Hello,

I have been in the states since 2008 on J1 visa. For the first 4 years I did not pay any taxes as I was on a scholarship from my home country. Then, I started to receive money from the US and pay taxes. I was always considered as a resident alien for tax purposes.

Note: I also visited the US from December 2007 to March 2008 on J1 visa and I was sponsored by my home country, so no taxes paid or filed.

This year, to my surprise, I was considered as a non-resident alien. I was told that people on J1 visa are subject to the 6 year look back rule. I was told that I stayed long enough to be reconsidered as a non-resident. I am not sure how is that, but that is how it is for me now.

If it matters, my wife is non-US citizen on J2 and I assume she is considered as a non-resident alien too. In fact, we never checked her status since she does not work. My kids are all US citizens.

My main concern now is when the time comes to file my tax return. I have few concerns here:

1- Will I be able to claim 4 allowances for myself, wife, and the 2 kids?

2- Will I be able to file my tax return as married filing jointly, which is what I used to do during the past years?

3- Will I receive tax exemptions for 4 persons which are like 16,000 and consequently be taxed for my gross income minus 16,000?

4- Will I get Child Credit since my kids are still young?

5- I am not expecting to make much this year as I was out of the country and started work in March 2017. So, will I get income credit which happened before when I did not make this much? If it matters, I am expecting to make like 26,000 until the end of the year.

Alternatively, if my wife turns out to be a resident alien which is possible since she came to the US starting from 2008 and she was not with me during the visit that started in December 2007, as I mentioned above, would it be possible then to that she files as the primary person and add me to her filing? As a reminder, she does not work at all.

If it matters, we never checked the status of my wife since she only worked and filed tax return once.

If it matters, we all have SSN; We have been filing tax return jointly since 2013; My wife has filed as the primary person once in 2013.

Note: I was told by a tax specialist that regardless of my J1 visa and the so called 6 year look back rule, I can still file my tax return as in 2018 for my income earned in 2017 as a resident alien because I will be in the US for over 183 days.

Note: In the same context to the previous note, when I tried to use a website for filing tax return for non-residents, it asked me some questions including the arrival and departure dates in the last few years, and when I answered it considered me as RESIDENT and did not allow me to complete my filing.

FYI, I can provide detailed dates of arrival and departure if this would help in deciding my status.

Generally, I would appreciate any recommendation/suggestion/advice that would help me get the most of my tax return.

Thanks a lot for reading and looking forward to hearing from you

Note: I also visited the US from December 2007 to March 2008 on J1 visa and I was sponsored by my home country, so no taxes paid or filed.=========>UNLESS you earned income in US no need to file return with the IRS. NOTE: J1 visa holders who earned money during their stay in the U.S. have to file tax return for each year in which they were compensated.J1 visa holders have to pay federal, state, and local taxes.J1 visa holders do not have to pay social security or Medicare taxes.
Everyone with a J-1 exchange visa must submit one Form 8843 per year to the IRS, even if they made no income in the US
There are 2 situations in which J-1 students do not need to file the Form 8843. They are:
If you have been a J-1 student during 5 or more calendar years, OR
If you pass the ?Substantial Presence Test? in Form 8843 Part 1 .If either of these situations applies to you, you do not need to submit a Form 8843.


This year, to my surprise, I was considered as a non-resident alien. I was told that people on J1 visa are subject to the 6 year look back rule. I was told that I stayed long enough to be reconsidered as a non-resident. I am not sure how is that, but that is how it is for me now.===>
you need to check it, your residency status, with the IRS for sure

If it matters, my wife is non-US citizen on J2 and I assume she is considered as a non-resident alien too. In fact, we never checked her status since she does not work. My kids are all US citizens.

My main concern now is when the time comes to file my tax return. I have few concerns here:

1- Will I be able to claim 4 allowances for myself, wife, and the 2 kids?==> Generally, if a non-resident alien is engaged in a trade or business in the US, he or she can claim only one personal exemption. An exemption for a spouse and a dependent may be claimed if the spouse or dependent is described in any of the following categories.
1. If a resident of Mexico or Canada or a national of US.They can also claim a personal exemption for their spouse if the spouse had no gross income for U.S. tax purposes and was not the dependent of another taxpayer. In addition, they can claim exemptions for their dependents who meet certain tests. Residents of Mexico, Canada, or nationals of the US must use the same rules as US citizens to determine who is a dependent and for which dependents exemptions can be claimed.


2- Will I be able to file my tax return as married filing jointly, which is what I used to do during the past years?=.As a nonresident resident of US, no; If you were a nonresident alien student, teacher, or trainee who was temporarily present in the US on an J visa, you are considered engaged in a trade or business in the US. You must file Form 1040NR nonresident alien couples can not file joint return Generally, you cannot file as married filing jointly if either spouse was a non-resident alien at any time during the tax year. However, non-resident aliens married to U.S. citizens or residents can choose to be treated as U.S. residents and file joint returns.

3- Will I receive tax exemptions for 4 persons which are like 16,000 and consequently be taxed for my gross income minus 16,000?===>As mentioned above no.

4- Will I get Child Credit since my kids are still young?==>>I do not think so;
To be identified as a qualifying child and dependent your kids must be U.S. citizens or residents

5- I am not expecting to make much this year as I was out of the country and started work in March 2017. So, will I get income credit which happened before when I did not make this much? If it matters, I am expecting to make like 26,000 until the end of the year.======>as said UNLESS you are a tax purpose US resident, you CAN NOT claim Earned income tax credit/Earned income credit on your 1040NR

Alternatively, if my wife turns out to be a resident alien which is possible since she came to the US starting from 2008 and she was not with me during the visit that started in December 2007, as I mentioned above, would it be possible then to that she files as the primary person and add me to her filing? As a reminder, she does not work at all.==>In this case you may file your return as MFJ and can claim your dependents and EIC or etc;then both you and your spouse must report not only US source but world wide income to IRS/your home state.

If it matters, we never checked the status of my wife since she only worked and filed tax return once.==>as said you need to check it with your Enrolled Agent or a CPA doing taxes or with the IRS for sure.

If it matters, we all have SSN; We have been filing tax return jointly since 2013; My wife has filed as the primary person once in 2013.==>plz I have no idea about your status so please check it with an Enrolled Agent or a CPA doing taxes in your local area.

Note: I was told by a tax specialist that regardless of my J1 visa and the so called 6 year look back rule, I can still file my tax return as in 2018 for my income earned in 2017 as a resident alien because I will be in the US for over 183 days.===========> so plz contact the tax pro
An alien is any individual who is not a U.S. citizen or U.S. national. A nonresident alien is an alien who has not passed the green card test or the substantial presence test.

Thank you so much Wnhough! I think the best way is to contact a tax specialist to see about my status and I should go from there. Thanks again!

exactly; as said you need to contact an IRS Enrolled Agent or a CPA doing taxes in your local area for sure.

What do you mean by IRS enrolled agent? Do you mean talking to IRS directly? Frankly, I am trying to avoid talking to IRS directly because there might be different opinions on my case, and I am afraid that if I contacted IRS directly they might deal with my future tax return with suspicion and maybe become too strict where they can be more flexible.

What do you mean by IRS enrolled agent? Do you mean talking to IRS directly? Frankly, I am trying to avoid talking to IRS directly because there might be different opinions on my case, and I am afraid that if I contacted IRS directly they might deal with my future tax return with suspicion and maybe become too strict where they can be more flexible.