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I lived and worked in US in 2018 and filed both the federal tax and the state tax (CA) in 2019. I left US in 2018 Dec and settled in new country.

For 2019, I got married and lived outside US for the entire year with my spouse. Neither me nor my spouse are US citizens or permanent residents. I don't have any US W2 income in 2019, but I do have some long term capital gains for the year 2019. My questions are :

  1. Am I correct in understanding that we both are Non Resident aliens for tax purposes ?
  2. Will I be filing the US taxes as a Non Resident alien (Married filing separate) for the year 2019 ? (I do not meet substantial presence test)
  3. For federal taxes, I will report the capital gains + dividends and pay appropriate tax on them. Am I correct ?
  4. Do I need to file state taxes at all ? If yes, that should be the last state I resided in (CA) which is a community property state ? Will I have to apply for ITIN for my spouse ?
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  1. yes
  2. yes
  3. yes, if they are sourced in the US
  4. You will be a nonresident of California. You would only be subject to California taxes on income that is sourced in California. Since you are filing separately for federal, you would also need to file separately for state. Assuming your spouse does not have any California (or US) income, he/she would not need to file a California (or federal) tax return, and would not need an ITIN.
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  • Regarding 3) By sourced in US, it implies that it was from sale of US companies ?
    – karen
    Commented Nov 25, 2019 at 14:55
  • Regarding 4) For state return, it does ask to fill up spouse information. What shall I fill for SSN or ITIN of a spouse ?
    – karen
    Commented Nov 25, 2019 at 16:03
  • @karen: As for what income of nonresident aliens is taxable in the US, you would have to read the Publication 519 section on Sources of Income for Nonresident Aliens.
    – user102008
    Commented Nov 25, 2019 at 17:49
  • @karen: Regarding the spouse's SSN/ITIN on the state return, from looking at the California tax return form it does not seem like you need to list the spouse's information if you are filing as Married Filing Separately
    – user102008
    Commented Nov 25, 2019 at 19:53

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