Hi,
I worked 3 months in F-1 OPT and then the remaining part of the tax year in H-4 EAD. My husband is in H-1B.
Please advise on how to file my taxes for year 2015.

You can file jointly with your husband and submit a statement that states that you CHOOSE to be treated as a resident for all of 2015.

Make sure that, when working on OPT, you did NOT pay FICA (Social Security and Medicare) taxes on your OPT salary. If you did, go back to the employer and ask that those taxes be refunded to you.

Do this BEFORE you file the joint return, because if you do not, you have NO chance of recovering those FICA taxes.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by AtlantaTaxExpert

You can file jointly with your husband and submit a statement that states that you CHOOSE to be treated as a resident for all of 2015.

Make sure that, when working on OPT, you did NOT pay FICA (Social Security and Medicare) taxes on your OPT salary. If you did, go back to the employer and ask that those taxes be refunded to you.

Do this BEFORE you file the joint return, because if you do not, you have NO chance of recovering those FICA taxes.

---

Thank you, AltantaTaxExpert. That helps!

Glad to help!

If you need professional help filing, you can email me at the email address in my profile.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by AtlantaTaxExpert

You can file jointly with your husband and submit a statement that states that you CHOOSE to be treated as a resident for all of 2015.

Make sure that, when working on OPT, you did NOT pay FICA (Social Security and Medicare) taxes on your OPT salary. If you did, go back to the employer and ask that those taxes be refunded to you.

Do this BEFORE you file the joint return, because if you do not, you have NO chance of recovering those FICA taxes.

---

I only see two taxes on my pay check:
Federal Income Tax
State Income Tax

Can I ask for a refund of the above taxes? I do not see SS and Medicare taxes on the paycheck.

You will probably get a partial refund of those taxes, but you must pay SOME taxes on income earned inside the U.S.