Resident or nonresident alien for tax purposes

Tax residency is not immigration status

"Resident alien" and "nonresident alien" are tax terms. They decide how you file a U.S. tax return and nothing else. They don't change or prove any immigration status.

The two tests

You're a resident alien for tax purposes if you meet either test:

• Green card test: you were a lawful permanent resident at any time during the year.
• Substantial presence test: you were in the U.S. at least 31 days this year, and the total of all your days this year, plus one-third of your days last year, plus one-sixth of your days the year before, is 183 or more.

Some days don't count. Students on F, J, M or Q visas usually don't count days for their first five calendar years, and teachers and trainees on J or Q visas usually don't count days unless they were already exempt in 2 of the 6 years before. Certain other people, such as foreign government employees, are also exempt. Someone under 183 days this year may also be able to claim a closer connection to another country.

What each group files

• Resident aliens file Form 1040 like U.S. citizens, report income from everywhere in the world, and use the same filing statuses, deductions and credits, if they meet each credit's rules.
• Nonresident aliens file Form 1040-NR and generally report only U.S.-source income. Most can't file jointly, use the standard deduction or claim the Earned Income Credit.

Dual-status years

The year you arrive or leave, you can be a nonresident for part of the year and a resident for the rest. That's a dual-status year, with special rules: generally no joint return and no standard deduction, unless you make one of the elections below.

Married to a nonresident

• Filing jointly: if one spouse is a U.S. citizen or resident at the end of the year, the couple can choose to treat the nonresident spouse as a resident for the whole year and file jointly. Both spouses' worldwide income is then taxed in the U.S., and the choice stays in place for later years until it's ended. A separate one-year choice exists when both spouses start the year as nonresidents and end it as residents.
• Head of household: if your spouse was a nonresident alien at any time during the year and you don't make that choice, you're considered unmarried for head of household purposes. You still need a qualifying person, such as your child, and your nonresident spouse doesn't count as one.
• Identification numbers: a spouse or dependent who can't get a Social Security number needs an ITIN.