Married to a Non-U.S. Citizen — Filing Options for Expats
Reviewed by the Fairlight Accounting cross-border tax team — U.S. & Canadian Tax Desks
Filing status for a U.S. citizen married to a non-resident alien is a choice, not a default: the couple can file as married filing separately, elect to file jointly by treating the foreign spouse as a U.S. resident, or in some cases file as head of household. The choice determines whether the spouse's income, accounts, and assets enter the U.S. system at all.
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What is the default when my spouse isn't a U.S. person?
Married filing separately. Your return includes only your income; your spouse has no U.S. filing obligation, no FBAR, and no Form 8938 for their own accounts. On the return you enter "NRA" where the spouse's taxpayer number would go if they have none. The cost: separate filers face lower thresholds, lose some credits, and are taxed at less favorable brackets than joint filers.
Can we file jointly?
Yes, by electing under Section 6013(g) to treat your non-resident spouse as a U.S. resident for tax purposes. The election brings joint brackets, the full standard deduction, and credit eligibility. It also brings your spouse's worldwide income onto the U.S. return, their accounts onto the FBAR and Form 8938, and their foreign funds into the passive foreign investment company rules. The spouse needs a taxpayer number — usually an ITIN. The election stays in force every year until revoked, and once revoked it can't be made again by the same couple.
When does the joint election make sense?
When the spouse has little or no income, or income in a country whose tax fully offsets the U.S. tax through the foreign tax credit, and few complicating assets. A non-working spouse, or one with a straightforward salary in a high-tax country, often makes the joint election worthwhile. A spouse with a business, a large investment portfolio, or local funds that would be PFICs usually does not.
Can I file as head of household while married?
Yes — this is one of the few situations where a married person can. If your spouse is a non-resident alien and you don't elect joint treatment, you're treated as unmarried for this purpose; you then need a qualifying person (typically your child) who lived with you more than half the year, and you must have paid more than half the household's costs. Head of household brackets and standard deduction sit between separate and joint.
What about my spouse's accounts and assets?
Without the election, your spouse's separately held accounts are invisible to the U.S. — but joint accounts are reported by you in full on the FBAR and Form 8938. Gifts between you are limited: gifts to a non-citizen spouse don't get the unlimited marital deduction, only a larger annual exclusion, above which you file Form 709. Gifts from your spouse to you are foreign gifts, reportable on Form 3520 above the threshold.
Does the choice affect my children?
Children who are U.S. citizens through you can be claimed as dependents on any status, but the child tax credit requires the child to have a Social Security number. A non-U.S. spouse's citizenship doesn't change the children's U.S. status if citizenship transmitted through you.
Frequently asked questions
My spouse refuses to share their income with the IRS. What are my options?
Married filing separately keeps their income out entirely. Head of household does too, if you have a qualifying child.
Can we make the joint election for one year and drop it?
You can revoke it, but the election is then gone permanently for that marriage. Treat it as a long-term decision.
Does the joint election make my spouse liable for U.S. tax?
Yes — joint filers are jointly and severally liable for the whole return.
We live in a community-property country. Does that change my separate return?
It can: community-property rules may require splitting certain income between spouses even on separate returns. A relief provision lets you disregard that for a non-resident spouse's earned income in most cases.
Next step
Fairlight Accounting handles U.S. domestic, cross-border (U.S.–Canada), and international tax returns, plus bookkeeping, payroll, and CFO advisory. If you're abroad with a non-U.S. spouse and want to know which status actually costs less — this year and in the years after — our U.S. Tax Desk can model all three. See pricing or book a free fit call.
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