I have a taxpayer who was here on a F-1 visa until September 30, 2020, which became H-1B and is a resident alien at the end of the year.
His spouse is here on a F-2 visa and is considered a non resident alien. Can they elect to file jointly for 2020?
Under the dual-status rules, it seems to indicate you cannot file jointly in the year you are a dual status.
But on the IRS website, under the non-resident alien spouse information, the first paragraph says this:
If, at the end of your tax year, you are married and one spouse is a U.S. citizen or resident alien and the other is a nonresident alien, you can choose to treat the nonresident as a U.S. resident. This includes situations in which one of you is a nonresident alien at the beginning of the tax year, but a resident alien at the end of the year, and the other is a nonresident alien at the end of the year.
Can anyone confirm this would be a valid election?