I moved to the US from Canada in March of 2011 and will be filing my US tax return for the first time.

From March till Sept I was working in the US with a J1 visa, then it changed to a H1 visa. I think associated with that change is a change of status from non-resident alien to resident alien or similar. While on the J1 my payroll deductions were pretty small (didn't have reductions for things such as 401k etc.), after switching to a H1 visa my deductions became much higher.

My question is - are there a different set of forms for filing as a non-resident alien to a resident-alien (or similar, depending upon what my exact status was)? And if so, as my status changed during the tax year do I fill in one form, which one, or both.

If I fill in the same tax form as everybody else, but there is a section where I say what my status is, as my status changed, then what do I say my status is? And is there a section for saying when and how my status changed?

TIA

TIA

You did not complete SPT in 2011 so you are nonresident for 2011. If you are not married, file nonresident tax return and Form 8843. You can claim treaty deduction if you had income during J1. Nonresident Your U.S. Tax Return: U.S. Tax Filing Requirements for Non-Residents (http://taxipay.blogspot.com/2008/03/us-tax-filing-requirements-for-non.html)

Thanks, I am married, my wife is a Canadian citizen and here on a H-4 and thus has no US income and I had income while on the J1.

Regarding SPT, as I came here in March I have been here more than 183 days in 2011 - or does the 183 only start to be counted from when I had a H1?

Another complication is for the first 3 months of 2011 I have Canadian income - would I declare this to its? I was planning on filing a separate tax return in Canada.