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Consider the following context:
Person A is moving to the US in July of 2022, formerly not tax-liable in the US (non-reisdent alien). They start a regular employment in the US for the remainder of the year, holding a valid immigration visa, and are now considering the US tax return with the IRS.

I am fairly sure that it is not possible to deduct the full amount for the standard deduction on the tax return, if one moves to the US throughout the year as a former non-resident alien.
According to my own investigations, the IRS itself lists various exemptions on who can claim the full deductions, where the two following scenarios are primarily relevant for the given situation:

[Not Eligible for the Standard Deduction are:] [...]
2. An individual who was a nonresident alien or dual status alien during the year (see below for certain exceptions)
3. An individual who files a return for a period of less than 12 months due to a change in his or her annual accounting period

However, I am unsure whether (3.) is relevant here, as I could not find any clear information on the referenced "change in his or her annual accounting period" expression. Is this a concept mainly relevant for businesses, or is it something that can be applied to regular W-2 incomes of individuals as well?

Mainly, however, I am interested in how the standard deduction will instead be available: Is there a "pro rata temporis" regulation, i.e., allowing a fractional amount of the standard deduction by number of months/days instead? Or is the deduction forfeited completely?

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    I suspect the answer is "If you want deductions for the partial year, you need to itemize."
    – keshlam
    May 26 at 16:17
  • If 2) is relevant (which it sounds like it is) does it matter if 3) is relevant?
    – D Stanley
    May 26 at 16:39
  • I presume you intend to move in July 2023?
    – Jon Custer
    May 26 at 18:40

2 Answers 2

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No, in this situation you'll be filing a dual-status return (which is exception #2), and you'll have to itemize the deductions. There's no "pro-rata" standard deduction, you either elect to take it in full if it is available, or it is not available like in your scenario.

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That person is more likely than not either a non-resident alien or a dual-status alien for 2022 barring any exceptions that would make them a full-year resident. See IRS Pub 519 pages 7-9 and chapter 6 starting on page 31.

Therefore, no standard deduction is allowed and certain itemized deductions may be limited as well.

There's an exception under a specific tax treaty for certain alien taxpayers from India (there may be others as well), where the standard deduction can be taken.

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    "They met the substantial presence test for 2022" If they moved to the US in July 2022 after July 3, and have not been in the US in 2021 or 2020, then they do not meet the Substantial Presence Test for 2022.
    – user102008
    May 26 at 16:53
  • @user102008 you're right, misread July as June.
    – Stan H
    May 26 at 17:12

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