<p>I've been getting mixed responses about my situation and my tax consultant seems to be busy to answer my questions. So, I was wondering if any of you can help me with a question regarding foreign income exclusion.</p>
<p>I am a US permanent resident and married to a non-resident alien. We decided to file jointly and report his foreign income on our 1040. Under normal circumstances only US Citizens and resident aliens can claim a foreign income exclusion. My question is, can he elect to be treated as resident alien and claim foreign income exclusion? (That would bring our AGI down to zero and significantly affect our EFC just in case I do not qualify for automatic 0 EFC)</p>
<p>This is the only thing that is holding me back from filing FAFSA tomorrow. :( I am hoping at least one of the parents here will be a CPA and look forward to a definite answer.</p>
<p>I don’t think he can “elect” to be treated as a resident alien. He either is a resident alien or is not one, depending on the criteria established by the IRS. There are 2 criteria - the green card test and the substantial presence test, he would have to meet one of them.</p>
<p>But the publication 519 says this:
"If, at the end of your tax year, you are married and one spouse is a U.S. citizen or a resident alien and the other spouse is a nonresident alien, you can choose to treat the nonresident spouse as a U.S. resident. "</p>
<p>Yes, your husband can elect to be treated as a resident for tax purposes. Happydad and I did that back before he got his green card. Just follow the instructions in Pub 519. </p>