H-1B with a spouse in India or abroad: can you file a joint return?

Does a joint return lower your tax?

With a spouse who has no income, a joint return generally gives the lowest federal income tax of the three. Its standard deduction and every bracket threshold are twice those of a separate return.

What happens to your spouse's salary in India?

On a joint return your spouse's salary in India counts as income. The foreign earned income exclusion (Form 2555) or the foreign tax credit (Form 1116) can reduce or remove the US tax on it (Publication 54).

The exclusion covers up to $132,900 of foreign pay for 2026 (Rev. Proc. 2025-32), earned with a tax home abroad. The physical presence test asks for at least 330 full days in a foreign country in 12 months in a row. A spouse treated as a resident by the choice "can qualify" under it (Form 2555 instructions).

Excluded pay still pushes the rest of your income into higher brackets (Publication 54). You cannot take a credit for foreign tax on pay you exclude, and the exclusion does not cover investment income such as bank interest in India. So when your spouse has income in India, a joint return can cost more than filing separately, and the choice continues into later years. Ask a preparer to work out both ways before you choose.

How do you make the choice and get your spouse an ITIN?

You generally make the choice on the joint 2026 Form 1040 itself, with a statement signed by both spouses. A spouse who cannot get an SSN applies for an ITIN on Form W-7, attached to the front of that return (Form W-7 instructions).

1. Write the statement: on December 31, 2026 one of you was a nonresident alien and the other a US resident, and you both choose to be treated as US residents for all of 2026. Add each spouse's name, address and identifying number, and both sign (Publication 519).
2. Check the box for treating a nonresident alien spouse as a US resident (under "Other Information" on the 2026 draft Form 1040) and enter your spouse's name.
3. If your spouse needs an ITIN, check box e on Form W-7, "Spouse of U.S. citizen/resident alien", and leave your spouse's SSN space on the return blank. Your spouse must sign Form W-7 with an original signature (Form W-7 instructions).
4. With Form W-7, include your spouse's original passport or a copy certified by the issuing agency or a US embassy or consulate abroad (services vary by country). The IRS does not accept notarized copies (ITIN documentation FAQs) and returns originals within 60 days (IRS).
5. Your spouse must also sign the joint return (Form 1040 instructions), so allow time to send the papers abroad and back. Mail the return, statement, Form W-7 and documents together to Internal Revenue Service, ITIN Operation, P.O. Box 149342, Austin, TX 78714-9342, by Thursday, April 15, 2027. The IRS says to allow 9 to 11 weeks in tax season.

If a choice from an earlier year is still in effect, you check the box in step 2 but write no new statement (Publication 519). The ITIN guide covers Form W-7.

What does the choice mean for 2027 and later?

The choice to treat your spouse as a resident continues after 2026. Until it is suspended or ended, both of you report worldwide income every year, even in a year you file separately (IRS).

The choice is suspended in any year when neither of you is a US citizen or resident at any time. It ends on revocation (cancelling) by either of you, death, divorce or legal separation, or inadequate records. Once it ends, neither of you can make it again, even with a different spouse.

While it lasts, neither of you can generally claim treaty benefits as a resident of another country. The choice does not change Social Security and Medicare tax.

Do you need to file an FBAR or Form 8938?

As a resident alien you file an FBAR for 2026 if your foreign accounts together were over $10,000 at any time in the year, on any filing status (IRS). Form 8938 has higher limits that depend on your filing status and where you live.

A joint account with your spouse goes on your FBAR at its full value (IRM 4.26.16), but the choice does not make your spouse a US person for the FBAR.

A couple filing jointly attaches one Form 8938 for both, if one is due (Form 8938 instructions). The joint limits are $100,000 at year end or $150,000 at any time, or $400,000 and $600,000 if either of you qualifies as living abroad (Treas. Reg. 1.6038D-2). Ask your preparer whether your spouse's foreign assets count and whether your spouse abroad qualifies you for the higher limits. Filing separately, your limits are $50,000 and $75,000 (IRS). The FBAR guide covers both forms.

What to do next

1. Confirm that you were a resident alien for all of 2026 (resident vs nonresident tax).
2. List your spouse's 2026 income from every country, any tax paid on it abroad, and their days outside the US.
3. Ask a preparer who works with nonresident spouses to compare joint and separate returns for 2026 and later years. F1TaxReturn prepares only single-status nonresident returns, not these.
4. File Form 1040 by Thursday, April 15, 2027, following the steps above if you make the choice for 2026.
5. If your foreign accounts together were over $10,000, file the FBAR online with FinCEN by the same date (automatic extension to Friday, October 15, 2027).