Hi,

I am f1 student from india. And my wife is on f2

I'm working for a company in Texas
F1- OPT: 1099 misc ( jan 2009 -march 2009 )(texas)
F1 - OPT: W2 ( April 2009 – sept 2009) (texas)
H1B : W2 ( oct 2009- dec 2009) ( texas)


My questions are,

What are the tax forms that I should use other than 1040nr?

I learned that I can claim standard deduction of $10900 since I am from India.. $7000 personal exemption .what amount should it be on line 22 of 1040nr.(total income exempt by a treaty)

I also invest in stocks . Do I have to pay tax on stocks? Do I have to fill up page 4 of 1040nr?

Thanks

Bhaskar

Bhaskar:

You need to file JOINTLY with your wife for 2009, filing Form 1040 instead of Form 1040NR, with you and your wife signing a statement that you both CHOOSE to be treated as resident aliens for ALL of 2009.

It will require that you report ALL of your world-wide income for 2009, but the benefits of filing jointly ($7,200 in personal exemptions plus a standard deduction OVER $11,000) more than compensates for that.

Are you SURE you speak of 2009, because the personal exemption and standard deduction you cite are for tax year 2008?

Yes, you DO have to pay taxes on stock sales if you showed a profit on those sales. That will be done on Schedule D.

You have two choices:
Choice 1: You can file non-resident tax return, or
Choice 2: You can file resident tax return as Married Filing Jointly. You will have to wait for 5 months to file your tax return till you meet the Substantial Presence Test in 2010. Read Your U.S. Tax Return: Substantial Presence Test (http://taxipay.blogspot.com/2008/04/substantial-presence-test.html)

On the joint return, you must both declare your worldwide income for 2009. If you have bank accounts in India, then you may have to file Form FBAR.