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-   -   Dual Status Married Filing Jointly? Or Treaty-Based Single Non-Resident Alien? (https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/showthread.php?t=191327)

  • Mar 5, 2008, 09:38 AM
    Arxa
    Resident Alien Married Filing Jointly? Or Treaty-Based Single Non-Resident Alien?
    I worked in the US for a US company in 2006 (TN visa) for 1.5 months and filed a non-resident alien return as a single person.

    I worked in 2007 in the US until the end of August (still on TN visa), then returned home to Canada and worked for a Canadian employer for the rest of the year. I had a similar monthly wage from both employers, so two thirds of my whole-year income is from the US company.

    What should I do? (My wife is a stay-at-home mom with only investment income, no wages)
    1) Claim treaty-based Canadian residency and file a non-resident alien return as a single person, or
    2) File married/jointly with a W-7 ITIN application for my wife, claim myself as resident alien, and take the married-filing-jointly standard deduction, or
    3) File Dual status, single resident from Jan-Aug and then single non-resident from Sep-Dec?

    Does it actually even matter which choice I make, considering that taxes in Canada are higher, and what I don't pay to the US, I will pay to Canada? Please help, I'm so confused :(
  • Apr 18, 2008, 11:41 AM
    AtlantaTaxExpert
    Option #3 (filing as dual-status) is your only choice.

    You have met substantial presence, so you cannot file as a non-resident alien, and you did not end the year in resident status, so you CANNOT file as a resident alien.

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