Welcome to the IRS's international individual taxpayers assistance, or IIT, a video series. Are you married to a non-resident alien and need help determining your tax filing status? It's important to know your filing status because it may affect your U.S. taxes. This video explores all the possible filing status options if your spouse is a non-resident alien, sometimes known as a foreign person. In general, when a U.S. citizen or resident alien is married to a non-resident alien, their federal tax filing status is married filing separately. However, you may choose another filing status if you qualify. One option is that both you and your spouse can choose to treat the non-resident alien spouse as a U.S. resident for tax purposes. If you make this choice, your filing status is married filing jointly. It's important to understand that making this choice doesn't change your spouse's U.S. immigration status. If you made this choice in a current or prior year and do not make any changes, it will continue. If you choose the married filing jointly status, both spouses must report their combined worldwide income. This may entitle you to additional exemptions and higher deductions. For more information, please see Publication 519, the U.S. Tax Guide for Aliens, specifically the chapter titled "Non-resident Alien or Resident Alien." To find it, go to irs.gov and type "Pub 519" in the search bar. For more details, you can also search our website for Publication 54, the Tax Guide for U.S. Citizens and Resident Aliens Abroad. If you do not treat your non-resident alien spouse as a tax resident, you cannot use the married filing jointly status. However, you may qualify for another filing status. Option number two is to file as head of household. To qualify for this status, you must have paid more than...
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Video instructions and help with filling out and completing What Form 8854 Nonresident
