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Please do not confuse it with this question here. It is about a different source of income and a different filling status.

Context: I came to the USA via F2 (student visa) in September 2021 after getting married. My husband’s status is resident alien and he has an SSN. Additionally, he was on an F1 visa for the entire 2021. We have decided to file a joint income tax return for the first time in 2021. I have income in India via salary and consultancy and no income in the USA. My husband's complete income is from the USA.

Questions:

  1. What is the limit above which I will have to disclose my income from India in our US income tax return?
  2. What is the upper limit of income from India above which it will be taxable in the USA? (Already paying tax in India)

Please feel free to ask if the situation is not clear.

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  • when you say "we have filed", do you mean "we decided to file"? Because these questions should be asked before filing a return...
    – littleadv
    Commented Mar 10, 2022 at 16:34
  • Highly suggest you consider seeking professional guidance if the pending tax amounts are substantial; there could be valuable tax planning that you might not find yourself, or steps to ensure proper compliance.
    – Grade 'Eh' Bacon
    Commented Mar 10, 2022 at 16:53
  • You can check the IRS guidance on this situation here: irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/…
    – Grade 'Eh' Bacon
    Commented Mar 10, 2022 at 16:57
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    "My husband’s status is resident alien" Are you sure about that? When did he come on F1? If he came in 2017 or later, and he was never in F or J status before 2017, he was almost certainly a nonresident alien for all of 2021.
    – user102008
    Commented Mar 10, 2022 at 18:49
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    @ChotuMotu: And you are aware that days of presence as a student are not counted in the Substantial Presence Test for the first 5 calendar years?
    – user102008
    Commented Mar 10, 2022 at 23:21

1 Answer 1

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What is the limit above which I will have to disclose my income from India in our US income tax return?

You have to disclose all of it, since the US is taxing worldwide income and you're filing as residents for the whole year.

What is the upper limit of income from India above which it will be taxable in the USA? (Already paying tax in India)

Again, no upper limit just as no lower limit. You can use Foreign Tax Credit (form 1116) to account for your taxes paid in India. You may be eligible for Foreign Earned Income Exclusion, check the eligibility rules.

Following up on the comments - you wouldn't be able to file as a full-year resident unless you filed under MFJ status ("Married Filing Jointly"). However, in this situation you need to think whether you actually want to file as a full-year resident. What was alluded to in the comments was that filing MFS ("Married Filing Separately") with separate returns for each of you and a split-year return (dual-status return) or non-resident return for you may be beneficial.

Agree with the advice that you should probably talk to a professional (CPA/EA licensed in your State).

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  • Are you sure about this? Seems to assume OP files "married filing jointly"; the old accounting joke that MFS stands for "married filing stupid" doesn't apply here; it is quite possible that Married Filing Separate leads to preferential tax outcome, precisely because OP's income pre-September from India might not need to be reported on US taxes.
    – Grade 'Eh' Bacon
    Commented Mar 10, 2022 at 16:50
  • (I know the OP states they are "filing jointly for the first time", but I take that as colloquially meaning "filing for the first time after being marred", not shorthand for "selecting Married Filing Jointly on our returns").
    – Grade 'Eh' Bacon
    Commented Mar 10, 2022 at 16:51
  • @Grade'Eh'Bacon I'm not assuming, that's what the OP says.
    – littleadv
    Commented Mar 10, 2022 at 16:53
  • I doubt the OP is aware of the intricacies of filing as MFJ vs MFS, it seems to me to be non-technical use of the term 'jointly'.
    – Grade 'Eh' Bacon
    Commented Mar 10, 2022 at 16:54
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    @user102008 that kindof depends on how the resident spouse is resident, not sure if F2 can be excluded from substantial presence if F1 cannot be. Anyway, talking to a pro is the way. They seem to specifically wanting to be considered residents, and maybe there's a non-tax related reason for that
    – littleadv
    Commented Mar 10, 2022 at 18:55

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