Hello,
I came to us on 30th October 2009 from Pakistan on F1 -- My H1B started on 1st October 2014 and I am not sure what is my tax status?

- Which form do I need to file? I have previously filed 1040NR for 2013
- There is $5000 treaty with Pakistan. I have claimed it the previous years, can I still claim it Since my visa status changed before the 5 years?
- I also have dependents on H4B, can I claim dependents on tax form? (wife and kid)?

Any help is appreciated

Thanks

For sure, you will file as a resident alien, because your five-year F-1 visa exemption ended on 31 December 2013. You will file Form 1040, filing jointly with your wife and claiming your children as dependents. Your wife will need to sign a spousal choice statement, and both she and the children will need to submit Form W-7 through an IRS Tax Assistance Center to get Individual Tax Identification Numbers (ITINs).

There is no set time limit for the $5,000 treaty exemption. That being the case, you can claim the treaty exemption on your resident return by entering it as a negative number on Line #21 of Form 1040 and submitting Form 8833 to explain the treaty exemption. This will require the tax return be mailed rather than filed electronically.

If you need professional help to file this return, contact me at the email address in my profile.

Thanks for replying. I have done some homework and seem like I need to file W7 along with my tax return however I cannot seem to find out what will be the reason on W7 form for spouse and dependent?

Dependent/spouse of resident alien filing a tax return

Would you be kind enough to mention the "reason letter" that looks appropriate? - For my kid it seems like it will be

" d. Dependent of a U.S. citizen/resident alien. "

However for my spouse who is going to be filing jointly seems to fall under

"c- U.S. resident alien (based on days present in the United States) filing a U.S. tax return"

I am getting these codes from http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/iw7.pdf


Thanks again for replying. Appreciate your help.

Do "Spouse of a U.S. citizen/resident alien" for your wife's ITIN.