Married to a US citizen on F-1 or OPT: how to file a joint 2026 return, step by step

Does the student spouse need an SSN or an ITIN?

Each spouse needs an SSN or an ITIN (IRS). A student authorized to work, for example on OPT, can generally get an SSN (SSA) and uses it.

A student who is not eligible for an SSN applies for an ITIN on Form W-7, attached to the front of the joint return (Form W-7 instructions; ITIN guide).

1. On Form W-7, check box e, "Spouse of U.S. citizen/resident alien", and enter the other spouse's full name and SSN or ITIN on its dotted line. The instructions say it covers a spouse who is not eligible for an SSN and is electing to file jointly with a US citizen or resident.
2. On Form 1040, leave the student's SSN box blank. The IRS assigns the ITIN when it processes Form W-7.
3. Do not file Form W-7 while an SSN application is pending.

If more than one box applies, the instructions say to check the one that "best explains" your reason. If the Social Security Administration finds you are not eligible for an SSN, attach its letter of denial to Form W-7.

For students, the instructions point to box f. There, an F-1 or J-1 student who will not work in the US can attach a letter from the school's DSO or RO instead.

The letter must say the student will not be working in the US and is here only to study. Ask the IRS or a preparer whether that letter also works with box e.

A designated IRS Taxpayer Assistance Center (appointments at 844-545-5640) can check the passport and return it at once. The H-4 joint return guide walks through Form W-7 line by line for an H-4 spouse.

What income goes on the joint return?

Both spouses' income from everywhere in the world, for all of 2026, goes on the joint return (IRS). That includes the student's US wages and income from the home country, such as interest on a savings account.

1. Collect both spouses' Forms W-2, 1099 and 1042-S, and statements for every account abroad.
2. Convert each foreign amount to dollars at "the exchange rate prevailing when you receive, pay, or accrue the item" (IRS). The IRS generally "accepts any posted exchange rate that is used consistently" (IRS).
3. With over $1,500 of interest or dividends, or any account abroad, file Schedule B (2025 Schedule B instructions).

Tax paid abroad on that income may give a credit on Form 1116 (Publication 519). Ask a preparer whether it applies.

How do you fill in the joint Form 1040?

File married filing jointly, check the box for treating a nonresident spouse as a US resident, and take the $32,200 standard deduction. Lines are from the 2026 draft Form 1040.

1. Filing Status: married filing jointly.
2. Other Information: check "If treating a nonresident alien or dual-status alien spouse as a U.S. resident for the entire tax year" and enter the student's name.
3. The draft asks whether, at the time you file, each of you is "a U.S. citizen, U.S. national, or an alien lawfully authorized to work in the U.S." The question includes US citizens. Its instructions are not yet published, so ask a preparer how a student answers.
4. Line 1a: both spouses' W-2 box 1 wages. Line 2b: taxable interest, US and foreign.
5. Line 12c ("You were a dual-status alien") stays blank. The student was a nonresident all year, and the 2025 instructions say even a dual-status spouse does not check it on such a joint return (2025 Form 1040 instructions).
6. Line 12e: $32,200 (Rev. Proc. 2025-32), unless you itemize.

What does the choice statement say?

There is no IRS form: you write the statement, both of you sign it, and you attach it to the first joint return. It holds a declaration and each spouse's name, address and SSN or ITIN (Publication 519).

Example wording, not an IRS form:

Tax year 2026. On December 31, 2026, Kofi Mensah was a nonresident alien and Morgan Lee was a US citizen. We choose to be treated as US residents for the entire tax year. Kofi Mensah, (US address), SSN (number). Morgan Lee, (US address), SSN (number). (Both signatures.)

Pub 519 asks the declaration to name each spouse's status "on the last day of your tax year". If the student's ITIN has not been assigned yet, ask a preparer what to write in place of the number.

What happens to the student's treaty claim and Form 8843?

