Dual-Status Tax Return Filing
The year your residency changes is the single most error-prone US return there is. It is also the year with the most choices available to you — and most of them have to be claimed to exist.
Dual-Status Tax Return Filing with EvoTax
A dual-status year is one where you were a non-resident for part of it and a resident for the rest, which is what happens the year you arrive in the US, the year you leave, and the year a student visa exemption runs out. It requires both sets of rules applied to their own portion of the year: US-source income only for the non-resident part, worldwide income for the resident part, filed as one return with the other form attached as a statement. Consumer tax software does not attempt this, and filing a single-status return instead is the most common serious error made by people in their first US tax year. EvoTax establishes your residency starting or ending date, splits your income and withholding correctly across the two periods, and — importantly — checks whether an election is open to you. Where you are married to a US citizen or resident, electing to be treated as a resident for the whole year often produces a materially better result than filing dual-status, because it restores the standard deduction and joint filing that a dual-status return denies you. That comparison is worth running before anything is filed.
Benefits & What You Get
Residency dates established properly
Your residency starting or ending date drives the whole return. We determine it from your entry and exit records and visa history, not from a guess about the calendar.
Both periods computed separately
US-source income for the non-resident portion, worldwide income for the resident portion, each under its own rules and reported on the correct form.
Elections compared, not ignored
First-year choice, and the election to be treated as a resident for the full year if you are married to a US citizen or resident. We model the outcome both ways and show you the difference.
The restrictions handled honestly
A dual-status filer cannot take the standard deduction, file jointly or use head of household. We itemise properly rather than claiming something that would be disallowed.
Treaty position preserved
If a treaty article applied during your non-resident period, it still applies to that period. We keep the claim intact across the split.
How It Works
Map your year
We collect entry and exit dates, visa history and, where relevant, the year your exempt-individual status ended, then fix your residency start or end date.
Split income and withholding
Every income source and every dollar of withholding is allocated to the correct period, which is where most self-prepared dual-status returns go wrong.
Test the elections
We compute the return as dual-status and, where an election is available, as a full-year resident, then recommend whichever leaves you better off.
File with the statement attached
We prepare the return with the correct form as the return and the other as the attached statement, labelled as the IRS requires, plus any state returns.
Pricing
Federal return with the required statement
Includes modelling both outcomes
Treaty article applied to the non-resident period
Per state, including part-year
Final pricing depends on the complexity of your case. Contact us for an exact quote.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a dual-status tax return?
It is the return you file for a year in which you were a non-resident alien for part of the year and a resident alien for the rest. Rather than choosing one status, you apply each set of rules to its own period: only US-source income is taxed for the non-resident portion, while worldwide income is taxed for the resident portion. It is filed as a single return with the other form attached as a supporting statement and labelled as a dual-status return.
Who has to file a dual-status return?
Most commonly people in their first year of US residency — someone who arrives partway through the year on a work visa and meets the substantial presence test, or a student whose exempt-individual years run out mid-year. It also applies in the year you give up residency and leave. If your status genuinely did not change during the year, you are not dual-status, and it is worth confirming which is the case before filing.
Can I take the standard deduction on a dual-status return?
No. This is the main disadvantage and it surprises people, because it can mean a dual-status return produces more tax than a full-year resident return on the same income. You must itemise instead, you cannot file jointly with a spouse, and you cannot use head of household. Several credits are also restricted. Where an election to be treated as a full-year resident is available, this is precisely why it is worth modelling.
Is it better to file dual-status or elect full-year resident treatment?
It depends on the numbers, and it genuinely goes both ways. Electing full-year resident treatment restores the standard deduction and joint filing, which usually reduces tax — but it also brings your entire year of worldwide income into the US net, including income earned abroad before you arrived. If that pre-arrival income was substantial, dual-status may well win. The only reliable answer is to compute both, which is what we do.
What is the first-year choice?
A provision that lets you elect to be treated as a resident for part of the year before you would otherwise qualify, provided you meet presence conditions in the current and following year. It is useful mainly because it can open the door to other elections and to joint filing. It has specific timing requirements and sometimes means requesting an extension so that the following year's presence test can be satisfied before the election is made.
Can I e-file a dual-status return?
Often not, because of the attached statement, so these returns are frequently paper-filed. That makes accuracy on the first attempt more valuable than usual — a paper return that has to be amended adds months. It also means allowing more time before the deadline than an e-filed return needs.
Ready to get started with Dual-Status Tax Return Filing?
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