay.blogspot.com/2008/03/us-citizen-or-resident-with-foreign.html)

Kotaminyak:

From 2000 to 2004, your F-1 visa made you a non-resident alien, so any income earned OUTSIDE of the U.S. is clearly NOT subject to U.S. taxes.

For 2005, you had NOT YET met the Substantial Presence Test, so, in my opinion, you were still a non-resident alien, but the "interest" earned in the money market funds are in fact dividends and thus subject to a 15% tax rate under the U.S.-Indonesia Tax Treaty or a 25% under the U.S.-India Tax Treaty. You would need to file Form 1040NR and calculate the tax on page 4 of Form 1040NR.

In 2006, you met the Substantial Presence Test (SPT). For that year, you would file a dual-status return. Your earned income outside of the U.S. would still NOT be subject to U.S. income taxes, but your dividend income would be subject to taxes at the 15% rate noted above during the periods your worked outside of the U.S. and at normal U.S. rates during the period you lived in the U.S.

For 2007 and 2008, I believe the IRS will consider you to be a resident alien due to meeting SPT in 2006 and maintaining SPT in 2007 and 2008. For this reason, I believe that your foreign-sourced income IS subject to U.S. income taxes. Further, the duration of your stay in the U.S. in both 2007 and 2008 makes you ineligible for the Foreign Income Exclusion (Form 2555), though you can claim the Foreign Tax Credit (Form 1116) for taxes paid to Indonesia on the income earned outside of the U.S.

It appears that you need to file annual tax returns for 2005 through 2008.