Hi,

1- I came to the US under F-1 visa in January, 2007.
2- Started working on OPT in November, 2008.
3- Living with my wife in the US since July, 2009.
4- Started H1-B visa in October, 2009.

My country does NOT have any kind of tax treaty with the US.
My question is:

Can I file 2009 taxes as a resident, filing jointly ?
I know this sounds like "read the posts, this question was already answered" But I have been confused by some answers that state that
H1-B workers since October 2009 have the change of filing as residents.

Thank you very much in advance guys, you give excellent help for all of us.

Martin.

Choice 1: File non-resident tax return.
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 (of 183 days) in 2010. Your U.S. Tax Return: Substantial Presence Test (http://taxipay.blogspot.com/2008/04/substantial-presence-test.html)
You will get standard deduction of $11,400 and exemptions ($3,650 each) for both of you.

You must both declare your worldwide income for 2009. If you have any foreign income, and on that income you paid taxes in the foreign country, then you can claim foreign tax credit (Form 1116) or you can use Foreign Earned Income Exclusion (Form 2555). 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)

You will complete forms W-7 (application for ITIN) for your spouse and attach with your tax return.

MukatA,

Thanks for the answer.

But what about the April 15th deadline? Do I have to ask for an extension in the due date?
And one more thing I forgot to mention. I did NOT pay FICA taxes until October 1st, 2009, Can I still file as a resident ? Thanks again,

Martin.

MukatA,

Thanks for the answer.

But what about the April 15th deadline? Do I have to ask for an extension in the due date?
And one more thing I forgot to mention. I did NOT pay FICA taxes until October 1st, 2009, Can I still file as a resident ? Thanks again,

Martin.

You will file Form 4868 for extension. Yes, you do not pay FICA taxes on OPT income even if you choose to file resident tax return.

Very clear. Thank you very much again. Bye.