Hi,

I entered US in September 2009 with a J1 visa. Since October 2010, I changed to H1B visa.
I filed a 1040NR-EZ & 8843 for 2009, claiming tax exemption treaty. I filed as a single.

I did not have federal tax withholding until the end of my J1 status (August 2010). I then started paying tax, Medicare and SS since October 2010.

Which form(s) should I file for 2010's return, and what filing status should I put (single, joint filing, etc)? I have a spouse and a kid (born August 22nd, 2010).

I also received a 1042-S for 2009 filing (as far as I understand, do I need to wait for this form to do filing?

In addition, since I filed as a single for 2009, I did not ask for ITIN for my wife, and she did not file a tax return. My colleague told me that she supposed to file a tax return by herself. Is there anything I should do? Should I just file a W7 with my tax return?

Thank you in advance.

For 2010, you have a choice:

1) You can file BY YOURSELF, filing Form 1040NR-EZ plus Form 8843 one last time. You have NOT met the 183-day Substantial Presence Test (the days under the J-1 visa DO NOT COUNT), so that is a legitimate way to file.

OR

2) You can file jointly with your wife, with you BOTH choosing to be treated as resident aliens for all of 2010. This will allow you to claim both the $1,000 Child Tax Credit and the $800 Making Work Pay Credit. However, it MAY make your J-1 income taxable.

I cannot say which option is best because I do not have enough information.

I need to know:
- What is your home country?
- Did your wife earn any income in 2010?
- How much income you earned in 2010 while under the J-1 visa?
- How much income you earned while under the H-1B visa?

Thanks AtlantaTaxExpert,

My home country is Indonesia, my wife did not earn any income in 2010.

Under J-1, I earned $46889 (in W-2) until August 31. I did not earn anything in September, and I earned $13985 since October till the end of the year.

My J-1 ends in August 31, and I stayed the whole September under the 30-day grace period. I then started my H1B on October 1st

You can file jointly with your wife and choose to be treated as residents for ALL of 2010, while retaining the tax-exempt status of your J-1 tour. Thuis is allowed by gthe U.S.-Indonesia Tax Treaty. You will have to file Form 8833 with Form 1040 to claim the treaty exemption.

If you need professional help doing this, email me at [email protected].

I filed the 1040NR-EZ by myself, and I get some refund.

How about CA state tax? Do you know whether I should file 540NR-short form, or the standard 540?

If you were in California for the entire, file Form 540 as a resident. California does NOT honot tax treaties, so your J-1 status has no meaning for them. In their eyes, if you lived in the state for the entire year, you are a resident for tax purposes.