Under the choice, neither of you can claim under a treaty not to be a US resident (Publication 519).

A student article can still apply if the treaty's saving clause makes an exception for it and its conditions and time limits are met. Publication 519 says this holds "even if you are a nonresident alien electing to file a joint return".

1. China's Article 20 is one such article, while the student is still a student, within the time reasonably needed (China treaty guide). Whether any treaty article covers OPT or STEM OPT pay is not settled.
2. Report the full wage on line 1a and the exempt amount in parentheses on Schedule 1, line 8z, with "Exempt income", the country and the article, as Publication 519 shows for residents.
3. Form 8843: Publication 519 (2025) says a student who excludes days of presence must file a fully completed Form 8843 and attach it "to your 2025 income tax return". The 2026 draft Form 8843 names only Form 1040-NR, so ask a preparer whether to attach it to the joint Form 1040.

Does Social Security and Medicare withholding change?

The student's Social Security and Medicare withholding need not change. The IRS says that "for Social Security and Medicare tax withholding purposes, the nonresident spouse may still be treated as a nonresident" (IRS).

A nonresident F-1 student's pay is exempt from these taxes when USCIS allows the work and it serves the purpose of the visa (IRS). The IRS lists on-campus work up to 20 hours a week (40 in summer vacations) and practical training, such as CPT and OPT. If payroll starts withholding them after the marriage, ask the employer or a preparer why.

How do you file the joint return?

Both spouses sign the return and the statement. With Form W-7, you file on paper, because a return using an ITIN cannot be e-filed "in the calendar year the ITIN is assigned" (Form W-7 instructions).

1. With Form W-7: attach it to the front of the signed return. Add the student's original passport, or a copy certified by the issuing agency, and any SSA or school letter. Mail the package to Internal Revenue Service, ITIN Operation, P.O. Box 149342, Austin, TX 78714-9342, not to the Form 1040 address. Or hand it in at a designated Taxpayer Assistance Center, by appointment.
2. With two SSNs: mail it to the IRS address the Form 1040 instructions list for your state (2025 Form 1040 instructions). We found no IRS text on e-filing a return that makes the choice; if you e-file, ask the software provider how it attaches the signed statement.
3. File by Thursday, April 15, 2027, or file Form 4868 by then. It extends the time to file, not to pay.

What happens in 2027 and later?

The choice continues: in later years you can file joint or separate returns, but both of you report worldwide income (Publication 519). It is suspended for a year in which neither of you is a US citizen or resident at any time.

1. Check the same box and enter the student's name on each later Form 1040 while the choice is in effect (2025 Form 1040 instructions). Publication 519 asks for the statement only with the first year's return.
2. Either spouse can revoke it by a year's due date, with a signed statement. It generally goes with the return for the first year the revocation applies. Once it ends by revocation, divorce, legal separation, death or inadequate records, neither of you can make it again, even with a new spouse.
3. FBAR, for 2026 and later years: the choice does not make the student a US person for the FBAR (IRM 4.26.16). The citizen or resident spouse files FinCEN Form 114 if their foreign accounts, joint ones included, were over $10,000 together at any time in the year (IRS; FBAR guide).
4. Form 8938, for 2026 and later years: a nonresident who makes the choice is a "specified individual" (Form 8938 instructions). Form 8938 counts specified foreign financial assets, such as accounts at foreign banks. A couple living in the US and filing jointly attaches it when those assets are over $100,000 on the last day of the year or over $150,000 at any time (IRS).

What to do next

1. Confirm the student was a nonresident for all of 2026, and get an SSN or start Form W-7.
2. Collect both spouses' W-2s (employers must send them by Monday, February 1, 2027) and every foreign account statement.
3. Fill in the joint Form 1040 and Schedule B, write the statement, and both sign.
4. File by Thursday, April 15, 2027: with Form W-7, by mail to the ITIN Operation in Austin; with two SSNs, to the IRS address for your state.