Filing taxes for the first time as an immigrant or refugee

Am I a resident or a nonresident for tax purposes?

To the IRS, someone who isn't a U.S. citizen is a nonresident unless they meet one of two tests for the calendar year (January 1 to December 31). Being a resident for tax purposes is not the same as your immigration status: it's a tax rule only.

Contrary to what many people think, refugees and asylees count every day: they aren't on the IRS's list of "exempt individuals" (which includes, for example, students on F or J visas and certain foreign government employees). So a refugee who arrives early in the year usually meets the substantial presence test that same year.

• Green card test: if you were a lawful permanent resident (you had a green card) at any time during the year, you're a resident for tax purposes.
• Substantial presence test: if you were physically in the United States on at least 31 days during the year and at least 183 days over a three-year period, counting all the days this year, one-third of the days the year before, and one-sixth of the days the year before that.
• If you meet neither test, you're a nonresident, and a nonresident files Form 1040-NR, not Form 1040.

The year you arrived: almost always a dual-status year

According to the IRS, you can be both a nonresident and a resident in the same tax year, and that usually happens in the year you arrive in the United States. Under the substantial presence test, your residency generally starts on the first day you were in the country that year (up to 10 days can be excluded if you show a closer connection to another country). Before that date you were a nonresident; after it, a resident. The IRS calls this a dual-status year.

A dual-status return has its own rules. If you're a resident on December 31, you file Form 1040 marked "Dual Status Return" and attach a statement showing your income for the part of the year you were a nonresident (Form 1040-NR can be used for it).

• You can't use the standard deduction; you can only itemize allowable deductions.
• You can't file a joint return or use the head of household tax table.
• You can't claim the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) or the education credits, except with the married choice explained below.
• According to Publication 519, a dual-status return for tax year 2025 can't be e-filed: it's filed on paper.

Choices that change your first year

The IRS allows a few choices that replace the result of the two tests. Each has strict requirements and is made with a written statement, so it's worth going over them with a tax professional before you decide.

• Choosing to be a resident all year (married): if you were a nonresident at the start of the year, are a resident or citizen at the end, and are married to a citizen or resident on December 31, you and your spouse can choose to be treated as residents for the whole year. That includes a couple who arrived together and both became residents during the year. You then file jointly, report your worldwide income for the whole year, and the dual-status restrictions don't apply; for example, the joint return can take the standard deduction ($31,500 for 2025). Someone who is single on December 31 can't make this choice.
• Nonresident spouse treated as a resident: if at the end of the year one spouse is a citizen or resident and the other a nonresident, they can choose to treat the nonresident spouse as a resident for the whole year and file jointly.
• First-year choice: if you arrived late in the year and don't meet the substantial presence test that year, but do meet it the next year, you can choose to be a resident from a date in the first year, if you meet the day requirements in Publication 519.

Social Security number first; an ITIN only if you can't get one

If you're allowed to work in the United States, apply to the Social Security Administration for your Social Security number (SSN) and file with it. Refugees and people granted asylum are allowed to work, and anyone with a work permit (EAD) can also get an SSN. According to the IRS, anyone eligible for an SSN doesn't need an ITIN, and no one can have both.

An ITIN is for people who have to file but can't get an SSN, for example a spouse or dependent who doesn't have work authorization yet. If you had an ITIN and later get your SSN, stop using the ITIN and tell the IRS so your records are combined under the SSN; otherwise you may not get credit for all your wages and withholding. For everything else about ITINs, see our guides "Can I file taxes without a Social Security number?" and "Form W-7: how to apply for an ITIN".

Income from your home country

A resident for tax purposes is taxed in the United States on worldwide income, just like a citizen: a salary, a pension, rent from a house, or interest on an account back home goes on your U.S. return, even if tax was already paid there.

In a dual-status year, the rule depends on the date: income from outside the United States that you received while you were a nonresident, and that isn't connected with a U.S. business, generally isn't taxed; what you received once you were a resident is. If you choose to be a resident all year, your worldwide income for the whole year is taxed.

To avoid paying twice, the IRS allows a credit for income tax paid to another country (Form 1116), and some tax treaties give other relief. And if your foreign accounts added up to more than $10,000 at any time during the year, you may have to file an FBAR with FinCEN, separately from your tax return.

Credits you may qualify for, and what they require

• Child Tax Credit ($2,200 per child for 2025): you, or one spouse on a joint return, need a Social Security number valid for work, issued by the due date of the return (including extensions). The child needs a valid SSN of their own and must be a U.S. citizen, national or resident alien.
• Credit for Other Dependents (up to $500 per dependent): the dependent can have an SSN, ITIN or ATIN, and must be a U.S. citizen, national or resident alien.
• Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC): you, your spouse on a joint return, and each child need a valid SSN, and you must be a U.S. citizen or resident alien all year. If you were a nonresident for part of the year, you can get it only if you're married, file jointly with a citizen or resident spouse, and choose to be treated as residents. Our EITC guide explains it.
• Standard deduction: if you were a resident all year, for 2025 it's $15,750 for single filers, $31,500 for married couples filing jointly, and $23,625 for heads of household. It doesn't apply in a dual-status year.

Documents to gather

On top of what every return needs (see our guide "What documents do I need to file taxes?"), these help in your first year:

• Your Social Security card or ITIN, and those of your spouse and dependents.
• Your green card, work permit (EAD) or status document, and your arrival record (I-94) or passport stamps: the date you arrived decides when you became a resident.
• The days you were in the United States this year and in the two years before, if any.
• Your U.S. Forms W-2 and 1099.
• Income from your home country and the tax you paid there, with the dates you received it.
• The highest balance during the year of each account outside the United States.
• Your bank account and routing numbers to get your refund by Direct Deposit.

When to get help from a tax expert

Vordana Tax prepares and e-files Form 1040 for people who were residents for tax purposes all year, with a Social Security number or an ITIN, and the interview is in English, Spanish or Arabic. Vordana Tax does not prepare Form 1040-NR, a dual-status return, or the residency choices above, and it does not prepare Form W-7.

So if your first year is dual-status, if you want to make one of those choices, or if you were a nonresident, that return needs special handling: look for a paid tax professional who prepares dual-status returns. If you're not sure whether you were a resident all year, you can talk to or chat with a tax expert from inside your return; it's an optional paid service, and the expert guides you but doesn't prepare the return for you. From the first year you're a resident all year, you can prepare and file your return online.

Questions

Sources

• IRS: Determining an individual's tax residency status
• IRS: Substantial presence test
• IRS: Dual-status individuals
• IRS: Publication 519 (2025), U.S. Tax Guide for Aliens
• IRS: Individual taxpayer identification number (ITIN)
• IRS: Who qualifies for the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)
• IRS: Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR)

This guide is general information. Your situation may differ; the IRS's instructions are the final word.